Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille

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About Out Of Darkness: The Story Of Louis Braille

Product Description FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. A biography of the 19th-century Frenchman who, having been blinded himself at the age of three, went on to develop a system of raised dots on paper that enabled blind people to read and write. Review "This brief biography of Louis Braille brings the central figure to life as vividly as only Freedman can". -- The Horn Book Magazine From School Library Journal Grade 3-6. An extremely well-written and informative book that tells about Braille's life and the development of his alphabet system for the blind. Freedman's gift for making his subjects both accessible and intriguing comes through wonderfully in this book. Readers learn not only about Braille and his struggle to communicate through the written word once he lost his sight, but also how long it took for his revolutionary innovation to become universally accepted. They also become aware of how isolated the blind were before his invention. Finely detailed pencil drawings and diagrams appear throughout the readable narrative. An entertaining and fascinating look at a remarkable man.?Melissa Hudak, North Suburban District Library, Roscoe, IL Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus Reviews This biography from Freedman (The Life and Death of Crazy Horse, 1996, etc.) tells the familiar, moving story of the determination of Louis Braille, who did ``more than anyone in history to bring blind people into the mainstream of life.'' Blinded at age three by a freak accident, Braille was sent to the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris at the age of ten. His first lessons were in ``embossing,'' where raised impressions were ``read'' by tracing their outlines with a finger. This slow, cumbersome process was sanctioned by the French government, but a retired artillery captain's speech on sonography--a military code based on dots and dashes punched into strips of cardboard--inspired Braille to develop his own system of dots based on the letters of the alphabet. Readers know the ending, but the somber story of this gifted, generous boy is a compelling one. Rigidly rendered black-and-white illustrations make the setting of the story real; useful diagrams of Braille's alphabet and the slate and stylus used to write are included. With warmth and care, Freedman deftly delineates a life. (index) (Biography. 10-13) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. From Booklist Gr. 4^-8. More than 170 years ago, a blind French boy at age 15 invented a system of raised dots on paper that allows the sightless to read and write. Without melodrama, Freedman tells the momentous story in quiet chapters in his best plain style, making the facts immediate and personal. At age 3, Louis Braille was blinded in an accident with a knife. From the age of 12, he worked doggedly, sometimes secretly through the night at a special school in Paris, punching dots on paper, trying to develop a simple code for the alphabet that the blind could read with their fingertips. Woven into the story is an awareness of how the blind child experiences the world, what he remembers. Tension mounts as he refuses to be discouraged by technical and bureaucratic setbacks, until eventually he proves his system to his school and finally to the world. The handsome book design is clear and open. A diagram explains how the Braille alphabet works, and Kate Kessler's full-page shaded pencil illustrations are part of the understated poignant drama. But what about documentation? Is the opening chapter partially fictionalized? No sources are given for the facts and quotes throughout the book, and there's no bibliography. Hazel Rochman About the Author Russell Freedman received the Newbery Medal for LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY. He is also the recipient of three Newbery Honors, a National Humanities Medal, the Sibert Medal, the Orbis Pictus Award, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and