In a nation that is striving to applaud diversity of background, gender and race, the time has come to educate people about and celebrate those with mental disabilities. Who better to start with than children? And what better tool than a beautifully illustrated new book?

Suzanne Wanous, author of Sara’s Secret, will be signing copies of her 40-page book at Big Table Books in downtown Ames tonight at 7:30 p.m.

The book is for children ages six to 12; it is about Sara, a young girl whose five-year-old brother, Justin, has cerebral palsy and is mentally retarded. Sara is torn over whether or not to tell the kids at her new school about him, for fear of them making fun of her.

Wanous was inspired to write Sara’s Secret during her years as an early childhood educator and special education teacher. She used to work at Wilson-Beardshear, a school for the mentally challenged that used to be in Ames.

“I had a student in class whose story I felt needed to be told,” she explained. “The book is dedicated to him.”

While Wanous gleaned inspiration from the classroom, she also got a little expert assistance at home from her three kids. “They did a lot of reading and critiquing,” Wanous said. “Especially my oldest, Christine, who was very good about saying, ‘No, Mom, she wouldn’t say it like that,’ or whatever.”

Help from children didn’t end at home. Rather, she took Sara’s Secret right to her target audience and asked kids how they really felt about the book. The kids’ feelings and attitudes led to some fabulous discussions, and Wanous was prepared to answer a lot of questions that had been swimming around in the kids’ minds.

“I’ve done several readings of this book with other children to gauge their reactions,” Wanous explained. “Kids all shrink at the word ‘retarded’; they’re saying it, but they think ‘retarded’ is a naughty word. It’s a wonderful jumping-off point for discussion.

“[‘Retarded’] is not who the child is, but a part of a describer about the child. To say he has a mental handicap is no different than saying you have black skin.”

Heavy subjects, especially for young kids. And Wanous fully expects even adults to be a little uneasy while reading the book. “The book says some things that will make you uncomfortable,” she said. “It’s not comfortable to see a six-year-old drooling.”

And while many children’s books may attempt to discuss the topic of a child dealing with a sibling’s disability, Sara’s Secret is as special as Sara’s brother.

“The main focus of this book, and how it’s different from other books, is that Sara loves her brother,” Wanous said. “She doesn’t know how to introduce him to her new friends. There are so many books out there about kids who are having trouble with their handicaps, and I didn’t wanna do that.”

Sara’s Secret was ready for print two years ago, but Wanous decided to put publication — a year-long ordeal in itself — on hold for a year to wait for color illustrations. The result was definitely worth it.

“It was real hard to see it wait, but with a topic like this, you need color,” Wanous explained. “The topic is too heavy for black and white pictures . . . They are watercolor illustrations, rather abstract and striking.”

Big Table Books is located at 330 Main St. in downtown Ames. The signing is free and open to the public. Please call 232-8976 for more information.