Additional information
by Jenna Elyse Johnson (Author), Sue Teodoro (Illustrator)
A Realistic and Accessible Portrayal of a Child Living with Epilepsy
In I Spark Like Lightning, Jen explains what it's like to live with epilepsy. Most of the time, her brain is full of electricity that sends signals to tell her body what to do. But sometimes, the signals get mixed up, like a lightning storm, and she has seizures. They can happen any time--at home, during ballet class, even at the beach. It's hard sometimes, but there are a lot of people who love her and help keep her safe. With the help of her family, friends, and her service dog, Hamilton, Jen manages her epilepsy and appreciates the lightning as part of who she is.
- Offers an honest portrayal of life with epilepsy, what it's like to experience seizures, and how kids manage it
- Celebrates disability joy and offers an empowering self-representation for disabled kids
- Helps children develop empathy and understanding with first-person storytelling from a child's perspective
- Centers disabled voices by drawing on the author's experience with epilepsy
The Disability Books for Kids series explores visible and invisible disability in the first person, as seen through the eyes of children and written from lived experience. The series builds allyship, challenges ableism, and celebrates difference, empowering and educating all readers. Each book includes an author's note to the reader.
Author Biography
Jenna Elyse Johnson has been a storyteller ever since elementary school, when her teachers told her she could be a writer. Jenna now writes stories for children that are informed by her life, which sometimes include tales about her service dog, Hamilton, or about her mischievous twin brother. As a disabled author, Jenna's passion is to write about disability joy and to help disabled children feel seen on the page. When not writing, Jenna enjoys teaching enrichment classes for homeschooled kids, doing school visits with her service dog, working at her local independent bookstore, exploring the beach, getting lost in a good book, and discovering new gluten-free and dairy-free recipes. Jenna lives in Folsom, California.
Sue Teodoro was born in Turin in 1965. Both her parents were artists, so she's been drawing since she was little. At 15, she started working with her father, Francesco Teodoro, a graphic designer. Later, she decided to specialize in children's illustrations, following in her mother's footsteps. From 1998 to 2018 she was a member of Anikibobo, a graphic design company that works with Italian publishing houses, magazines, and advertising companies. She also took part in group exhibitions and international competitions, and she taught lessons in design in primary and secondary schools. Today she works in her studio using both traditional painting techniques and digital coloring techniques, paying particular attention to "palette colors." She has been represented in the U.S by Mela Bolina MB Artists Agency since 2022.
