This resource is a great way to learn about Braille and finger reading. For those who cannot see or are losing their sight, Braille lets them read and communicate with others. Using special tools such as Braillewriters that work like typewriters and Braille displays that hook up to computers, people can write letters and send email. Readers will learn more about the history of Braille and how it has opened the doors of communication.

An Introduction to Braille for those who are sighted. Learn the alphabet and numbers to complete a variety of games and activities.

At the dreidel-making workshop, Jeremy's friends think he's molding a secret code on his clay dreidel. But he's really making a special gift for his father, who is blind. How will he get his friends to appreciate his special dreidel?

Biography of the blind French boy who invented the Braille alphabet when he was only fifteen.

A biography of the modest Frenchman who, after being blinded at the age of three, went on to develop a system of raised dots on paper that enabled blind people to read and write.

This series meets the following Reading First initiatives: - Phonics- Vocabulary- Comprehension- Fluency

An inspiring picture-book biography of Louis Braille-a blind boy so determined to read that he invented his own alphabet. Louis Braille was just five years old when he lost his sight. He was a clever boy, determined to live like everyone else, and what he wanted more than anything was to be able to read. Even at the school for the blind in Paris, there were no books for him. And so he invented his own alphabet-a whole new system for writing that could be read by touch. A system so ingenious that it is still used by the blind community today. Award-winning writer Jen Bryant tells Braille's inspiring story with a lively and accessible text, filled with the sounds, the smells, and the touch of Louis's world. Boris Kulikov's inspired paintings help readers to understand what Louis lost, and what he was determined to gain back through books. An author's note and additional resources at the end of the book complement the simple story and offer more information for parents and teachers.

Some people are blind. What does that mean? Using simple, engaging text and full-color photos, readers learn what blindness is, how it can be caused, and what daily life is like for someone who can't see. This book includes a video, which launches via a 4D app.

From Homer to Helen Keller, from Dune to Stevie Wonder, from the invention of braille to the science of echolocation, M. Leona Godin explores the fascinating history of blindness, interweaving it with her own story of gradually losing her sight. There Plant Eyes probes the ways in which blindness has shaped our ocularcentric culture, challenging deeply ingrained ideas about what it means to be "blind." For millennia, blindness has been used to signify such things as thoughtlessness ("blind faith"), irrationality ("blind rage"), and unconsciousness ("blind evolution"). But at the same time, blind people have been othered as the recipients of special powers as compensation for lost sight (from the poetic gifts of John Milton to the heightened senses of the comic book hero Daredevil). Godin-who began losing her vision at age ten-illuminates the often-surprising history of both the condition of blindness and the myths and ideas that have grown up around it over the course of generations. She combines an analysis of blindness in art and culture (from King Lear to Star Wars) with a study of the science of blindness and key developments in accessibility (the white cane, embossed printing, digital technology) to paint a vivid personal and cultural history. A genre-defying work, There Plant Eyes reveals just how essential blindness and vision are to humanity's understanding of itself and the world.

Many people who are blind learn Braille in order to read. This innovative code allows them to read everything from popular books to maps and signs as well as write their own books? Readers will learn the history of Braille, how it has developed, and how it is used by some young people featured in this book.

Louis Braille certainly wasn't your average teenager. Blind from the age of four, he was only fifteen when in 1824 he invented a reading system that converted printed words into columns of raised dots. Through touch, Braille opened the world of books to the sightless, and almost two hundred years later, no one has ever improved upon his simple, brilliant idea.

Living with the use of one's eyes can make imagining blindness difficult, but this innovative title invites readers to imagine living without sight through remarkable illustrations done with raised lines and descriptions of colors based on imagery. Braille letters accompany the illustrations and a full Braille alphabet offers sighted readers help reading along with their fingers. This extraordinary title gives young readers the ability to experience the world in a new way.

Designed especially for the young braille reader, this tactile book features a fascinating selection of creatures, from bears and big cats to birds and bugs.  DK Braille: Animals has everything written in both large print and braille for kids. The facts are accompanied by embossed and tactile images, including a fuzzy lion's mane and scaly serpent skin. Discover the fascinating world of animals, from ferocious predators and leaping monkeys to snappy alligators and fantastic frogs. Then test what you have learned with a fun quiz at the end of the book.  Fully endorsed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), DK Braille: Animals is a wonderful way for curious readers to discover the animal kingdom.

