The National Federation of the Blind's Kernel Book series highlights the stories of blind men and women, and goes beyond sentimentality and misconceptions—to the very "kernel" of blindness.
When the first editor, Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, was asked why he chose the name Kernel Book, he said, "In the first place, I suppose it has to do with whim. I thought the title was catchy, so I used it. But there is something more. We wanted to go to the very heart of blindness, trying to show our readers what it's really like; and, for that matter, what it isn't like."
The text and audio of every Kernel Book is now available online. The books bear important messages about blindness delivered by witty authors who write about intriguing, yet everyday, situations.
Kernel Books Online
As the Twig Is Bent
- As the Twig Is Bent (Volume 3, Fall 1992)
- As the Twig Is Bent Audio
- Editor’s Introduction
- To Park or Not To Park
- What Lynden has To Hear
- How Different It Might Have Been
- How Different It Is
- Do You Want To Go To the Store, Ted?
- Partially Sighted, Really Blind
- Advice From a Seven-Year-Old
- A Matter of Attitude
- A Purchasing Alliance
- They Didn't Want Me To Go To School
- Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury
- Sight Unseen
- To Light a Candle with Mathematics
- Supremacy
- Complete As the Twig Is Bent (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
Beginnings and Blueprints
- Beginnings and Blueprints (Volume 11, Fall 1996)
- Beginnings and Blueprints Audio
- Editor's Introduction
- Beginnings and Blueprints
- The Leaky Roof, the Children, and the Future
- Hook, Line, and Golf Balls
- Reaching for the Stars
- The Metal Pole
- The Loving Congregation
- Ride Like the Wind
- Homework: This Mom's Perspective
- Possibilities
- Complete Beginnings and Blueprints (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
Beyond the Funny Tree
- Beyond the Funny Tree (Volume 29, Fall 2005)
- Beyond the Funny Tree Audio
The Car, the Sled, and the Butch Wax
- The Car, the Sled, and the Butch Wax (Volume 24, Summer 2003)
- The Car, the Sled, and the Butch Wax Audio
Celebrate
- Celebrate (Volume 28, Summer 2005)
- Celebrate Audio
- Editor's Introduction
- The Airplane, the Cobra, and the Lighthouse
- Riding on One Wheel
- Swabbing the Deck
- Flashing Rake and Blaring Radio
- Daddies and Bicycles
- Here's the Proof
- Out of the Mouths of Babes
- Another Wonder
- If You Don't Mind Me Asking, What Do You Want with a Telescope?
- Complete Celebrate (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
Freedom
- Freedom (Volume 30, Summer 2006)
- Freedom Audio
The Freedom Bell
- The Freedom Bell (Volume 2, Summer 1992)
- The Freedom Bell Audio
- Editor's Introduction
- Competing on Terms of Equality
- The Birthday Party
- The Freedom Bell
- Being Blind (My true story)
- I Was a Young Mother Being Stifled by Blindness
- My Journey Into Blindness
- On Emptying Wastebaskets
- A Woman On Horseback
- Is There Shame?
- I Want That
- Confessions of a Scholarship Winner
- Hamburgers and the Practice of Law
- Complete The Freedom Bell (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
Gray Pancakes and Gold Horses
- Gray Pancakes and Gold Horses (Volume 14, Summer 1998)
- Gray Pancakes and Gold Horses Audio
I Can Feel Blue on Monday
- I Can Feel Blue on Monday (Volume 19, Fall 2000)
- I Can Feel Blue on Monday Audio
Imagine
- Imagine (Volume 27, Fall 2004)
- Imagine Audio
- Editor's Introduction
- The Institute, the Queen, and the Reading Machine
- On the Road Again
- Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall
- Fright Night
- Letters From Dad
- If I Could Choose
- It's No Big Deal!
- A Silent Compliment
- Putting up the Christmas Tree
- I Was a Teenage Easter Bunny
- Complete Imagine (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
The Journey
- The Journey (Volume 5, Fall 1993)
- The Journey Audio
The Lessons of the Earth
- The Lessons of the Earth (Volume 26, Summer 2004)
- The Lessons of the Earth Audio
Like Cats and Dogs
- Like Cats and Dogs (Volume 12, Summer 1997)
- Like Cats and Dogs Audio
- Editor's Introduction
- The Smells and Sounds of Sixty Years
- The City and the Fear
- You Will Have To Make Other Arrangements
- A Wife's Story
- A New Sheriff In Town
- Dick And Jane...And Barbara
- The Other Side Of The Coin
- Delivering The Coffee
- On With The Show
- Complete Like Cats and Dogs (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
Making Hay
- Making Hay (Volume 4, Summer 1993)
- Making Hay Audio
- Editor’s Introduction
- Making Hay
- Thomas Pryor Gore: "The Blind Orator"
- Bringing Home The Christmas Tree
- Baby-Sitting
- Let That Blind Man Work On My Truck
- Blueprint For Learning
- Successful Equation: Skills + Confidence = Success
- I Remember
- Blindness and the Brooklyn Bridge
- Lisamaria: Focusing On Others
- On The Stigma Of Blindness
- Climb Every Mountain
- Complete Making Hay (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
Not Much of a Muchness
- Not Much of a Muchness (Volume 23, Fall 2002)
- Not Much of a Muchness Audio
- Editor's Introduction
- Notre Dame Embraces the Spirit of the Blind
- Not Much of a Muchness
- Music of the Heart
- A Merry-Go-Round Nobody Could Ride
- Focusing on the Picture
- An Unplanned Walk in the Blizzard
- Beyond Dishcloths
- Betrayed by Good Intentions
- I Cut the Grass, Too
- Complete Not Much of a Muchness (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
Oh, Wow!
