Starred review from August 15, 2016
After an accident in 1819 left a young Louis Braille blind, he traveled to Paris at age 10 to study at the Royal School for the Blind, where he was disheartened to discover that the books available for children like him fell far short of his hopes: “Words as large as my hand! Sentences that took up half a page!... Even if I read a hundred books like this, how much could I learn?” Kulikov (W Is for Webster) makes striking use of chalky blue lines against black backdrops to create ghostly images of the world Braille could no longer see, suggesting a landscape re-created in his mind’s eye. Bryant’s (The Right Word) sensitive first-person narration draws readers intimately close to Braille’s experiences, and an author’s note and q&a add further depth to a stirring portrait of innovation and determination. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group.
July 1, 2016
Bryant follows an earlier biography for middle graders with this story, narrated by Louis, imagining life events from birth to age 15. An accident in his father's workshop damages Louis' eye, and an ensuing infection that spreads to the other completely blinds him by age 5. "I sat by the window, training my ears to do what my eyes could not." Braille's family helps him adapt, crafting a wooden cane and tactile alphabet letters. "With Maman, I played dominoes, counting the dots with my fingertips." Louis attends school, "listening and memorizing," strongly motivated to read and write "on [his] own, like everyone else." Louis, just 10, persuades his family to send him to the Royal School for the Blind in Paris after a local noblewoman secures his place. Louis endures harsh conditions there, eager to read the library's promised special books. Their discovery proves disappointing. With sentences covering a half-page, whole books contain precious little. When a French army code is introduced to the students, its punched paper symbols are too complex for most. Louis both masters the code and alters it-- brilliantly, at age 15--after years of painstaking work. Kulikov's engrossing mixed-media illustrations interpose soft pastels with spreads of chalky blue line on ink-black pages, dramatically conveying Louis' isolation and single-minded intensity. An inspiring look at a child inventor whose drive and intelligence changed the world--for the blind and sighted alike. (Braille alphabet, French pronunciation guide, author's note, Q-and-A, print and web resources) (Picture book. 6-9)
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Starred review from September 1, 2016
Gr 1-4-This picture book biography of Louis Braille (1809-59) strikes a perfect balance between the seriousness of Braille's life and the exuberance he projected out into the world. The text highlights Braille's determination to pursue an education. Readers will learn how he attended the Royal School in Paris and was frustrated by the lack of books for the blind, an obstacle that set him off on a long quest to invent an accessible reading system. Braille ultimately found success by simplifying a military coding technique that had earlier been introduced but was far too complex. The focus on Braille as one of the world's great inventors is apt, and by taking a close look at his childhood, his family, and his experiences as a young person, Bryant makes Braille's story even more powerful. She writes from his perspective, which brings a level of intimacy sure to resonate with readers. Kulikov's mixed-media artwork mirrors and magnifies the text, keeping the spotlight solidly on young Braille and his world as he moves through it. VERDICT An engaging and moving account of an inventor, a solid addition for elementary collections.-Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA
Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
June 1, 2016
Grades 1-3 As a child, young Louis Braille surprised everyone in his French village with his curiosity and energy. Sadly, an accident with an awl blinded him first in one eye and then, when infection spread, in the other. Though Louis learned to navigate daily life, he missed the knowledge gained through reading, and applied to the Royal School for the Blind, where books with raised letters provided a slow and unsatisfying alternative. But when introduced to a French military code written in patterns of dots, Louis wondered if it could be expanded into an actual language. This picture book is fairly text heavy, and it could have benefited from the inclusion of actual Braille in addition to the diagram of the Braille alphabet on the endpapers. Still, Kulikov's illustrations beautifully capture Louis' cleverness and tactile nature. Particularly effective are spreads where Louis focuses on his hearing: line drawings laid over a black background represent the sounds he hears. An interesting exploration of the life of a little-discussed inventor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2017
This first-person picture-book biography imagines (sometimes more successfully than others) what it felt like to be young Louis Braille, beginning with the accident at age three that slowly blinded him and ending with his invention, at fifteen, of the ingenious six-cell raised-dot reading and writing system for the blind. Louis's compelling story is told in a lively and intimate text, abetted by warm mixed-media illustrations.
(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
November 1, 2016
Bryant and Kulikov present the childhood of Louis Braille, from his 1809 birth to his invention, at fifteen, of his ingenious six-cell raised-dot system of reading and writing for the blind. Louis's story, much embellished here (in an author's note, Bryant says the book is her attempt to answer the question What did it FEEL like to be Louis Braille? ), is dramatic and compelling. Blinded in an accident with one of his leatherworker father's tools when very young, he learned to get around his French village independently; went to school; and eventually moved to Paris to attend the Royal Institute for Blind Youth (correctly named in the excellent back matter, though not in the main text), where after years of toil he converted a clumsy military code of raised dots into the elegant, user-friendly system still used today. Bryant's portrayal captures Louis's intelligence, determination, and tenacious desire for access to the written word. The first-person text, sprinkled with French words and phrases, is lively and intimate, abetted by Kulikov's warm mixed-media illustrations. Kulikov often places Louis in a window, a potent symbol of the windows Braille himself opened for blind people. However, his choice to portray Louis with his eyes closed (whereas according to biographers Braille kept his eyes open) distances Louis from the reader somewhat. And Bryant's implication that after Louis lost his sight (gradually, and before the age of five, and amongst a close-knit, loving family), he felt isolated and alone in the dark is a step too far in projecting a sighted adult's experience onto that of a blind preschooler. On the whole, though, this is a welcome addition to the available literature. As Bryant states, The name Braille deserves to be on everyone's list of great inventors, and this book ably demonstrates why. martha v. parravano
(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)