By: Estefania Ospina,
on 10/17/2016
Henry Green is renowned for being a “writer’s-writer’s writer” and a “neglected” author. The two, it would seem, go hand in hand, but neither are quite true. This list of reasons to read Henry Green sets out to loosen the inscrutability of the man and his work.
The post You have to read Henry Green appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Shelf-employed,
on 1/23/2015
In preparation for an upcoming 4-week club for kids that I'll be hosting, I created a book trailer for A Dog Called Homeless, winner of the 2013 Middle Grade Schneider Family Book Award, The Schneider Family Book Awards "honor an author or illustrator for the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences."
A Dog Called Homeless is written by Sarah Lean and published by Harper Collins. I hope you enjoy it.
By: Shelf-employed,
on 9/8/2014
One day, a flyer arrived in the mail,
advertising a contest for blind artists.
George remembered the priest, who told him,
"You should paint what you see."
George started to paint,And so began the painting career of George Mendoza.
just like the priest told him to do.
Today, I was given two beautiful and thoughtful gifts from two beautiful, thoughtful and very special folks. And both were complete surprises. One was a particularly pretty pineapple from Marshall, Michigan. Why is this special to me? Many, many reasons. 1. My friend is FANTABULOUS. She knows me – and knows that this gift was […]
By: Claudette Young,
on 2/14/2012
When I was five years old, I got to spend part of my summer with my grandparents on their farm. I loved being on the farm. There were always so many things to see and learn. Besides, I got to do things there that I didn’t get to do at home.
I suppose I made as much of a nuisance of myself as most little kids do, constantly asking: why? whatcha doin’? how does that happen? can I help next time? See, not much different. I was a questioner even then.
That was the summer that took my life out of focus for much of my life. That was the summer that I nearly lost an eye, and when I learned just how much of a hero my grandpa could be.
I followed grandpa around like any pet. That day–I can’t remember whether it was early morning or late afternoon—I went to the barn, which was at least a football field length away from the house, to watch Grandpa milk the cows. He was in a stall with a cow when I got there, and the stall gate was closed and secured.
I climbed the gate to release the wire latch. Hanging there, one arm over the top, feet braced on a cross board below; I discovered what “impaled” meant. I didn’t know the word, but I’d learned the definition.
A rusty wire, hanging loose, ran into my left eye socket and around the eyeball itself to stop short in that position. I screamed, in pain and terror.
I didn’t dare move. Instinctively, I knew no remain as still as possible.
Grandpa jumped up to see what had happened. He knew I was at the stall gate, but hadn’t seen what happened.
When he began to open the gate, I screamed for him not to. The jostling wasn’t good for me. It took him a moment to realize what had happened. My saving grace was that he didn’t panic.
Instead, he climbed over the other open stall wall, found a pair of wire cutters and clipped the wire from the gate that I clung to with limpid quality strength. He coaxed me down into his arms and told me to hang on to him. That’s when he began running back to the house.
During his run, one of the smoothest trips I’ll ever remember, he gently worked that wire from around my eye; no small feat, if you ask me.
You have to understand that this was back during the early 50’s. Getting an ambulance out to the hinterlands was nigh on to impossible. Grandpa drove me to the nearest hospital. One of my aunts laid me across her lap in the front seat of Grandpa’s old coupe and kept a cold washcloth over my eyes.
Tears? You betcha, there were tears. Fear and pain made sure of that. All I wanted was my folks and I just knew that I’d never see them again. And I meant that in several ways.
I can still envision that hospital exam room. It was kept dark. The only light I recall came from the reflector band on the doctor’s forehead. There could have been others, but that was the one I remember. Grandpa and my aunt were there with me.
There is a gap at that point in the memory. How Grandpa got hold of my parents, I still don’t know. We had no telephone back then.
But, as if my magic, my folks found me in that hospital room hours later. I was an emotional wreck by then.
My eyes had been covered to protect them from infection and the light. The left eye had been lavaged several times to keep infection down. I’d been given a tetanus shot. They were able to take me home.
What we learned was that my vision was so poor before the accident that the doctors had trouble unders
By: Nicola,
on 12/8/2011
Well, yes, sort of. Dogs see colors, but their span of color vision closely resembles the array of colors seen by “color blind” males.
About 8%, or 1 out of 12 males (humans) and about 1 out of 200 females are “color blind.” We use that term to describe individuals that are color deficient, but they are not truly color blind. The eye has cells that perceive color and these are called cone photoreceptors or “cones.” We use another set of photoreceptors called “rods” for the black and white vision of dim light or nighttime. Our cones contain three visual pigments each of which responds to a different spectrum of wavelengths of light. It is these three visual pigments that combine their signals to permit us to have color vision by blending the signals, depending on the wavelengths received. Although it is an over-simplification, and misleading to some extent, we can describe our visual pigments as blue, green, and red. The brain receives the input from these three channels and then interprets the color we see. At least two different color channels are needed for color vision because the brain needs to “compare” these two different channels to determine color.
Color blindness in humans is caused by the genetic deficiency or loss of either the green or the red photopigment hence that input into the brain. So, the brain learns to see only those colors that can be interpreted or constructed by combining the input from the other two remaining visual pigments. The result is a less robust spectrum of colors, but colors are still seen. True color blindness in humans does exist when two of the three visual pigments are genetically unavailable, but it is exceedingly rare. If only one visual pigment channel is coming to the brain, say the blue cone input, it isn’t seen as blue but rather as on or off—hence that is “real” color blindness and would be a black and white world.
