Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille

by Jen Bryant, Boris Kulikov (Illustrator)

An inspiring picture-book biography of Louis Braille—a blind boy so determined to read that he invented his own alphabet.
 
Louis Braille was just five years old when he lost his sight. He was a clever boy, determined to live like everyone else, and what he wanted more than anything was to be able to read.
 
Even at the school for the blind in Paris, there were no books for him.
 
And so he invented his own alphabet—a whole new system for writing that could be read by touch. A system so ingenious that it is still used by the blind community today.
 
Award-winning writer Jen Bryant tells Braille’s inspiring story with a lively and accessible text, filled with the sounds, the smells, and the touch of Louis’s world. Boris Kulikov’s inspired paintings help readers to understand what Louis lost, and what he was determined to gain back through books.
 
An author’s note and additional resources at the end of the book complement the simple story and offer more information for parents and teachers.

Genres: Picture Books, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Disability, Biography Memoir

34 pages, Hardcover

First published September 6, 2016

About the author

Jen Bryant (Jennifer Fisher Bryant) writes picture books, novels and poems for readers of all ages. Her biographical picture book: A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, illustrated by Melissa Sweet,received a Caldecott Honor award and her historical novel in verse RINGSIDE 1925: Views from the Scopes Trial is an Oprah Recommended Book for ages 12 & up. Other titles include Pieces of Georgia (IRA Young Adult Choices Pick), The Trial (about the 1935 Lindbergh baby kidnapping trial), a 1960’s-era novel Kaleidoscope Eyes (a Jr. Library Guild selection), Georgia’s Bones, celebrating the creative vision of artist Georgia O’Keeffe, Music for the End of Time, based on a true story about WWII, and Abe’s Fish: A Boyhood Tale of Abraham Lincoln.

Jen has taught writing and Children’s Literature at West Chester University and Bryn Mawr College and gives lectures, workshops and school presentations throughout the year. She lives with husband, daughter and their Springer Spaniel in Chester County, PA.

Reviews

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to return this book back to library so I didn’t get a nice quote out of it and the year’s escape my memory.

Read this to kids for bedtime. I was so impressed by Louis Braille and his wonderful family. From a young age he was so intelligent and interested in life. At age 5, fooling around with his father’s tools, he ruins his eyes. Instead of letting it heal, he takes off the bandages and the bacteria spreads to his other eye. He is now officially blind, darkness surrounds him.

At the time, kids that had problems of blindness or mental retardation (is this the right term?) were either hidden away or sent away to institutions but Louis’ family refused to do this. They wanted help. They wanted him to thrive.

He gets sent to Paris to a school where others are like him and there he invents the Braille alphabet.

So why isn’t his story more known? Why isn’t he considered one of the greatest innovators or inventors? He should be up there with some of the greatest but I doubt people know of him except the ones that use his invention.

My kids, like many others, are at an age where they feel like they should just have what they want without trying. (Good luck living with that mentality.) I liked this story for the positive effect. I believe in God and His powers. He gives all of us a gift. You take and grow and treasure that gift because if you’re not using it for good, your own, He can take it away. One day you might be the greatest basketball player the world has seen and the next your leg is broken. It sounds extreme but I think we all have to cherish what we have. Louis is a great example of someone having something, losing it, and overcoming his circumstances. He never complained. He found joy in his journey.

“With great power comes great responsibility.” Spider-Man

Amazing little boy and great history for kids and adults alike.

[Clay]

Why is there no braille in a book about Braille? It was the first thing I felt for and there was none anywhere. Cannot recommend for that sole reason.

[Mississippi Library Commission · Rating 5 out of 5]

We see braille dots everywhere we go and, for many of us, never think about where they originated. In the history of these little dots, though, Bryant has found an intriguing story about their creator, Louis Braille, and his desire to create a good way for blind people to read. Our favorite part of this picture book biography was Braille's intense drive to make reading, books, and knowledge accessible to everyone, including people with visual impairments like himself. Kulikov's illustrations, especially those in which he shows young Braille coming to grips with his loss of vision, are exceptional.

