Louis Braille: The Boy Who Invented Books for the Blind

Title: Louis Braille: The Boy Who Invented Books for the Blind
Author: Margaret Davidson
Major Themes: Blindness, Louis Braille, Biography, France
Synopsis: A story for young children about the blind man who invented books for the blind.

Louis Braille is a short, simple, though in-depth book written for young children about Louis Braille. When young Louis was only three years old, he disobeyed his father and used a sharp awl. It slipped and hit his eye, and soon both eyes were infected. Several years later, he had the opportunity to go to a school for the blind in Paris, and was excited to finally be able to learn to read. What a disappointment to find that the only books available for him were a very few with raised letters, which were hard to make out.

When he was 12 years old, Louis began inventing his own system for reading and writing. It was quite simple, and he could read and write as fast as a sighted person—but no one was interested in helping to promote this system or print books for the blind! Louis Braille spent the rest of his life trying to gain acceptance for his system, but it was not till after his death that it caught on.

No warnings!