NOBLESVILLE, Ind. -- Children's books often use characters to teach valuable lessons about life, and one new book does just that by using a Noblesville woman's experience in a wheelchair to teach kids about being different.
Annie Streit just published her first children's book, titled "Scooter and His Scoot Scoot."
"It's kind of a story about me, but a dog version," Streit said.
Streit took her love for her dogs, and her experiences living in a wheelchair, to pen an illustrated book about a wheelchair-bound dog named 'Scooter.'
"The dog just has one of those assisted wheelchairs, and it's about him just doing everything his friends can do," Streit said. "It's not outward appearances or differences that make you. What's important is what's inside."
Eleven years ago, Streit was injured diving into her pool at her graduation party. It was a moment that changed her life forever. But she's using her story to do good, especially with the kids she works with at the YMCA.
"It kind of all, in a roundabout way … I went back for my teaching degree, and it's just kind of all snowballed into me writing a book," Streit said. "I don't know if it is something I would've ever done if I hadn't been in the accident."
Streit hopes her children can learn from Scotter that, even though people may be different or in wheelchairs, it doesn't stop them from reaching their goals.
"Because I'm in a wheelchair doesn't mean I can't reach goals or dreams," Streit said. "I've been wanting to write a book for a long time now."
Streit will be doing a book reading and signing at "The Wild Bookstore" in Noblesville on September 2.
