Suggested Reading List
These books are available in many public libraries throughout NZ. If your local library does not have a title, they can interloan it for you. Your local library may well have other titles.
Fiction
Blindfold. Sandra McCuaig. New York : Holiday House, 1990. (167p.) Benji and his blind older brother Joel share a very special bond until their suicide, leaving feelings of grief and guilt with fifteen-year-old friend Sally.
Cakes and miracles : a Purim tale. Barbara Diamond Goldin ; illustrated by Erika Weihs. New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Viking, 1991. Young, blind Hershel finds that he has special gifts he can use to help his mother during the Jewish holiday of Purim. Features a recipe for hamantashen.
The cay. Theodore Taylor ; illustrated by Kenny McKendry. London : Puffin, 1994. (121p.) A blind boy and an old West Indian are adrift on a raft; a story of coping with disability and prejudice.
The chimneys of Green Knowe. Lucy M. Boston ; illustrated by Peter Boston. Bath : Chivers, 1990. (265p.) Tolly, holidaying at Green Knowe, is involved in the story of blind Susan who lived there in the eighteenth century.
The devil's cauldron. David Wiseman. Bath : Swift, 1991. (104p.) Clare, who is blind, has been warned to stay away from the Devil's Cauldron a dangerous labyrinth of caves - but Clare feels strangely drawn to the place, even though it is rumoured to be haunted by eighteenth century smugglers. Suggested level: junior secondary.
The dog I share. Janice Marriott ; illustrated by Phillip Small. Wellington, N.Z. : Learning Media, 1999. (32p.) Becky sees a man and his dog walking up to the ground floor flat, and she just knows the dog wants to play with her. The dog's owner isn't very friendly but that doesn't stop Becky. Suggested level: primary.
Hannah. Gloria Whelan ; drawings by Leslie Bowman. New York : Knopf, 1991.(63p.) Hannah, a blind girl living in Michigan in the late nineteenth century, doesn't go to school, until a new teacher comes to board at their house.
The hickory chair. Lisa Rowe Fraustino ; illustrated by Benny Andrews. New York : Arthur Levine Books, 2000. A blind boy tells of his warm relationship with his grandmother and the gift she left for him after her death.
Into the dark. Nicholas Wilde. New York : Scholastic, 1987. (201p.) A lonely boy's new friend has a frightening secret.
Mandy Sue Day. Roberta Karim ; illustrated by Karen Ritz. New York : Clarion Books, 1994. Using her senses of taste, hearing, touch, and smell, a blind girl enjoys a special day on the farm.
See the ocean. Estelle Condra ; illustrated by Linda Crockett-Blassingame. Nashville, Tenn. : Ideals Children's Books, 1994. Driving through mountain fog to the beach, two young brothers compete to see who will catch the first glimpse of the ocean, but it is their blind sister Nellie who senses it first.
See you Thursday. Jean Ure. Penguin, 1989. (174p.) The story of a 24 yr old blind teacher, Abe, and an embarrassed teenager who learns to handle the situation.
Shark shock. Donna Jo Napoli. New York, N.Y. : Dutton Children's Books, 1994. (166p.) Eleven-year-old Adam finds it easier to cope with some of his worries when he regains his ability to talk with his freckles and when he makes friends with a blind boy during the family's vacation at Cape May.
Someone like me. Elaine Forrestal. Ringwood, Vic. : Puffin Books, 1996. 162p. Tas leads an ordinary life - until Enya and her mysterious Irish family move in next door. The violence Enya thought she had left behind catches up with her and changes Tas's life for ever.
Picture Books & Readers
A picture book of Louis Braille. David A. Adler ; illustrated by John & Alexandra Wallner. New York : Holiday House, 1997. Suggested level: primary.
He käpö ahau / ko ngä körero nä Oho Kaa ; ko ngä pikitia nä Kerry Gemmill. Te Whanganui a Tara, Aotearoa, Huia Publishers, 1998. (12p.) A blind girl 'sees' with her fingers. Suggested level: junior. A reader for children in Maori.
Lucy's picture. Nicola Moon ; illustrated by Alex Ayliffe. London : Orchard, 1994. A young girl creates a special picture that her blind grandfather can "see" with his hands. Suggested level: junior.
Naomi knows it's springtime. Virginia L. Kroll ; illustrated by Jill Kastner. Honesdale, Pa. : Caroline House, Boyds Mill Press ; S.l. : Distributed by St. Martin's Press, 1993. (31p.) A young blind girl experiences the first signs of spring.
Red thread riddles. Virginia Allen Jensen and Polly Edman. New York : W. Collins, 1980. (24p.) Available both as print and with Braille and raised pictures.
Non Fiction
Being blind. Peter White. London : Belitha, 1998. (32 p.) Describes what it is like to be blind, some of the challenges faced by blind people, and the ways they cope with everyday life at home, at school, at play and at work.
Danny the guide dog. Jill Coleman ; photographs by Sally Fear.. London, England : Scholastic, 1988. (24 p.)
Do you remember the color blue? : and other questions kids ask about blindness. Sally Hobart Alexander. New York : Viking, 2000. (78p.)
Emma and I. Sheila Hocken. London : West Perth, W.A. : Narkaling Productions, 1989. A tremendously courageous young blind girl refuses to accept her handicap, and fights for the right to live fully and see again. 18 sound cassettes (16 hr. 41 min.) and 1 bk. (184 p.).
Guide dogs : seeing for people who can't. Alice B. McGinty. New York : PowerKids Press, 1999. (24 p.) Describes the raising and training of Freedom, a seeing eye dog, beginning with its selection as a candidate to be a guide dog up to its placement with an appropriate master.
Helen Keller. George Sullivan. New York : Scholastic, Inc., 2000. A biography, told using excerpts from her own writings, of the woman who successfully dealt with her own disabilities while trying to better the lives of other deaf and blind people.
Living with blindness. Patsy Westcott. Hove, England : Wayland, 1999. (32 p.) Explains the condition of blindness, its possible causes, and how it affects the everyday lives of those who are dealing with it. Suggested level: primary.
Louis Braille. Tessa Potter ; illustrations by Helena Owen. London : Franklin Watts, 1996. (48 p.)
Louis Braille : the blind boy who wanted to read. Dennis Fradin ; illustrated by Robert Sauber. Parsippany, N.J. : Silver Press, 1997.
Louis Braille : bringer of hope to the blind. Patricia Lantier, Beverly Birch. Milwaukee : G. Stevens Children's Books, 1991.
Louis Braille and the secret alphabet. Jan McPherson ; illustrations by Bruce Potter. Auckland, N.Z. : Wendy Pye Pub., 2001.
Seeing in special ways : children living with blindness. Thomas Bergman. Gareth Stevens Children's Books, 1989.
The world at her fingertips : the story of Helen Keller. Joan Dash. New York : Scholastic Press, 2001. (235 p.)
When it's hard to see. Judith Condon. New York ; London : Franklin Watts,1998. (30 p.) Introduces some people who are blind or vision impaired, and discusses their everyday lives and the equipment they use. Suggested level: primary.