Synopses & Reviews
It is very hard for a sighted person to imagine what it is like to be blind. This groundbreaking, award-winning book endeavors to convey the experience of a person who can only see through his or her sense of touch, taste, smell or hearing.
Raised black line drawings on black paper, which can be deciphered by touch, complement a beautifully written text describing colors through imagery. Braille letters accompany the text so that the sighted reader can begin to imagine what it is like to use Braille to read. A full Braille alphabet at the end of the book can be used to learn more.
The Black Book of Colors has been published around the world and has been universally praised for its unique and innovative approach. A special edition of the book with Braille-punched parchment is available for the blind.
Review
"[S]imple, sensuous text...The objects described with embossed lines that force readers to encounter them tactilely rather than visually. The shock readers feel will give way to wonder as they lose themselves in sightlessness and imagine the richness....Fascinating, challenging and lovely." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Fascinating, beautifully designed, and possessing broad child appeal, this book belongs on the shelves of every school or public library committed to promoting disability awareness and accessibility. A feat for the fingers." School Library Journal
Review
"[A] most intriguing, very black book." Globe and Mail
Review
"[A] very appropriate 'educational resource' in the classroom...[and] a unique and innovative reading experience. Highly Recommended." CM Magazine
Synopsis
A New York Times Book Review choice as one of the 10 Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2008
It is very hard for a sighted person to imagine what it is like to be blind. This groundbreaking, award-winning book endeavors to convey the experience of a person who can only see through his or her sense of touch, taste, smell or hearing.
Raised black line drawings on black paper, which can be deciphered by touch, complement a beautifully written text describing colors through imagery. Braille letters accompany the text so that the sighted reader can begin to imagine what it is like to use Braille to read. A full Braille alphabet at the end of the book can be used to learn more.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
Synopsis
Living with the use of one's eyes can make imagining blindness difficult, but this innovative title invites readers to imagine living without sight through remarkable illustrations done with raised lines and descriptions of colors based on imagery. Braille letters accompany the illustrations and a full Braille alphabet offers sighted readers help reading along with their fingers. This extraordinary title gives young readers the ability to experience the world in a new way.
About the Author
Menena Cottin studied design and illustration at the Pratt Institute in New York where she began writing books. Her most recent titles are
Equilibrio and
La doble historia de un vaso de leche. She lives in Venezuela.
Rosana Faría has illustrated many highly regarded children's books, but illustrating a book made to be touched has been her greatest challenge. She lives in Caracas, Venezuela.