So, almost all color blindness in humans is not true color blindness but would be better described as color deficiency.
Now, let’s go back to your dog. Normal dogs have two different visual pigments in their cones, and much like humans afflicted with so-called “color blindness.” But they would see color. The color input would be weaker to some extent because dogs have fewer cones than we do because they are evolutionarily closer to their nocturnal ancestors. Cones are needed less, if at all, at night.
So, what about the other pets in the household? Your cat will have a similar color distribution as your dog although there are some subtle differences.
Birds, on the other hand, possess rich color vision, in many cases better than our own. Most birds have four cone visual pigments, although this varies. In general, birds have an additional ultraviolet pigment in their cones and many more cones than we have. Furthermore the visual pigments that would be similar to ours span different wavelengths. Their visual experience is richer than our own in ways impossible to describe or understand. Not o
By: shelf-employed,
on 8/11/2011
Kings aplenty, princes few,For ages 10 and up, readers of Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes can expect some violence and even death (no quest is without danger!), but Peter and his allies are up to the challenge, and when they falter, they are reminded,
The ravens scattered and seas withdrew.
Only a stranger may bring relief,
But darkness will reign, unless he's --
There are times when Justice demands from us more than we would give.A satisfying and captivating debut novel that certainly leaves open the possibility of future adventures. (Read more about that in this BookPage interview with author, Jonathan Auxier.) A treat for fans of action, adventure, magic and fantasy!
By: Beckyb,
on 12/5/2010
I think the very first conference we went to for our daughter was one put on by the Braille School here in Iowa. And what I kept hearing over and over was about a book - Crashing Through - I am not kidding - MANY people kept telling me to read it. SO that is just what I went and did. What an inspiring story - it is the true story of Michael May. He became blind at the age of 3 from a chemical reaction and spent the rest of his life NOT letting his blindness stop him. He truly faced his blindness and did not let it get in the way of life - in fact, he was even a champion downhill skier - he truly amazed me at how he tackled life. But the crux of the book comes when Michael is faced with a decision - there is a doctor that feels he can possibly restore May's sight with stem cells and surgery - and here is where the story got very challenging. In my mind, I am thinking - well, of course I 'd have the surgery - even in light of the risks - but May has learned how to live a very full life because of his blindness and you really wonder if he is going to go through with the surgery or not. It is a great read - it challenges me as a mom of a little girl that is nearly legally blind - but it will challenge all of us as well - what really is important in our life??
By: Tasha Saecker,
on 7/28/2010
Blindsided by Priscilla Cummings
Natalie has been losing her sight since she was eight. She is still able to see in a tunneled form, but then receives the news that she will lose her sight completely in a short period of time. Natalie is sent to a school for the blind to learn the skills she will need to have when she is blind. She is taught Braille and how to walk with a cane. But she doesn’t consider herself in the same situation as the other teens at the school. They are blind and she is not. She does learn the skills, but inwardly refuses to accept the situation, hoping for a miracle to happen. Eventually her sight does leave completely and now Natalie has to choose between using the skills she learned and becoming independent or remaining scared and protected at home.
This book is a mix of positive and negative for me. Natalie was a fine character with intelligence, lots of doubts, and complex reactions to her situation. She was well drawn and interesting. The information on the school for the blind and her skills were also interesting, though they could have been woven more into the story itself so that they read more effortlessly.
Unfortunately, the book suffered from heavy-handed writing that was often didactic in tone. There was a sense that the author had a lot to say about overcoming obstacles and disabilities. Her need to inform others intruded on the story itself, which would have been much stronger without the tone. Additionally, there were often moments when Natalie grew to new understanding which the author underlined and pointed out, lessening their impact instead of strengthening it as intended.
I must also quibble with the foreshadowing of the action-filled ending, which would have been surprising except that it was built into the story too clearly with events leading directly to it. Again, a more even-handed writing style would have raised it to another level.
Appropriate for ages 13-16.
Reviewed from copy received from Dutton.
Add a Comment.jpg?picon=380)
By: Just One More Book!!,
on 1/30/2007
Author: Jimmy Liao
Illustrator: Jimmy Liao
Published: 2006 Little Brown and Company
ISBN: 0316939927 Chapters.ca Amazon.com
Captivatingly colourful and creative illustrations combine with dreamy inner dialogue to carry us along on a journey of reflection, isolation, loss and hope. This book envelopes our whole family and sweeps us away.
Blog post mentioned: Alvina of Blue Rose Girls tells us about the aquisition of this book.
Tags:blindness, childrens book, Jimmy Liao, Sound of Colorsblindness, childrens book, Jimmy Liao, Sound of Colors
unmerited gifts. SOunds like a great reminder of Christ’s love.
I know many, many, awesome, amazing, and genuine people…but not all are pineapple-worthy! I love you.
Today, while I was at work, my sister stole my iPad and tested to see if it can survive a 40
foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation.
My apple ipad is now broken and she has 83 views. I
know this is completely off topic but I had to share it with someone!
It is so easy to lose the important things in the noise and flurry of activities around us. Thankfully, God’s light shines beautifully through broken and imperfect vessels.
Amen, Laura. Amen.
I love you, too!!!
Unmerited grace — exactly!