- Oh, Wow! (Volume 18, Summer 2000)
- Oh, Wow! Audio
Old Dogs and New Tricks
- Old Dogs and New Tricks (Volume 10, Summer 1996)
- Old Dogs and New Tricks Audio
Reaching for the Top in the Land Down Under
- Reaching for the Top in the Land Down Under (Volume 20, Summer 2001)
- Reaching for the Top in the Land Down Under Audio
- Editor's Introduction
- Reaching for the Top in the Land Down Under
- Swimming Was Her Passion
- After-school Homework
- Do You Want to Run
- An Unremarkable New Year's Eve
- I'll Just Give You a Hand
- Where Do I Go from Here
- A 3,000-Pound Metallic Puzzle
- Complete Reaching for the Top in the Land Down Under (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
Reflecting the Flame
- Reflecting the Flame (Volume 17, Fall 1999)
- Reflecting the Flame Audio
Remember to Feed the Kittens
- Remember to Feed the Kittens (Volume 16, Summer 1999)
- Remember to Feed the Kittens Audio
- Editor's Introduction
- The Colonies, the Court, and the Kittens
- A Roof with a View
- It’s a Cat’s Life
- This Is the Way We Wash Our Clothes
- Of Mice and Refrigerators
- Cars, Teen-Agers, and Insurance
- A Hurried Exit
- But the Others Majored in Music
- Complete Remember To Feed the Kittens (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
Safari
- Safari (Volume 21, Fall 2001)
- Safari Audio
Standing on One Foot
- Standing on One Foot (Volume 6, Summer 1994)
- Standing on One Foot Audio
- Editor's Introduction
- Standing On One Foot
- Nights Of Walking
- You're Going For All Of Us
- My Experience As A Juror
- No More Hiding
- I Am Blind And A Genuine Horse Trader
- Where Is The Washroom?
- Shanthi's First American Year
- To Sea With A Blind Scientist
- Complete Standing on One Foot (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
Summit
- Summit (Volume 22, Summer 2002)
- Summit Audio
Tapping the Charcoal
- Tapping the Charcoal (Volume 9, Fall 1995)
- Tapping the Charcoal Audio
- Editor's Introduction
- Tapping the Charcoal
- Ladders, Mud Pies, and Milk Bottles
- Metal, Glue, and Plastic
- A Mother's Story
- Good Fortune, Hard Work, and the Klondike Derby
- Bangles, Baubles, and Beads
- Substituting for Success
- Three Letter Words: "How" or "Why Not?"
- Complete Tapping the Charcoal (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
To Reach for the Stars
- To Reach for the Stars (Volume 25, Fall 2003)
- To Reach for the Stars Audio
To Touch the Untouchable Dream
- To Touch the Untouchable Dream (Volume 15, Fall 1998)
- To Touch the Untouchable Dream Audio
Toothpaste and Railroad Tracks
- Toothpaste and Railroad Tracks (Volume 8, Summer 1995)
- Toothpaste and Railroad Tracks Audio
- Editor's Introduction
- Of Toothpaste and Shaving Cream
- Looking Back At Trains and Tracks
- The Axe and the Law Book
- Learning to Read
- Keeping the Rent Current
- Pioneering in the Courts
- We Don't Have North Here
- The Blind Beak of Bow Street
- Marsha's Test
- Complete Toothpaste and Railroad Tracks (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
Wall-to-Wall Thanksgiving
- Wall-to-Wall Thanksgiving (Volume 13, Fall 1997)
- Wall-to-Wall Thanksgiving Audio
- Editor's Introduction
- Please Don't Throw the Nickel
- Boy Was I Bamboozled
- Lessons from the Charcoal Pit
- Concerning Books, Lawn Mowers, and Bus Rides
- Children, Fruitcake, and Rectangles
- The Wall-to-Wall Thanksgiving
- Meeting the Challenge
- Daddy Read Me
- Walking the Balance Beam
- Big Enough to Ride the Bike
- Complete Wall-to-Wall Thanksgiving (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
What Color Is the Sun
- What Color Is the Sun (Volume 1, Fall 1991)
- What Color Is the Sun Audio
- Editor's Introduction
- Growing Up Blind in Tennessee during the Depression
- The Enchanted Kingdom: Reflections on the Talking Book
- I am a Blind Mother Fighting to Keep My Children from Corruption
- What Color is the Sun
- Let the Flag Speak
- Blind Faith
- Homemaking After I Became Blind
- Growing Up Blind
- One Small Step at a Time
- As Mean as My Mom
- A Blind Teacher on the Job
- Accentuate the Positive
- Back to Notre Dame
- I was Forty-Three...
- Complete What Color Is the Sun (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
When the Blizzard Blows
- When the Blizzard Blows (Volume 7, Fall 1994)
- When the Blizzard Blows Audio
- Editor's Introduction
- The Hook on the Doctor's Door
- When the Blizzard Blows
- From the Tricycle to the Cookie Jar
- Love at First Sight
- A Different View of the Grand Canyon
- School and the Chicken House
- Why Not Just Ask?
- No Cane Just Dog!
- The Verdict Is In
- Complete When the Blizzard Blows (Download Zipped MP3 Version)
Kernel Books in Print
Hard copy kernel books, in print, are available free of charge as long as supplies last. Please contact the NFB's Independence Market for more information.