The World at His Fingertips: A Story about Louis Braille (Creative Minds Biography) [Hardcover]

Barbara O'Connor (Author), Rochelle Draper (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1997 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Creative Minds Biography

A biography of the nineteenth-century Frenchman, accidentally blinded as a child, who created the dot system of reading and writing that is now used by the blind throughout the world.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5. O'Connor's briskly paced biography of the 19th-century inventor of the writing system used by the blind presents Braille's story with interesting details. His life as a child and as an adult is well presented. No fictional dialogue appears, although there are a few statements about what emotions Braille might have felt at various times. Quotes are provided, apparently from writings, but no source notes are given. A Braille alphabet is pictured in the back matter, but the dots are not raised, so readers do not get a full sense of the Braille method. The reproduction is so poor that the details are difficult to see. The black-and-white drawings are serviceable at best and very muddy looking at worst. It's unfortunate that the cover illustration is so unappealing. Rendered in black, brown, and cream tones with deep shading around his face, Braille is ghoulish in appearance. However, the information is readable, moving the book beyond the realm of "for reports only."?Jane Claes, T. J. Lee Elementary School, Irving, TX
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Carolrhoda Books (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575050528
• ISBN-13: 978-1575050522
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,890,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Barbara O'Connor was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. She draws on her Southern roots to write award-winning books for children in grades 3 to 6. Her awards include the Parents Choice Gold and Silver Award, American Library Association Notable Books, and IRA Notable Books for a Global Society. Her books have been nominated for children's choice awards in over 20 states and voted as a state favorite by children in South Carolina, Indiana, Kansas, and South Dakota. When Barbara isn't busy writing, she travels to schools to conduct writing workshops with young students, works in her garden, walks with her dogs, and thinks up ways to avoid cooking.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Why is this not available as an audiobook?, February 9, 2008

By 

Maria Hidalgo "gerri hidalgo" (Guam, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World at His Fingertips: A Story about Louis Braille (Creative Minds Biography) (Hardcover)

Is it not ridiculous and ironical that a book about the great man who invented the braille system is not available as an audiobook that can be appreciated and can be inspiring by blind people all over the world?

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Biography About Louis Braille, December 14, 2004

By 

Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World at His Fingertips: A Story about Louis Braille (Creative Minds Biography) (Paperback)

In the year 1809, Louis Braille was born a seeing child to a loving family. However, by the time Louis was three-years-old, all that had changed. For in a freak accident, he lost the sight in both of his eyes. But being the smart young man that he was, Louis struggled to educate himself just as well as the seeing children his own age, and by the time he was thirteen-years-old had developed braille, an alphabet for blind people made up of raised dots that could be both written and read. This creation changed the lives of blind people the world over, and is still used in society today. Now you can read about the creation of braille, as well as the life story of Louis Braille.

I have always been fascinated with braille, so I was ecstatic when I saw Barbara O'Connor's short biography about Louis Braille, THE WORLD AT HIS FINGERTIPS. In 59 pages, I got a wonderful history lesson on the childhood of Louis Braille, his teens as he began working on a reading method for the blind, and his adulthood as he became a teacher at a school for blind students, and was stricken with TB. Overall, this was a lovely biography for middle readers, that will come in handy when a written report is needed for school.

Erika Sorocco

Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars extremely great book!!, March 4, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The World at His Fingertips: A Story about Louis Braille (Creative Minds Biography) (Hardcover)

In the year 1809, Louis Braille was born a seeing child to a loving family. However, by the time Louis was three-years old, all that had changed. For in a freak accident, he lost the sight in both of his eyes. But being the smart young man that he was, Louis struggled to educate himself just as well as the seeing children his own age, and by the time he was thirteen-years old had developed braille, an alphabet for blind people made up of raised dots that could be both written and read. This creation changed the lives of blind people the world over, and is still used in society today. Now you can read about the creation of braille, as well as the life story of Louis Braille.

I have always been fascinated with braille, so I was ecstatic when I saw Barbara O'Connor's short biography about Louis Braille, THE WORLD AT HIS FINGERTIPS. In 59 pages, I got a wonderful history lesson on the childhood of Louis Braille, his teens as he began working on a reading method for the blind, and his adulthood as he became a teacher at a school for blind students, and he was stricken with TB. Overall, this was a lovely biography for middle readers, I want you to read this book.