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National Braille Press Bookstore

Welcome to our *new* bookstore! Here you'll find books, downloadable publications, toys, games, gifts and resources for the blind and visually impaired. As ever, you can reach us at [email protected], or call us at 617-266-6160 ext. 520.

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The ReadBooks! Program

ReadBooks! is a national children's braille literacy program encouraging families with blind children to read print/braille books together.

Check out our video explaining what the bags contain and how the program works.

Link to Your Child's Future!

National Braille Press is distributing free bags of beginning braille materials to families with blind and visually impaired children, ages birth to seven, across the U.S. and Canada. The distribution process is a collaborative effort with educators and early intervention professionals.

Program Objectives

• To foster a love of books and reading at an early age;
• To support families of preschool blind children and help them spread the word that braille is an effective method of reading and writing;
• To introduce visually impaired children to a means of independent reading;
• To help parents learn "just enough" braille to assist their child as they grow;
• To give parents the knowledge and language they need to advocate for braille instruction when their blind child enters school;
• To promote an early expectation of personal achievement through literacy.

Braille Bags Contain:

• An age-appropriate print/braille book for three age groups, in English or Spanish: birth-3 (red bags), 4-5 (blue bags), and 6-7 (green bags);
• A coupon for choosing two of the three following free items: a set of large print/braille playing cards; an additional print/braille book; a copy of Just Enough to Know Better —a braille primer for sighted parents;
• A print/braille alphabet card, showing the braille symbol for each letter A-Z and each number 0-9;
• Because Books Matter , a guide for parents on why and how to read books with their young blind child;
• Because Pictures Matter , a guide for parents on using, finding, and creating tactile imagery;
• A tactile graphic or flag;
• A tactile ball (red bags only);
• Wikki Stix, a product that allows a child to make tactile pictures (blue or green bags only);
• Tactile Alphabet Letter sheets, showing upper- and lowercase print letters in raised-line format (blue bags only);
• Tactile Number sheets (green bags only);
• A braille caravan block.

Who Funds the Program?

Start-up funds for the ReadBooks! program came from Mellon Charitable Trust. A significant grant from Readers Digest Partnership for Sight Foundation launched the program across the country. Funding from the following foundations enables us to continue to reach every blind child in the country: Lavelle Fund for the Blind, Inc., BNY Mellon Charitable Giving Program/Arthur F. Blanchard Trust, Delta Gamma Foundation, Moses Kimball Fund, Harold C. Schott Foundation, Edith Glick Shoolman Foundation, and Verizon Foundation.

Who Can Participate?

• Information for parents or caregivers.
• Information for teachers and agency professionals .

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Sources of Free Braille Books

Wondering where you can get free braille books check out this listing of sources of free braille books in the united states and canada for children who are blind or visually impaired..

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There are a number of different sources of free braille books available in the United States and Canada.  In addition to the list below, there are numerous libraries and other sources through teachers of students with visual impairments or related organizations.  Check with the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped  (NLS) or with your state library for the blind .

For tips on introducing tactile books to infants, toddlers, and young children, see: Tactile Books for Young Children by Dr. Holly Cooper.

American Action Fund for Blind Children

This program provides children who are blind with a free braille book every month from a popular children’s reading series.   Click here to fill out the online application.

Braille Institute:  Braille Special Collection

This braille literacy program from the Braille Institute provides children’s books free of charge.  Any child in the United States or Canada who is visually impaired is eligible to receive up to 12 free books per year from the Special Collection. VI teachers or educators may also subscribe to our Special Collection.

Braille Tales Print/Braille Book Program

• The parent or the child must meet the definition of blindness.
• The child must be age 5 or under.
• Both the parent and the child must reside in the U.S. or its outlying areas.

Fill out the online application .

National Braille Press:  Read Books! Program

National Braille Press distributes braille book bags to families with children, ages birth to seven, who are blind and visually impaired, across the U.S. and Canada. The distribution process is a collaborative effort with educators and early intervention professionals. In addition to the free print/braille books for different age levels, the bag includes information about braille for parents and families, as well as some tactile materials.

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Seedlings Book Angel Program

Children in the United States and Canada who are blind can received up to 5 free braille books per year.  

Online application

There is a giveaway program for teachers, where they receive 5 books a year, as well as the ongoing Rose Project, which provides free World Book Encyclopedia articles in braille. You can find out more about all of these programs on their website .

ShareBraille.org

Sharebraille.org is a free service of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) designed to provide an outlet for organizations and people who are blind to offer surplus braille books to others who may enjoy them.

Temple Beth El Braille Bindery

Temple Beth El Braille Bindery , in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan has been creating free braille books for more than 40 years.  The books are available for children in the United States and are created by volunteers by this non-profit organization.

Xavier Society for the Blind

Xavier Society for the Blind provides braille, audio and large print spiritual and religious materials (mostly Catholic, but not strictly) at no cost to clients worldwide in order for them to learn about, develop and practice their Faith.  

Sources of Braille Children's Books and Magazines

Encouraging children to read for pleasure, and thereby improving their skills is a challenge for parents and teachers whether the medium is print or braille. Of course, providing reading material that is interesting to the child is an excellent incentive.

Here is a list of sources for borrowing or purchasing braille and print/braille children’s books and magazines in the United States. Please contact individual organizations for detailed information on products and/or prices.

The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) Library of Congress Washington, DC 20542 Telephone: (800) 424-8567 E-Mail: [email protected] Web site: www.loc.gov/nls

Offers a wide variety of braille books on loan. Call your regional library or call NLS at 1-800-424-8567 for more information and an application. NLS has also compiled a directory, available free of charge in large print and braille formats, which gives the names of volunteer groups and individuals who transcribe and record books and other reading materials for blind readers. The listing is alphabetical by state.

Kenneth Jernigan Library for Blind Children, American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults 18440 Oxnard Street Tarzana, CA 91356 Telephone: (818) 343-2022 Web site: www.actionfund.org

Maintains a lending library of print/braille books as well as braille books for K–1 up to 12th grade reading and interest level. Books are mailed to the child’s home and also to schools. Contact the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults in writing for an application. Offer a free braille calendar, as well as a weekly newspaper for deafblind individuals. All services are free.

American Printing House for the Blind 1839 Frankfort Avenue Louisville, KY 40206 Telephone: (800) 223-1839 E-Mail: [email protected] Web site: www.aph.org

Sells the "On the Way to Literacy" books, with print and braille and tactile illustrations. Also source for many other braille children’s books and early learning materials.

The National Braille Press 88 St. Stephen Street Boston, MA 02115 Telephone: (617) 266-6160 or (800) 548-7323 E-Mail: [email protected] Web site: www.nbp.org

Offers a "Children’s Braille Book Club" aimed especially for preschool and primary grade children. These are popular picture books with the insertion of clear plastic sheets that contain the braille translation. There is no fee to join the club, and you can buy as few or as many books as you wish.

Seedlings Braille Books for Children P.O. Box 51924 Livonia, MI 48151-5924 Telephone: (734) 427-8552 or (800) 777-8552 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.seedlings.org

More than 650 titles available at reasonable prices for braille readers ages 0-14. Choose from print and braille pre-school picture board books, beginning reader print and braille books, and braille-only chapter books through middle school reading level on many different topics including a variety of books in uncontracted braille. Seedlings also offers "The Rose Project," providing free World Book Encyclopedia articles in braille.

The Braille Institute of America, Inc. 741 North Vermont Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90029 Telephone: (323) 663-1111 or (800) 272-4553

Publishes Expectations , a free braille volume containing stories for elementary school age children, plus some scratch-and-sniff pages. The book is sent out once a year around Christmastime. A summertime volume, Brailleways , is also available. Write to the Braille Institute of America to get on the mailing list. Other print-braille and braille children’s books are available.

Braille International, Inc. 3290 S.E. Slater Street Stuart, FL 34997 Telephone: (561) 286-8366 or (800) 336-3142 E-Mail: [email protected] Web site: www.brailleintl.org

Offers the William T. Thomas bookstore with books for children (and adults). They include the children’s reference "State Books Series" with information about geography, history, economy, culture, etc. of each state (and Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico), and the "One to Grow On!" series of children’s print/braille books with a read-along cassette. Other popular books and series, such as the Baby Sitters Club books, are available.

Braille Library and Transcribing Services 517 N. Segoe Road., #200 Madison, WI 53705 Telephone: (608) 233-0222

Braille books and print-braille books available for loan or purchase. All American Girl books available at less than print price. Catalog available.

Offers a number of magazines for children of all ages. These include: Boys' Life, Muse, Spider: The Magazine for Children, Stone Soup and Seventeen Subscriptions are free of charge and are available through your cooperating NLS regional library.

The American Printing House for the Blind 1839 Frankfurt Avenue Louisville, KY 40206 Telephone: (502) 895-2405 or (800) 223-1839 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.aph.org

Offers several publications available from September through May. My Weekly Reader is a scholastic journal for grades 2-6 that focuses on current events. Know Your World Extra! is geared to youngsters 10-16 with reading difficulties. Others also available: Current Events and Current Science . For subscription information, write or call the American Printing House for the Blind.

Christian Record Services 4444 South 52nd Street Lincoln, NE 68516 Telephone: (402) 488-0981 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.christianrecord.org

Makes two quarterly braille magazines available free of charge. Children's Friend has stories for children and Young and Alive, a publication for young adults, contains adventure fiction and devotional articles.

The Lutheran Library for the Blind 1333 South Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122 Telephone: (314) 965-9000 or (800) 433-3954

Offers four publications that are available free of charge. Happy Times is a monthly magazine of religious articles and fiction for children ages 6-8. My Pleasure , also available monthly, contains stories for ages 9-12. My Devotions has a month's worth of daily devotionals for ages 8-13. Teen Time is published 8 times a year and contains religious stories for young adults.

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Japan translates physics book into braille

Scientists, visually impaired researchers and braille experts in Japan have translated a book on advanced research in physics into the tactile writing system for visually impaired readers.

Written by researchers of the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, known as KEK, the book explains how the universe was formed 13.8 billion years ago and how matter, the Earth and life came into existence, based on the latest knowledge and the results of recent experiments.

It is intended for those with at least high school level knowledge.

The original version, published in March, is included in Kodansha's Blue Backs science book series.

The translation team consisted of members of KEK and Tsukuba University of Technology, the only national university in Japan that caters to people with visual and auditory impairment.

Braille books, which are typically translated from published books by volunteers, often include figures and expressions that visually impaired people might find difficult to understand.

To avoid this problem, the braille version of the new book was produced through cooperation among the authors, braille experts and researchers with visual impairment.

For example, the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest particle accelerator at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN in Switzerland, looks like a circle when viewed directly from above it. In the original version of the book, it is drawn in a three-dimensional style at an angle from above, making it look oval.

The braille translators noted that the depiction, if put into braille unchanged, could cause visually impaired people to misunderstand that the accelerator has an oval shape. As such, in the braille version of the book, it is depicted as a circle in a tactile drawing.

The team has published the book's braille data on the internet so that people with visual impairment can read it using dedicated equipment. The braille book will also be promoted through braille libraries and elsewhere, funded by royalties from the original version.

"We were encouraged by comments from people with visual impairment who read the book in a trial," said Junpei Fujimoto, KEK senior fellow and a member of the translation team. "We are glad we did this," he said with a smile.

Manabi Miyagi, an associate professor at the Tsukuba University of Technology, said, "It was a blessed opportunity for us to translate the book into braille while communicating with first-rate researchers in the field."

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