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any book recommendations with blind people that are NOT piano tuners. (self.Blind)
submitted by complex-blobfish
so my niece (also blind) is 11, she loves to read. she wants to read more books about blind people, but the only ones i have are for older people. she has found a few, but says she doesn't like that every blind person is always a piano tuner or a "daredevil" type person. she prefers semi realistic type books and says the sighted writers make blind people look pathetic.
i do not want to have to explain to her that in the past, piano tuning was what almost all blind people who managed to escape the institutions had to do. or any of the other discriminatory aspects of blind history quite yet. she is so confident about her sight, i cant tell her.
so has anyone else read any books containing blind people (who are not piano tuners or superheros), that are suitable for a 11 year old. if the writer is blind, even better.
i do not want to have to explain to her that in the past, piano tuning was what almost all blind people who managed to escape the institutions had to do. or any of the other discriminatory aspects of blind history quite yet. she is so confident about her sight, i cant tell her.
so has anyone else read any books containing blind people (who are not piano tuners or superheros), that are suitable for a 11 year old. if the writer is blind, even better.
Puzzled_Teaching_197 5 points 1y ago
A Blind Guide to Stinkville by Beth Vrabel
How to Speak Dolphin by Ginny Rorby (not a main character)
The World Ends in April by Stacy McAnulty
Blindsided by Priscilla Cummings
Girl, Stolen by April Henry
How to Speak Dolphin by Ginny Rorby (not a main character)
The World Ends in April by Stacy McAnulty
Blindsided by Priscilla Cummings
Girl, Stolen by April Henry
complex-blobfish [OP] 1 points 1y ago
thank you. she is excited about these. i have already bought her one to start with.
Puzzled_Teaching_197 1 points 1y ago
You’re welcome!
[deleted] 3 points 1y ago
Why should an eleven year old not be able to deal with hearing about stigma? It's really important not to overprotect a blind child. I know so many who didn"t manage to enter the "real" world because they weren't prepared for not having the accomodations they were used to from school anymore. Early preparation makes the difference between a blind person who can confidently ask for accomodations and can have a real job and blind people who are crushed by reality not living up to their dreams. Source: I am one of the latter
complex-blobfish [OP] 2 points 1y ago
she knows quite a bit about blind history. it is just the bits where we were not defined as human that i am cautious of explaining.
telling an 11 year old they would have been tortured, sterilised and denied an education or family is a little heavy in my opinion. finding a way to explain it in truth and keep it appropriate is what i am struggling with. (she does have a mother, but i am her uncle and blind teacher if that makes sense, anything blindness, her mother wants no involvement, long story as to why.)
do you know of a way to explain it, that will not traumatise her?. i am not against the idea of telling her, just it needs to be done so that it doesn't make her feel lesser.
telling an 11 year old they would have been tortured, sterilised and denied an education or family is a little heavy in my opinion. finding a way to explain it in truth and keep it appropriate is what i am struggling with. (she does have a mother, but i am her uncle and blind teacher if that makes sense, anything blindness, her mother wants no involvement, long story as to why.)
do you know of a way to explain it, that will not traumatise her?. i am not against the idea of telling her, just it needs to be done so that it doesn't make her feel lesser.
PrincessDie123 1 points 1y ago
That was about the age where I learned about it because we were hitting on Asylums in school about that time, basically they tried to rush that segment saying “anyone who was deemed imperfect: physically, mentally, or emotionally was put in an asylum to keep them away from ‘polite’ society so much so that a large part of the population didn’t even know these disabilities existed hence why freakshows were such a fascinating thing for them.” The next few years get more detailed about the horrible conditions but for the young kids it’s mostly kept at ‘people sucked to anyone deemed different from themselves’
complex-blobfish [OP] 3 points 1y ago
i would want to explain all of it, i am not the kind of person to sugarcoat anything and i believe this has done my niece well so far. so when i tell her, which i have now decided i will be doing soon, she will be told everything.
i had a similar situation, but my curiosity led me to find the truth, and i lost trust in my teachers. i do not want my niece to feel like that as obviously she is a part of the same family as me and i am trying to balance out other influences if you get what i mean. her younger sister is in my full time care.
i had a similar situation, but my curiosity led me to find the truth, and i lost trust in my teachers. i do not want my niece to feel like that as obviously she is a part of the same family as me and i am trying to balance out other influences if you get what i mean. her younger sister is in my full time care.
PrincessDie123 1 points 1y ago
I also sought the truth on my own so I get what you’re saying, I’m glad it will be coming from someone who cares about her.
FinleysHuman 3 points 1y ago
There was an older gentleman in my hometown who tuned pianos and was blind. I have a visual impairment (not blindness, but still affects my daily life and I have a service dog and other adaptive tools) and I had no idea that piano tuning was ever a common profession for the visually impaired. TIL. Also, I know there is an older book called Follow My Leader about a young boy getting a guide dog. It’s from the 50s or 60s, so it may be a little dated, but she might enjoy reading an account if visual impairment in the US around that time.
complex-blobfish [OP] 1 points 1y ago
i think i will read that one first. but it is still going on my list.
it was more than a common profession. it was the only profession that blind people were allowed to do. if you were from a rich family that wanted to keep you, you had to be trained from birth to tune pianos, you were given no other education. if you were not from a rich family or if they didn't want to keep you. then you were sent to an institution, where you would be tortured and experimented on by scientists. and no education of any kind. unless someone came to buy you as an apprentice. then these apprentices were used as pity advertising, so people would want to come into the shop because the shopkeeper was so generous to have given a home to such a person. they were still beaten horribly though. they thought about this like going to a shelter to get a dog. because we were seen as not human or capable of living.
it was more than a common profession. it was the only profession that blind people were allowed to do. if you were from a rich family that wanted to keep you, you had to be trained from birth to tune pianos, you were given no other education. if you were not from a rich family or if they didn't want to keep you. then you were sent to an institution, where you would be tortured and experimented on by scientists. and no education of any kind. unless someone came to buy you as an apprentice. then these apprentices were used as pity advertising, so people would want to come into the shop because the shopkeeper was so generous to have given a home to such a person. they were still beaten horribly though. they thought about this like going to a shelter to get a dog. because we were seen as not human or capable of living.
QuentinJamesP89 2 points 1y ago
Now I'm curious what books you've found that are about blind people who are piano tuners. I've never come across any, but I'd be interested.
There's Follow My Leader, about a boy who loses his sight and gets a guide dog. It was a favorite of mine when I was young. There are also a number of good biographies, though maybe that's not what you're after. All the Light we Cannot See is okay, maybe too dark for an eleven year old, I don't know. I would have been okay reading it at that age.
There's Follow My Leader, about a boy who loses his sight and gets a guide dog. It was a favorite of mine when I was young. There are also a number of good biographies, though maybe that's not what you're after. All the Light we Cannot See is okay, maybe too dark for an eleven year old, I don't know. I would have been okay reading it at that age.
complex-blobfish [OP] 1 points 1y ago
i don't know exactly what kids ones she has been reading, but from my collection i have.
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter.
Love Is Blind by William Boyde
After Rain by William Trevor
Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos
26 Small Novels by Marit Tusvik
i do actually have a lot more, but these ones are the most well known titles.
and plenty more from TV shows and movies, like friday night dinner ect. i think one of the ones she read was called, The King's Music Room, i do not know the author though.
i have loads of really good representation books, but they start at ages 15 plus. i do not doubt that my niece would probably enjoy them, and she is mature enough to understand the themes, but i don't want her going to school talking about 15 plus books. as i know if they do the same with 15 plus games and movies it can lead to social services.
her younger sister, who lives with me, watches a tv show with a good blind character and the show has a book series, but my older niece has far outgrown this. there seems to be little representation for ages 10-15. at least from what i can find.
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter.
Love Is Blind by William Boyde
After Rain by William Trevor
Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos
26 Small Novels by Marit Tusvik
i do actually have a lot more, but these ones are the most well known titles.
and plenty more from TV shows and movies, like friday night dinner ect. i think one of the ones she read was called, The King's Music Room, i do not know the author though.
i have loads of really good representation books, but they start at ages 15 plus. i do not doubt that my niece would probably enjoy them, and she is mature enough to understand the themes, but i don't want her going to school talking about 15 plus books. as i know if they do the same with 15 plus games and movies it can lead to social services.
her younger sister, who lives with me, watches a tv show with a good blind character and the show has a book series, but my older niece has far outgrown this. there seems to be little representation for ages 10-15. at least from what i can find.
QuentinJamesP89 2 points 1y ago
Now I'm curious about the "loads of really good representation books" that you mentioned. Do you have a list? I know of only a few, but then again I don't read much popular fiction since most of it is terrible. I could only find a blind piano tuner in a few of those books you mentioned. The short story is great.
Also, I get where you're coming from, and the blind superhero/super powers trope is annoying, but it's kind of a shame people are so down on blind piano tuners. It was a great profession for a long time for visually impaired people and they could actually make a living at it during a time when there weren't many other good options. As a kid I actually wanted to be a piano tuner because I love pianos and everything about them, but then as I grew older and realized this was such a blind stereotype I felt awkward pursuing it. I could have probably made more money and saved myself many years of college and grad school if I had gone that instead. It's a shame how the desire for prestige and an aversion to fitting a stereotype can actually cause us to make dumb life choices and end up doing things we don't love as much.
Also, I get where you're coming from, and the blind superhero/super powers trope is annoying, but it's kind of a shame people are so down on blind piano tuners. It was a great profession for a long time for visually impaired people and they could actually make a living at it during a time when there weren't many other good options. As a kid I actually wanted to be a piano tuner because I love pianos and everything about them, but then as I grew older and realized this was such a blind stereotype I felt awkward pursuing it. I could have probably made more money and saved myself many years of college and grad school if I had gone that instead. It's a shame how the desire for prestige and an aversion to fitting a stereotype can actually cause us to make dumb life choices and end up doing things we don't love as much.
[deleted] 1 points 1y ago
[removed]
BIIANSU 2 points 1y ago
I slightly relevant, irrelevant story -
My friend hired a blind piano tuner. The guy incorrectly tuned every single key 😂
My friend felt so awkward that he didn't say anything. Just paid the guy in full and then drove him home.
My friend hired a blind piano tuner. The guy incorrectly tuned every single key 😂
My friend felt so awkward that he didn't say anything. Just paid the guy in full and then drove him home.
buckeyes4me 2 points 1y ago
There is a biography of a blind woman called “My path leads to Tibet”. It is really good.
CloudyBeep 3 points 1y ago
If the OP wants to avoid negative stereotypes of blindness, this would not be a good book. Although the blind German author is very successful, the blind Tibetan children she helps had no future before she helped them, and if the niece is curious to find out what happened to the children after being educated, there's no evidence that there are any more job opportunities for blind people in Tibet compared to 30 years ago.
mr_mini_doxie 1 points 1y ago
I'm not blind, but Disability in Kidlit has blind reviewers who have reviewed several middle grade/young adult books with blind characters. You'll find some good books and some to avoid: $1
QuentinJamesP89 1 points 1y ago
The NFB used to have a huge list of good books with blind characters, and they had many of the old ones for download. Unfortunately they took it down at some point. I emailed them several years ago to send me a list of the titles and they did; they might do the same if you asked. There were a lot of good ones on there for all ages.
projeeper 1 points 1y ago
“Dog Driven” by Terry Lynn Johnson
JackEsq 1 points 1y ago
Caveat: I am a sighted parent of a blind child.
Lila and Hadley by Kody Keplinger. The author is known for The DUFF, but this is a middle grade book about a blind teenager written by a blind author.
She is not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick. YA book but sighted author, but seemed to be a realistic depiction.
The WWW trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer. YA Sci-fi series that I heard about on this sub, so relatively good depiction of blindness, but note that the blindness is "cured" when (spoilers) the character is connected to an sentient AI.
Lila and Hadley by Kody Keplinger. The author is known for The DUFF, but this is a middle grade book about a blind teenager written by a blind author.
She is not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick. YA book but sighted author, but seemed to be a realistic depiction.
The WWW trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer. YA Sci-fi series that I heard about on this sub, so relatively good depiction of blindness, but note that the blindness is "cured" when (spoilers) the character is connected to an sentient AI.
complex-blobfish [OP] 1 points 1y ago
thank you. i will avoid the one in which the blind person is cured. but the others are going on my list.
my niece is going to be spoiled rotten. it is my job as an uncle lol.
my niece is going to be spoiled rotten. it is my job as an uncle lol.
dmazzoni 1 points 1y ago
I wish I knew of one! Good luck.
I do have one recommendation, though: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus. It's young adult fiction, absolutely perfect for an 11yo. The main character has a physical disability and it affects her life significantly but doesn't define her.
Not blindness, but your niece might still relate to many of the same experiences.
I do have one recommendation, though: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus. It's young adult fiction, absolutely perfect for an 11yo. The main character has a physical disability and it affects her life significantly but doesn't define her.
Not blindness, but your niece might still relate to many of the same experiences.
WhyRhubarb 1 points 1y ago
As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds is the only one I know of and like. The story is quite realistic and it's a good book, but the author is not blind.
complex-blobfish [OP] 1 points 1y ago
thank you.
Drayian 1 points 1y ago
I found this list. It has more then just blindness, but does include books with blindness.
https://blog.kristenburns.com/books-with-disability/
https://blog.kristenburns.com/books-with-disability/
complex-blobfish [OP] 2 points 1y ago
thank you. that is a brilliant collection of disability related books. i love that it gives you the option to know if their disability is magically cured in the book, as i am avoiding those.
SirJektive 1 points 1y ago
I would recommend $1 by Larry Baggett, who is currently professor emeritus at the University of Colorado Boulder. It's written for a lay audience and might also spark her interest in some mathy stuff.
complex-blobfish [OP] 1 points 1y ago
that is a really interesting one. i want to read it myself now lol.
PrincessDie123 1 points 1y ago
Well if you find one let me know because I would also like that.
complex-blobfish [OP] 2 points 1y ago
hey mate, come back lol, people have left some really good suggestions, most i have never heard of.
PrincessDie123 1 points 1y ago
Thanks!
SqornshellousZ 1 points 1y ago
Representation is crucial to forming identity.
complex-blobfish [OP] 1 points 1y ago
sorry, are you trying to say i should tell her about the history? i guess it is part of her culture and maybe i should explain in a 11 year old friendly way. i just didn't want to upset her.
SqornshellousZ 1 points 1y ago
Yes. I would stress how the courageous actions of group civil disobediance forced governments to enshrine accessability standards into law. A great weight will fall on her to continually enforce her rights in the face of an often ignorant majority.
The honest answer is the best answer.
The honest answer is the best answer.
complex-blobfish [OP] 1 points 1y ago
she is very responsible for her age. and she definitely can stand up for herself when needed. she argued with her school when they tried to say that her cane was a safety risk to other children.
i decided i am going to tell her. i have never restricted her knowledge about anything else, so i guess i shouldn't do it here either.
my motto for her and her younger sister (who lives with me full time) is. if you are old enough to ask the question, you are old enough to hear the answer. if you don't think you are ready then do not ask.
obviously i don't give them the hard news and then walk away lol. i stay around for support.
i decided i am going to tell her. i have never restricted her knowledge about anything else, so i guess i shouldn't do it here either.
my motto for her and her younger sister (who lives with me full time) is. if you are old enough to ask the question, you are old enough to hear the answer. if you don't think you are ready then do not ask.
obviously i don't give them the hard news and then walk away lol. i stay around for support.
SqornshellousZ 1 points 1y ago
Good Motto. This is the way.
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