[Christi · Rating 1 out of 5]

WHY WASN'T THE BOOK ALSO WRITTEN IN BRAILLE? Seriously. The Braille alphabet is printed on the front and back covers BUT IT'S NOT IN RAISED BRAILLE.

[Dee Dee G · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a great book for children to understand how blind children read. When I was in middle school (I’m 44) my friend was blind. Whenever our teacher called on her to read some kids in class would say out loud... how is she supposed to read??? No matter how many times they heard and saw her read Braille. I wish this book was around then to educate my classmates.

[Agnė · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable and engaging picturebook biography told in the first person. As emphasized by Bryant herself, Six Dots not only tells Louis Braille's story but it also attempts to convey what it FELT like to be Louis Braille. The book definitely succeeds in accomplishing this goal, but not without the help of Kulikov's illustrations, which are both descriptive and expressive:



I also appreciate the additional information about Braille in the back matter (in a very accessible Q&A format) and the pronunciation guide for French words, names and phrases used throughout the book, but why oh why the Braille Alphabet and the quote on the endpapers, as well as the title and names on the cover, are written in the fake Braille?!? Such a missed opportunity...

[Jagadish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book speak about journey of Louis Braille and his deep yearning for book and his love for reading and writing .
He dreamt of books for blind people and he finally achieved it .
He made brilliant innovation of Braille system in a young age after long struggle
Which gave light to million of people in the world

“We the blind, are as indebted to Louis Braille
as mankind to Gutenberg” -Helen Keller.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Jen Bryant and illustrator Boris Kulikov explore the childhood of Louis Braille in this lovely picture-book, describing how he came to be blind at a young age, and how he struggled with the fact that there were no books for him to read. Eventually sent to the Royal School for the Blind in Paris, he was inspired by a code of raised dots used for nighttime battle communication to create braille writing. A revolutionary system, one that has been adopted in many countries, this raised dot alphabet allowed blind students to read and write easily for the first time, and was an astonishing creation, given Louis Braille's mere fifteen years of age, at the time of invention. The book concludes with an afterword that gives more information about braille and its inventor, and that provides a list of reading ideas and resources...

Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille is the fourth picture-book biography I have read from Bryant, following upon The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus , A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin and A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams , all of which were illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Kulikov has a very different style to Sweet, but I found his artwork engaging, and thought it well-suited to the narrative. I particularly appreciated the use of a black background in those scenes in which Louis attempts to make sense of the world around him without his sight, as this gives visual emphasis to his different perceptual experiences, compared to his family and the people in his village. This isn't the story of Braille's entire life, but of his youth and the process whereby he invented braille writing. As Bryant explains in her afterword, it is an attempt to explore how he must have felt, losing his sight, and then struggling to find a way to read and learn. Recommended to picture-book readers who enjoy biographies, or who are interested in braille writing and/or the experiences of the blind.

Addendum: I don't often address other reviews in my own responses, but I am somewhat surprised and dismayed to see that a number of people have panned this one, because the braille writing system isn't represented here in braille. I find this rather puzzling, as these fellow readers must be aware that the book is intended for sighted children. After all, none of them seem to be objecting to the presence of artwork, which requires sight in order to appreciate. While I do think it would have been a nice touch, and quite educational, if a page of braille had been included, I do understand that it is costly to produce, and that the publisher may not have been able to include it. Disappointment at the absence of braille may be understandable - I think it's a missed opportunity myself - but to give the book one star as a result, or to say that it cannot be recommended, strikes me as ludicrously unreasonable.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louis Braille lost his eyesight as a child. He was horrified to learn that the only books available to the blind were terribly short because of the size necessary of the text read by touch. He came up with a new, simple system. Six Dots is the beautiful picture book story of his Braille's life, with clever illustrations that help share what it might be like to be unable to see.

[Mary Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm very torn by this book. On one hand, its informative and inspiring. On the other hand, I'm deeply bothered by the fact that the Braille is presented visually and not raised.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

How sad that Louis lost his eyesight at such a tender age in an accident that could have been easily prevented! Luckily, he was smart enough to develop coping mechanisms, grew up lively and inquisitive.

