Letters
RSSA publisher and a reviewer trade opinions on effective Braille in picture books
By Staff -- School Library Journal, 11/01/2006
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Also in this article: Our Reviewer Replies  Loved the Mazza Institute  |
Guess How Much I Disagree with You
I would like to offer the following clarification and comments concerning recent reviews of Sam McBratney's Guess How Much I Love You and Peter H. Reynolds's The Dot (July 2006, p. 83 and p. 86). The glossaries in our books are printed and not embossed so that sighted people can tell how each Braille cell is formed. For example, the letter “a” consists of a single dot in the top left corner of the cell. If the glossary were embossed and not printed, there would be no spatial context, and it would be impossible to determine if it was the top left or the top right position that was used.
Ms. Rawlins questioned our decision to publish The Dot, a book about a girl whose creativity blossoms when she discovers she loves to paint. Every school for the blind and visually impaired that I have encountered prominently features a visual arts program that serves both children who are totally blind and those with low vision. Many Braille readers do have some vision, and all children live in a sighted world and need to learn about colors. The book is fundamentally about creativity, growth, and inspiration—not visual images.
Ms. Rawlins suggested that the height of the Braille was compromised by the board-book construction. In fact, our sturdier pages hold the Braille embossing more securely and help protect it. The Braille in books with thin pages is often and easily flattened, and the overwhelming majority of feedback we have received is that our books present a vast improvement in this area.
I was also surprised that Ms. Rawlins didn't mention how BrailleInk.'s format is much easier for print and Braille readers to share than books that have been available in the past. We reproduce the original print and illustration at the top of the page, and place the Braille at the bottom. The corresponding print characters also appear directly above each Braille cell. Thus, Braille readers' hands don't cover what sighted people sharing the books are trying to see, and it is easy to tell what the Braille says. Both of these features are new and unique to our books.—Bruce Curtis, executive director, BrailleInk., Austin, TX
Our Reviewer Replies
I agree that BrailleInk.'s books are uniquely designed for a sighted and blind child to read together. I probably should have mentioned the fact that the print and Braille aren't right on top of each other so it can be read easier. Yes, the pages are much sturdier, but the Braille reader I gave The Dot to told me that the cells were flattened in some areas, making it hard to read. It might just have been that particular book, but it was apparent to the reader.
I never meant to imply that The Dot shouldn't have been published in Braille for blind children to read. I love the book! I wholeheartedly support the idea of using art to teach blind children, and we do it here at the library. I agree that the book is about the idea of encouraging creativity but I still think that the visual illustrations need to be brailled as well. This is a picture book with beautiful illustrations, so the reader should still be able to get an idea of what they convey.
I didn't think I was as critical of the book as the publisher seems to think. I'm glad to see that BrailleInk. is publishing these books in this improved format, and I hope that they do more of them. There are a lot of parents who will benefit from being able to read these books with their child. I think that the publisher needs to remember, though, that there are a lot of blind readers who have been blind from birth and who don't know a lot of the concepts that we take for granted, like colors. So, the illustrations in Braille books should be brailled, too. A lot of the content of a picture book is found in the illustrations, so blind readers need all the cues they can get to understand the book.—Sharon Rawlins New Jersey Library for the Blind & Handicapped Trenton, NJ
In response to a full-page ad in a recent SLJ, I went to the Web site for the Mazza Summer Institute held at the University of Findlay, OH. I applied for a tuition scholarship, got it, enlisted a colleague to go along, and spent one of the most fabulous weeks a children's book enthusiast could dream of! Twelve in-depth children's book illustrators' presentations, a gallery of original art of just about every children's book illustrator you could think of, an arsenal of dedicated volunteers who did everything from running the gift shop to giving docent talks in the gallery to taking us to local restaurants, meeting other enthusiasts from all over the country, winning wonderful door prizes, and seeing beautiful Ohio made this one of the best working vacations I've ever had. I hope others interested in children's book art will visit www.mazzamuseum.org and take advantage of this wonderful summer resource.—Cathy Bonnell, teacher/librarian, Ocotillo Elementary School Library, Phoenix, AZ