Learn how to count to 10 with DK Braille: Counting. Explore tactile spreads in different textures to discover counting techniques with a book designed specifically for blind or visually impaired readers. DK Braille: Counting's pages combine braille, large print, and high contrast photography with clear and predictive layouts for curious young readers. The accompanying story in print and braille takes readers on a counting adventure in the park. DK Braille: Counting is a unique book that teaches counting in a special, revolutionary book. A flagship series of high-quality, custom books with braille and tactile images for blind and partially sighted children, or sighted children with blind parents. DK Braille books combine uncontracted Unified English Braille and large type with high-contrast colors, embossed images, and tactile cutout shapes for children to feel with their fingers. The combination of text alongside the braille enables sighted parents to share the reading experience with visually impaired children, and for sighted children to share with their visually impaired parents.

Explore the fun on the farm with LEGO® DUPLO® in this first custom braille LEGO® book for readers with visual impairment. A high-quality LEGO DUPLO book with braille and tactile images for blind and partially sighted parents and children to share with their sighted family members. Produced in consultation with braille experts, this LEGO DUPLO board book explores LEGO DUPLO farm animals such as pigs and cows, and vehicles, such as tractors. It combines high-contrast colors with embossed images of the models for children to feel. Large-size text is printed alongside the braille, enabling sighted children to share the bonding experience of reading with their visually impaired parents, or for sighted parents to share with their visually impaired children.

Discover cool cars, terrific trucks, and super ships in this wonderful guide to vehicles for young Braille readers. A 30-page tactile reference book, DK Braille: On the Move features entries on a fascinating selection of vehicles, from cranes and cars to helicopters and even monster trucks!  What is the use of tractors and plows? How does a hot air balloon rise up? Why do submarines use sonar equipment? Find the answers to these and many more questions on every page. Entries are written in both Braille and large print to allow readers the opportunity to learn all there is to know about common vehicles, including their makes and their functions. The entries are accompanied by large, embossed, and fully annotated illustrations. A fun quiz towards the end helps readers assess their progress and revise key learnings. DK Braille: On The Move is a wonderful way for curious children to explore everything that drives, glides, plows, and flies.

Where is the square? DK Braille: Shapes helps children learn, find, and remember their shapes through die-cut shapes, embossed images, and braille or large format text in this special book designed specifically for blind or visually impaired readers. Feel the difference between a circle and triangle as the rhyming story guides readers through the pages, each page making information easy to understand for the tactile reader. DK Braille: Shapes is a unique book that helps young blind or visually impaired readers learn their shapes in a format specifically designed for them. A flagship series of high-quality, custom books with braille and tactile images for blind and partially sighted children, or sighted children with blind parents. DK Braille books combine uncontracted Unified English Braille and large type with high-contrast colors, embossed images, and tactile cutout shapes for children to feel with their fingers. The combination of text alongside the braille enables sighted parents to share the reading experience with visually impaired children, and for sighted children to share with their visually impaired parents.

"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."Discover the inspiring story of the Little Blue Engine as shemakesher way over the mountain in this belovedclassic-the perfect gift to celebrate thespecial milestones in your life, from graduations to birthdays and more! The kindness and determination of the Little Blue Engine have inspired millions of children around the world since the story was first published in 1930. Cherished by readers for over ninety years, The Little Engine That Could is a classic tale of the little engine that, despite her size, triumphantly pulls a train full of wonderful things to the children waiting on the other side of a mountain.

Newbery Medal-winning author Beverly Cleary's final book in the Ramona series has all of the warmth, realism, and humor of its predecessors. Ramona Quimby can't wait to start fourth grade. With a new baby sister to brag about, new calluses to show off, and a new best friend to get to know, everything's going to be great! Or is it? When Ramona's spelling is atrocious, her teacher, Mrs. Meacham, is firm about her needing to improve. Then a scary incident at a friend's house leaves Ramona feeling at fault. Who knew growing up could be filled with such complicated situations? In the Ramona books, Beverly Cleary expertly depicts the trials and triumphs of growing up through a relatable heroine who isn't afraid to be exactly who she is. These books continue to make young readers laugh in recognition and pleasure. They're perfect for independent and shared reading, at home or in the classroom.

