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Award Winning Artist and Author, Sandra Dutton Talk: A Wheelchair That Flies
The museum is proud to host this special author talk that is free and open to the public. (Due to limited space, please RSVP to [email protected]). The event will kick off a yearlong fundraising campaign, with all book sales earmarked to improve accessibility and experience for museum visitors with mobility challenges.
Press release by Monte Ceceri Publishers: SAVANNAH, GA — SwanHorse Press is proud to announce the publication of A Wheelchair That Flies, the latest illustrated novel in verse from award-winning artist and author Sandra Dutton, online and in stores April 3, 2025.
Lily, a newly minted fairy godmother who loves fancy dresses and easy magic, is stunned when she fails to cure Daniel, a thirteen-year-old boy who is wheelchair-bound due to a muscular dystrophy. Assuming that Daniel’s life is frustrating and boring — stuck in his room watching old sports clips — Lily is surprised to learn of his love for statistics and that he has billed himself as THE WORLD’S GREATEST EXPERT ON BASEBALL.
Moreover, his deepest wish is to see the first National League night game played between the Reds and the Phillies at Crosley Field in 1935. But how is this going to happen?
The world is ripe for a fantasy that celebrates the strengths of those with disabilities and rejects the notion that a fairy godmother needs to concoct a “cure” to help individuals find fulfillment and happiness. Daniel, in fact, shows Lily what really matters to him and challenges her to produce some of her own best magic.
In the process, he teaches her about baseball, friendship, and the magic of flying machines.
An illustrated story in verse, with 36 original watercolor paintings.
Praise for A Wheelchair That Flies
“A Wheelchair That Flies takes us into the heart of true magic, on beyond impossible wishes. A story told in poems and oh-so-evocative watercolors, we fly along, too.”
— Charlotte Agell, author and illustrator of Maybe Tomorrow?
“In A Wheelchair that Flies, Sandra Dutton manages a feat that all readers will appreciate: infusing the tale with a wit and whimsy that is often sadly lacking in this type of book, while also acknowledging the reality that it is not possible to remove all suffering from the world. Children will delight in the bright illustrations and the way she turns the tables of the usual paradigm by letting the child teach the adult how to navigate a challenging world.”
— Amy MacDonald, author of Little Beaver and the Echo
“Baseball is a magical time machine, connecting now with then and people with very different skills. With her new book, Sandra Dutton waves a wand.”
— John Thorn, official historian of Major League Baseball
“A Wheelchair That Flies celebrates disability autonomy and self-direction in ways never captured by traditional fairy godmother stories. Readers will fall in love with Daniel for his confidence, passion, and absolute comfort in his skin. They will empathize with the adorable and fallible Lily, Daniel’s fairy godmother. And they will be reminded that wishes, like people, hold unique and precious to the individual.”
— Emily Wolinsky, President of NMD United
About the Author and Artist
Sandra Dutton is a writer, artist, and playwright who was born in Springfield, Missouri, grew up in Norwood, Ohio, and has lived in California, Kentucky, New York, Maine, and Savannah, Georgia.
She is an award-winning painter and has published six books for children, including Dear Miss Perfect: A Beast’s Guide to Proper Behavior and Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth. Both received starred reviews, and the latter was recommended by the National Center for Science Education.
Publishers Weekly wrote of Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth:
“Dutton sensitively navigates the sticky debate between creationism and evolution both through the young narrator’s delightful curiosity and honest questions, and through the various responses she receives from numerous caring adults.”
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Dutton also has published essays and poems in major publications such as Commonweal, The Horn Book, The New York Times Book Review, Louisville Review, Wind Literary Review, and a poetry chapbook with Swamp Press.
She has a Ph.D. in rhetoric and composition and a B.A. in fine arts and lives in Savannah, Georgia.