Fiction with Characters Who Are Blind

• Clements, Andrew. Things Not Seen. East Rutherford, N.J.: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 2002. 176pp. Hardcover, $15.99. Grades 5-9.

  
  Fifteen-year-old Bobby wakes up invisible one day. His parents don't deal with this development well, so Bobby sets off for the library to find his own solution. He meets Alicia, a blind girl who becomes his friend and partner in adventure, and who helps him find a way to deal with his dilemma.

• Creel, Ann H. Water at the Blue Earth. Boulder: Roberts Rinehart Publishers, 1998. 148pp. Paperback, $8.95. Grades 5-9.

  
  Wren Taylor, the daughter of an 1850s pioneer family in New Mexico territory, befriends Luther, a Ute boy who is blind. When war breaks out between the settlers and the Ute, Wren must decide where her loyalties lie.

• Denenberg, Barry. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan. Dear America Series. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2002. Hardcover, $10.95. Grades 4-9.

  
  In 1932, Bess is blinded in a sledding accident at the age of twelve. She becomes a student at Perkins School for the Blind, where she finds new friendship, independence, and self-confidence.

• Fraustino, Lisa Rowe. The Hickory Chair. Scranton: HarperCollins Publishers, 2001. 32pp. Hardcover, $15.95. Grades Pre-school-3.

  
  From the day he was born, Louis, who is blind, had a close relationship with his grandmother. When she dies, the powerful bond lives on in his memories of their times together. Near the end of his own life, Louis finds a special gift his grandmother left him, and the story comes full circle.

• Hermann, Spring. Seeing Lessons: The Story of Abigail Carter and America's First School for Blind People. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1998. 112pp. Hardcover, $15.95. Grades 4-7.

  
  Ten-year-old Abigail Carter's life changes forever when she and her sister go to Boston to be the first students at Perkins, the first school for the blind in America. She is determined to prove that people who are blind can live fulfilling, independent lives.

• Ingold, Jeanette. The Window. Orlando: Harcourt Trade Publishers, 2003. 208pp. Paperback, $6.95. Grades 6-9.

  
  Fifteen years old and blinded by the accident that killed her mother, Mandy has just moved to Texas to live with relatives she has never met. She explores the mystery of her family history and learns about her own strengths and resilience as she makes a new life for herself.

• Keats, Ezra Jack. Apt. 3. East Rutherford, N.J.: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 1999. 40pp. Paperback, $6.99. Grades Pre-school-3.

  
  Two brothers living in a dingy apartment building hear the mournful sound of a harmonica. Their search for the musician leads them to a new friend, a blind man who teaches them about life as well as music.

• Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie. Lumber Camp Library. Scranton: HarperCollins Children's Book Group, 2002. 96pp. Hardcover, $14.95. Grades 2-5.

  
  In this story set in the early 19th century, Ruby wants to be a teacher when she grows up. But when her father is killed in a logging accident, she must quit school to help her mother care for her ten siblings. She is befriended by an older blind woman who shares her large collection of books. When Ruby begins teaching the lumberjacks to read, she realizes that she can still pursue her dream of being a teacher.

• Lang, Glenna. Looking Out for Sarah. Watertown, Mass.: Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc., 2001. 32pp. Hardcover, $15.95 Grades Pre-school-3.

  
  A charmingly illustrated picture book depicting the daily life of Sarah, who is blind, and her guide dog Perry. The tale is told from Perry's perspective, who accompanied Sarah on a walk from Boston to New York. The walk was intended to bring public attention to guide dogs and their role in enhancing the independence of people who are blind.

• Martin, Bill Jr. Knots on a Counting Rope. New York: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, 1993. 32pp. Paperback, $19.95. Grades Pre-school-3.

  
  A campfire conversation between a young blind Navajo boy and his beloved grandfather. The grandfather retells the story of the night the boy was born, and together they recall the race the boy participated in with his horse. Although he doesn't win, his grandfather tells him that he has "raced darkness and won."

• Moore, Peter. Blind Sighted. East Rutherford, N.J.: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 2002. 272pp. Hardcover, $16.99. Grades 7-12.

  
  Fifteen-year-old Kirk is a poet and a loner with an unstable mother. When he's demoted from the honor class to a remedial class, he finds some kindred souls and new friends among the misfits. His after-school job reading for a blind woman gives him a new perspective on life and friendship. Note: this story includes a sexual relationship.

• Rau, Dana Meachen. The Secret Code. Danbury, Conn.: Scholastic Library Publishing, 1998. 32pp. Paperback, $4.95. Grades K-2. NLS: BR012369

  
  Oscar, who is blind, shows his classmates how to read braille. Illustrations of braille letters are included so readers can learn the letters and read what Oscar writes.

• Rodriguez, Bobbie. Sarah's Sleepover. New York: Viking Children's Books, 2000. 32pp. Hardcover, $15.99. Grades K-4.

  
  A group of five little girls is enjoying a sleepover at Sarah's house. The lights go off unexpectedly while her parents are visiting their neighbors, and everybody except for Sarah panics. Because of her familiarity with the dark, she calms their fears, identifies scary noises, and leads them through the house to the telephone.

• Ryden, Hope. Wild Horse Summer. Boston: Clarion Books, 1997. 160pp. Paperback, $4.50. Grades 4-6.

  
  Alison, a twelve-year-old from Chicago, is nervous about spending the summer on a ranch in Wyoming. She learns to ride, and her cousin Kelly, who is blind, helps her to overcome her fears and anxieties.

• Sappey, Maureen S. Dreams of Ships, Dreams of Julia: At Sea with the Monitor and the Merrimack—Virginia, 1862. Young American Series, v.2. Shippensburg, Penn.: White Mane Publishing, 1998. 140pp. Hardcover, $5.99. Grades 5-8.

  
  During the Civil War, engineering student James Hamilton leaves Harvard for the opportunity to help create the ironclad Monitor. While in battle on the ship, he is blinded. The author strives for great historical accuracy and detail.

Resources assembled by the Samuel P. Hayes Research Library at Perkins School for the Blind. We invite you to contact the Samuel P. Hayes Research Librarian at 617-972-7250 or HayesLibrary@Perkins.org with any specific questions or requests.