The Ballerina Boy by Megan Maginley

The Ballerina Boy is Megan Maginley’s first published graphic novel but she has many more in the making at L’Arche Antigonish, as shown in the photo. Megan identifies as “a lovely autistic creative force of Nature” and this is borne out in The Ballerina Boy. Through images and dialogue, Megan’s imaginative and extraordinary characters capture themes of acceptance, diversity, equity and loving care.

Becs Semple, a multi-disabled arts educator and facilitator says of Megan’s ballerina boy: “Oh Eddie, so relatable! The dreaded ‘what if’ when trying new things. We all need a Mina in our lives to remind us that we all feel this way at times.”

Sarika Sinha, Senior Program Teaching Staff at Coady International Institute, reads The Ballerina Boy with her autistic ten-year-old son Smee. He “flutters and dances when I show him the animated influences in the book. He reads Ballerina and asks me to become one. How could I possibly be a Ballerina as innovative and elegant as the one Megan has created? Do we really understand how stunning and thoughtful our children are?” Sarika’s overall response to The Ballerina Boy is gratitude: “Thank you, Megan, for helping me to learn and more importantly, to unlearn. You have challenged power and coloniality in more than one way. You have established that diversity is the way and the only way. It is about inclusion and respect and not just about tolerance. It is about justice and not charity. Megan, for me, you are Mina, the wise one!”

Aimee MacDonald (She/Her), Gender and Sexual Diversity Advisor, St. Francis Xavier University, read The Ballerina Boy to her 5-year-old son. “It sparked a meaningful conversation about how he supports his friends and how they, in turn, support him. Stories like this are vital, as they offer diverse and inclusive representations that allow all children to see themselves reflected in the books they cherish. This story truly warmed my heart and reinforced my commitment to creating a society where children, like Mina and Edward, can grow up being authentically themselves.