Braille Books Program
The Braille Books Program provides blind children a free Braille book every month from a popular children's reading series.
Since 1997, more than 330 titles from popular children's reading series have been distributed to thousands of blind children. Last year, the program provided more than 45,000 Braille books to blind children and classrooms across the country.
Through the Braille Books Program, blind children can discuss the newest book or magazine with their classmates and build their very own collection of books from popular children's reading series, just like their sighted friends.
The 2022 Book Selections Announced!
2022 Braille Books Program Press Release
Every year, we break new ground by offering fresh and interesting titles and series that are sometimes overlooked in the Braille community. Starting January 2022, we will begin distributing UEB Braille copies of the selected books series to those participating in the free Braille Books Program. The 2022 Braille Book Program will include the following:
- The Potts-Abilities Series, Morris Flip Sound Machine, by Liz Cooper
- I Survived Series, by Lauren Tarshis - 6 titles from her 21 title series
- History Smashers, by Kate Messner - 5 titles from her 7 title series
The Potts-Abilities Series, by Liz Cooper
Liz Cooper has a Masters Degree in Reading from Towson University. Before retiring, she was the reading supervisor for a public school system in Maryland. She lives in Southern Maryland with her husband and her very clever cat, Daisy.
In Liz's Potts-Abilities series of books you will find main characters that have differing disabilities but that doesn't stop them from living their lives with fun, adventure, and leadership.
In the last book of the series, Morris Flip Sound Machine, Morris is autistic and nonverbal, but he can make the most astonishing, realistic, and loud sound effects. He uses his unique ability to outwit a duke, foil a band of counterfeiters, and befuddle his school's principal.
I Survived Series, by Lauren Tarshis
Lauren Tarshis is an author of children's books, with several series of fiction, non-fiction and historical fiction works found in thousands of libraries and translated into several languages. Lauren lives in Connecticut with her husband and four children. She also writes for the Scholastic magazine Storyworks.
In her series I Survived, you will follow kids through tales of terrifying situations as lived and survived by them. This riveting historical fiction series chronicles some of the most famous battles, crashes, and hurricanes in modern history.
History Smashers, by Kate Messner
Before becoming a full-time writer, Kate was a TV news reporter as well as an educator who spent fifteen years teaching middle school English. She lives on Lake Champlain with her family and is trying to summit all 46 Adirondack High Peaks in between book deadlines.
Kate Messner is passionately curious and writes books that encourage kids to wonder, too. Kate’s titles are frequently selected for One School, One Book and One School/One Author programs and other community-wide reads.
Kate's non-fiction series, History Smashers, smashes you up against what you think is true about history and what is REALLY true!! Just when you thought you knew all there was to know about the American Revolution or the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Kate gives you facts you have never heard before, and in a way that is exciting and fun.
Don't miss these wonderful books for the upcoming 2022 season!!
How to Enroll
To enroll, each applicant must be blind or low vision, and be a Braille reader. Please fill out our Braille Books Program online application, or use the Word version of our application to mail, fax, or email to the address below:
American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Braille Books Program
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
Phone: 410-659-9315
Fax: 410-685-2340
Email: actionfund@actionfund.org
How to Unsubscribe
To unsubscribe from the Braille Books Program or change your current information, including address, email, or telephone number, please email actionfund@actionfund.org or communityrelations@actionfund.org. You may also call 410-659-9315.
History of the Program
In 1997, the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults started the Braille Books Program to provide blind children a free Braille book every month from a popular children's reading series. The books are for the children to keep and collect for as long as they want them. The titles published every month are the same titles that are available in bookstores and public libraries everywhere. Since 1997, the program has produced over 318 titles in Braille and given them away to more than 20,000 subscribers.
Testimonials
"As a blind parent of three children, two blind and one sighted, I am always looking for books in Braille to read aloud. I very much appreciate receiving books from the American Action Fund, and my children also look forward to helping me rip open the envelope to discover what book is inside. Recently, I read Rat and Roach, Friends to the End to my two youngest children, ages four and two. My seven-year-old also sat down to listen about halfway through the story, after he heard us laughing."
"This book was enjoyable for everyone. The descriptions of the pictures helped us follow the story. This book had a great story to tell about how two very different animals can be friends, and how their friendship can persist even after a fight. I love books which help teach important life lessons, and I am sure I will pull this book out again at some point in order to help my children through rocky friendship issues. I also very much enjoyed watching my two-year-old, who is blind, running her fingers over the Braille in this book after I had finished reading it. Of course she wasn't really reading the words, but it was great to be able to share a wonderful story with her, and my other two children, and then to have her be able to experience the Braille in the book after the story was done."
To send your own testimonial, email us at actionfund@actionfund.org or communityrelations@actionfund.org. You may also call 410-659-9315. If you would like to provide us with additional feedback about our program, please use this short questionnaire.