Sadie Can Count is a multi-sensory concept book for very young children and beginning Braille readers of any age. Every illustration in the book is full color and fully embossed which encourages sensory integration. In addition to being a counting and color teaching aid, it has fully embossed pictures teaching tactile acuity and discernment a plus for anyone wanting to learn Braille. The 30 point comic sans text and uncontracted embossed Braille shadow each other making it easy for people who are blind and sighted to interact.

Touch the Universe is a unique and innovative astronomy book that will help visually impaired people "see" the wonders of our universe. Using a combination of Braille and large-print captions that face 14 pages of brilliant Hubble Space Telescope photos, it is embossed with shapes that represent various astronomical objects such as stars, gas clouds, and jets of matter streaming into space. "Universally designed" for both the sighted and visually impaired reader, Touch the Universe takes readers on a voyage of discovery, starting at Earth, proceeding through the solar system, and ending with the most distant image taken by Hubble, the mind-boggling "Hubble Deep Field" photo -- the first telescope image ever to bring home to human consciousness in a deeply fundamental way the literally infinite reaches of our universe of galaxies. As the author puts it, "A visually impaired person can still touch and smell a flower, or a tree, or an animal, but he or she could only imagine what an astronomical object is like ... until now."

When a high school football star is suddenly stricken with irreversible total blindness, he must decide whether to live a safe handicapped life or bravely return to the life he once knew and the sport he still loves.

Eli walks alone in post-apocalyptic America. He heads west along the Highway of Death on a mission he doesn't fully understand but knows he must complete. In his backpack is the last copy of a book that could become the wellspring of a revived society. Or in the wrong hands, the hammer of a despot. Eli keeps his blade sharp and his survival instincts sharper as his quest thrusts him into a savage wasteland. Special features included.

One of Marvel Comics' most popular characters comes to the screen for the first time in this sci-fi action-thriller. Matthew Murdock (Ben Affleck) is a lawyer whose father, a prizefighter, was killed by gangsters when Murdock was just a boy. Since then, Murdock has devoted his life to bringing wrongdoers to justice and is willing to help others by taking on cases no other attorney will touch. Murdock is also blind, after being struck down by a truck while trying to save a man from being hit. What no one knows is that Murdock was also doused with an unusual radioactive isotope which had a strange effect on him -- while Murdock's sight may be gone, his other senses have been raised to such a keen pitch that they act like radar, allowing him to tell where he's going and what happens around him, both near and far away. Murdock puts his gifts to use at night as the costumed crime-fighter Daredevil, whose pursuit of justice has earned him the wrath of underworld leader Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan). Kingpin wants Daredevil out of his way once and for all, and hires Bullseye (Colin Farrell), a super-assassin with an uncanny ability to throw blades, to do the job. Daredevil also makes the acquaintance of Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner), a woman with super-heroic talents who is also on Kingpin's bad side, though it remains to be seen if she has aligned herself with the forces of good as Daredevil has done. Jon Favreau, Joe Pantoliano, and David Keith highlight Daredevil's supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Chinook the Alaskan Malamute must lead a shipwrecked blind man out of the wilderness, while the man's children launch a rescue mission of their own.

Helen has been blind, deaf and mute since she was 18 months old. Her parents contacted Annie Sullivan whose determination leads Helen to a climactic breakthrough that allows her to discover the world through the eyes and ears of others.

Ray Charles went blind at the age of seven. Inspired by his mother, who insisted he make his own way, he found his calling at the keyboard. Follow Ray as he overcomes drug addiction while becoming one of the country's most beloved performers.

Driven by an extravagant, tour-de-force performance by Al Pacino, Scent of a Woman is the story of Frank Slade (Pacino), a blind, retired army colonel who hires Charlie Simms (Chris O'Donnell), a poor college student on the verge of expulsion, to take care of him over Thanksgiving weekend. At the beginning of the weekend, Frank takes Charlie to New York, where he reveals to the student that he intends to visit his family, have a few terrific meals, sleep with a beautiful woman and, finally, commit suicide. The film follows the mis-matched pair over the course of the weekend, as they learn about life through their series of adventures. Though the story is a little contrived and predictable, it pulls all the right strings, thanks to O'Donnell's sympathetic supporting role and Pacino's powerful lead performance, for which he won his first Academy Award. Scent of a Woman is based on the 1975 Italian film Profumo Di Donna. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi