ODDS AND ENDS

ODDS AND ENDS

Future Reflections Convention Issue 2014
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ODDS AND ENDS
DEVICE
US Currency Reader
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
To register, call: (888) 657-7323
For questions: call (844) 815-9388
In order to make US currency fully accessible to blind and visually impaired users, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has developed a portable, easy-to-use currency reader. The reader can announce the denomination of any bill minted in the United States. Starting in January 2015, the device will be distributed free of charge to any qualified person who wishes to receive one. On September 2, 2014, the National Library Service (NLS) began to accept pre-registrations for the program from NLS patrons and people who want to become NLS patrons.
MODELS
3D Printing
<http://librarylyna.com>
Contact: Kevin Yang, (480) 316-0382, [email protected]
The mission of Library Lyna is to host the largest collection of high-quality educational 3D models to foster the learning of blind and visually impaired students. Files can be downloaded from the website and printed at home or at school. Models can also be ordered from the company and tailored to the needs of the student.
TOYS
Toys“R”Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids
<http://toysrus.com/DifferentlyAbled>
Toys“R”Us® has released the twentieth anniversary edition of its Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids, an easy-to-use toy selection resource for those who know, love, and shop for children with special needs. The Guide is available in English and Spanish online and at Toys”R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores nationwide. This year Toys”R”Us is teaming up with baseball champion, father, and special needs advocate Albert Pujols, who serves as a vocal advocate for children with disabilities through the Pujols Family Foundation. The Guide is packed with playthings selected to help kids build creativity, fine and gross motor abilities, self-esteem, and more. Each toy in the Guide is paired with skill-building icons that help users identify the playthings most suitable for the child they are shopping for. Icons include auditory, creativity, fine motor, language, self-esteem, social skills, tactile, thinking, and visual. Toys“R”Us, Inc., has long supported the special needs community through a variety of organizations, including the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC).
Hungry Fingers Tactile Puzzle Set
National Braille Press
<www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/HUNGRY.html>
88 St. Stephen St.
Boston, MA 02115-4302
(800) 548-7323 or (617) 266-6160, Extension 520
Created by Hungry Fingers, a company based in Poland, this tactile storybook and accompanying wooden puzzle teach blind children to construct an image progressively. As the story unfolds, a character emerges, one body piece at a time, giving the child a chance to follow the sequence until the whole "mystery character" is formed. The book does not have a title. That's because the child is unaware of what is being formed until the very end of the story. Only then is the child asked to give the teddy bear a name--which then becomes the new title of the book. The child feels that she or he has a hand in bringing the bear to life! The tactile drawings in the book match the sturdy wooden puzzle pieces, encouraging kids to make the connection between the drawing and the real puzzle piece. The Hungry Fingers Puzzle Set includes a print/Braille tactile book, an eight-piece puzzle, and a magnetic board to build upon.
BRAILLE
The UEB Reader
Braille Authority of North America (BANA)
<www.bana.org>
Contact: Kim Charlson, (617) 972-7248
[email protected] or [email protected]
BANA is pleased to make available The UEB Reader, a resource designed to introduce Braille readers and transcribers to Unified English Braille (UEB). This introductory hardcopy Braille book incorporates into one document several key resources found on the BANA website. The book is available free of charge upon request. It includes an overview of changes from current literary Braille to UEB and several sample documents transcribed into UEB for readers to use as practice.
ACTIVITY GUIDE
Enhancing and Practicing Executive Function Skills with Children from Infancy to Adolescence
<http://developingchild.harvard.edu>
Executive function and self-regulation (F-SR) skills provide critical supports for learning and development. While we aren't born with these skills, we are born with the potential to develop them through interactions and practice. This sixteen-page guide, available as a free download, describes a variety of activities and games that represent age-appropriate ways for adults to support various components of F-SR in children. Each chapter contains activities suitable for a different age group, from infants to teens.
BOOKS
Great Expectations Series
National Braille Press (NBP)
<www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/publications/index.html>
88 St. Stephen St.
Boston, MA 02115
(800) 548-7323 or (617) 266-6160
Celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of its acclaimed Children's Braille Book Club, National Braille Press introduces Great Expectations, a program to enhance the power of reading for blind and visually impaired children. The program brings popular picture books to life through a multi-sensory approach that includes songs, tactile play, picture descriptions, body movement, and engaged listening. Parents will learn how to describe the pictures in a book, how to explore a book's visual concepts, and how to play and have fun telling "the whole story." Children will learn to listen to words, and to understand feelings, actions, plot, and character. The first book in the series is Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin.
Special Day Cooking
by Beverly Worth Palomba
Special Day Publishing, San Francisco, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9897082-0-3
Designed to be used by parents and teachers with children who are learning to cook, this book includes basic tips on safety in the kitchen; information about daily nutrition; and clear, step-by-step cooking instructions. The recipes take the child through the day, beginning with breakfast and winding up with desserts.
The Great Katie Kate Tackles Questions about Cancer
by M. Maitland deLand, MD
Greenleaf Book Group, 2010
ISBN: 1-608-32027-8
Few books for young children have taken on the topic of cancer. This picture book is written to help children who have been diagnosed with cancer through the story of Suzy and her magical friend, Katie Kate. With Katie Kate beside her, Suzy learns about tests and treatments, and she even vanquishes the Worry Wombat so that she can begin to ask questions about her illness. The Katie Kate series also includes The Great Katie Kate Discusses Diabetes, The Great Katie Kate Explains Epilepsy, and The Great Katie Kate Offers Answers about Asthma.

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