Category: Teen

David Aguilar was born with half a right arm; he calls it his “diff-ability”. With the love and support of his family – and a knack for creating – he built his first prothesis from LEGO bricks when he was nine, and continues creating and innovating in ways to make change happen and make others’ lives better.

Ages 10-14

Written by David and his father, Ferran Aguilar, and translated from the original Spanish by author Lawrence Schimel, Piece by Piece is heartbreaking and funny. David’s voice clearly emerges from the page to take readers into his world; never evoking pity, David is pragmatic about his limb difference, explaining it by asking readers if they miss an eleventh finger they never had: “Whoa! You don’t know what that feels like, right? I count to five. You count to ten. I am not missing anything. Neither are you”. The Aguilars inspire their readers to expand their world view, to innovate, to try, to keep going. A color photo insert called “The Tale of Hand Solo” (inspired by the name of the award-winning documentary about him) introduces readers to Aguilar’s life. Piece by Piece is absolute perfection for middle school reading. This should be a part of every LEGO Robotics team’s reading. An essential first purchase for library collections.

“Humorous and uplifting…While readers needn’t be LEGO fans to admire David’s ingenuity, fellow builders may be inspired to dream up their own inventions.” ―Kirkus Reviews

David Aguilar and his father, Ferran Aguilar, are from Andorra, in Europe. David was born missing part of one arm. At the age of nine, he designed his first prosthesis with LEGO bricks, and in high school he built the next generation, which he named the MK-1. David’s father encouraged him to make a video about his prosthesis and the huge role that LEGOs played in his life, and posted it on social media, where it went viral and changed both of their lives. In addition to telling his story in this book, David is also the protagonist of the Spanish documentary Mr. Hand Solo, which won the award for best documentary at the Boston Science Fiction Film festival. David is currently developing his own brand, Hand Solo, which will aim to benefit various organizations for the disabled and fight against the stigma of “diff-ability,” as he calls it. Follow David and Ferran on Twitter @Handsolooficial and @AguilarFerran.

Instagram: @handsoloofficial

Lawrence Schimel is a bilingual author who writes in both Spanish and English, with more than one hundred books to his credit. He is also a prolific literary translator, into English and into Spanish. His translated books include Wanda Gág’s Millions of Cats; George Takei’s graphic novel They Called Us Enemy; and Some Days, written and illustrated by María Wernicke; among many others. He lives in Madrid, Spain. Follow him on Twitter @lawrenceschimel.