Seedlings: Braille Books for Children

Seedlings: Braille Books for Children

Future Reflections Winter 1986, Vol. 5 No. 1
(back) (contents) (next)
SEEDLINGS
Braille Books for Children
(Editor's Note: There are several
organizations that make Braille books
for children available for purchase or
loan. However, the books offered by
SEEDLINGS are some different than those
offered by others and therefore, I believe,
helps fill some unmet needs. The
following information is taken from
portions of a SEEDLINGS informational
flyer and a letter from the Director,
Debra J. Bonde.)
Announcing a new non-profit organization
dedicated to producing affordable,
high-quality Braille books for children!!
The "seeds" for SEEDLINGS were:
A LOVE OF THE WRITTEN WORD: Reading
is so very important. It is through
good literature that we can learn who we
are, what we feel, and how to express our feelings. Listening to a tape could
never replace holding our very own book
in our hands, reading and re-reading it
ourselves.
A LOVE OF BRAILLE: Braille is also
very important. For many blind people,
it is the only possible pathway to true
literacy, as it is both an excellent
reading system, and also an inexpensive,
rapid and efficient writing system. By
offering stimulating Braille books such
as ours, the use of Braille can be
promoted.
A LOVE OF CHILDREN: Most sighted
children own scores of books, some of
which they have read seemingly hundreds
of times. AU_ children should have
the chance to develop this love for
books. Through good children's literature,
a child can find heroes and heroines
who will become his or her role
models and motivators--which has been
shown to have a direct effect on a
child's self-image and achievements.
A CONCERN FOR PEACE, JUSTICE,
MINORITY AND HANDICAP ISSUES: SEEDLINGS
offers such books as The Best
Christmas Pageant Ever, Sadako and
the Thousand Paper Cranes, Harriet
Tubman--The Road to Freedom, and Chief
Joseph--Leader of Destiny. It is an
excellent resource for thought-provoking
books about current issues.
THE SKILLS OF BRAILLE TRANSCRIPTION
AND OF COMPUTER OPERATION: The
director was certified as a Braille
transcriber by the Library of Congress
in 1979. During the summer of 1983, she
began transcribing Braille using her
Apple He computer, and was anxious to
put this new technology into service for
the visually impaired. Each of SEEDLINGS'
books is printed out on heavy
Braille paper (no thermoform!) using a
Kentucky Modified Perkins Braillewriter,
and is spiral bound.
SEEDLINGS is a young and growing nonprofit
organization. As we grow, we
will add more and more books to our
catalog, giving you an ever improving
resource. You can help us to grow by
sending in your orders, donations, suggestions,
and the names of your friends,
associates, or clients who might like to
receive our catalogue. Please write us
at: Seedlings, Braille Books for
Children, 8447 Marygrove, Detroit, MI.
48221, or call (313) 863-7828.
Dear Mrs. Cheadle,
We have really tried to respond to
people's needs and suggestions during
our short history. The synopsis that is
included on each book was the result of
a librarian's comment about not being
able to tell a student if she had anything
availabe that would interest them,
since she couldn't always tell just from
the title what a book was about.
The books with interlining were the
result of comments by several parents
and teachers about the print/Braille
books that are avaliable from other
sources. Parents who don't know Braille
had a hard time figuring out where to
place their child's hands so he or she
could follow along.
Now we have had some requests for our
preschool books to be put into grade two
Braille. We've been in contact with
some teachers to find out what format
would be most helpful to the children.
We'll be working on these books soon...
Debra J. Bonde
(back) (contents) (next)