The story is told by Louis himself, who describes what it was like for him to be blind. Those pages are always illustrated in black. He wanted so badly to read, and tried to devise a method. Everywhere he went to school, he asked for books for the blind, and was disappointed until he was sent to the Royal School for the Blind. They had books, but they were so awkward to read that they did not satisfy him. Then he discovered a device that used a series of dots punched into paper used by the army for sending coded messages. This would allow him to write! He discovered, however, that the code was too difficult for most people to remember, so he set about to simplify it. Success! He was a 15-year-old inventor who opened the world of reading to the blind! I had no idea he had been so young when he made this incredible accomplishment.

Bryant includes further information about Braille's life at the back of the book. I didn't know that he also invented a machine that was an early version of the dot-matrix printer. He went on to other accomplishments in his short life (died at age 43). Bryant also includes books and web sites where you can learn more about Louis and more about using Braille. Apparently, she wrote a young adult biography of him, which I've put on my reading list. I hope this book has been transcribed into Braille! Recommended.

[Ioana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louis Braille a fost unul dintre cei mai importanți inventatori din toate timpurile 🧑‍🎓 Pentru o categorie de oameni, el este motivul pentru care ei pot să ducă o viață cât de cât normală. Este vorba despre cei ce nu pot vedea, dar care cu ajutorul alfabetului Braille pot citi, ceea ce le oferă șansa la mai mult decât un colț de cameră întunecat 🥺 Jen Bryant îi spune povestea tânărului ce a luminat întunericul nevăzătorilor, într-o lectură emoționantă și inspirațională - "Șase puncte. Povestea tânărului Louis Braille" (trad. Bogdan Ghiurco) 🤍 Mai multe despre lectura inspirațională am scris într-un articol publicat pe blog ✍️
https://ciobanuldeazi.home.blog/2025/...

Volumul a apărut la Editura Frontiera 📚

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, which tells the story of Louis Braille, begins by showing the Braille Alphabet on the end papers, followed by a pronunciation guide for the French names and phrases that appear in the ensuing text.

The story came out of the author’s curiosity over what it would have been like to have been Louis Braille, the blind inventor of a system of reading and writing for the sight-impaired still in use today.

Louis went blind when he was three years old following an accident in his father’s harness workshop. When he was ten, he got a scholarship to a school for the blind in Paris, but the students had to read by tracing raised letters, and it was a very long and tedious process.

Then the headmaster announced that they would try using the same code the army employed to send secret messages during battle. That code used twelve raised dots, but at the age of sixteen, Louis revised the system to be much easier, using only six dots, and published the first-ever book using the “Braille” method at age twenty.

An Author’s Note following the book tells more of Braille’s accomplishments. For example, with the help of a friend, he developed raphigraphy, allowing blind and sighted people to write to each other. He even invented a typewriter-like machine for raphigraphy.

Louis mastered the cello and the organ, and tuned pianos. He developed a system of musical notation for visually impaired musicians. He went on to become a professor at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth and taught history, grammar, geography, and math. He died of tuberculosis two days after his forty-third birthday. The author reports that on the one hundredth anniversary of his death in 1952, his body was placed in the Pantheon in Paris, “the final resting place of France’s greatest men and women.”

As Bryant notes in her Afterword, Helen Keller compared Braille to Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press: “Before Braille, the blind were shut off from reading and writing. The Braille system changed all that.” She also notes that the support of Louis’s family for him was unusual at the time: “Blind, deaf, or otherwise physically challenged children were often abandoned or given over to a traveling ‘master’, who taught them to sing, dance, or perform tricks for money, much like circus animals.” Both Louis and the world were lucky his parents were different.

The author includes a list of books and websites for additional information.

The illustrations are by Boris Kulikov, who worked as a set and costume designer after graduating from the Institute of Theater, Music, and Cinema in St. Petersburg. Kulikov uses an interesting blend of mixed-media, adding chalk on a black background at times, that helps convey the difference of Braille’s internal reality.

Evaluation: This is a story that will inspire all ages. Braille not only overcame adversity with pluck and ingenuity, but did so in a way that made the world a better place for millions. Today Braille is celebrated around the world.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to give credit to the county system for being sensible about the book jackets. Both ends were left loose, so we could read the braille message and alphabet on the end pages. The City has been gluing at least one page down. Bryant had an author note stating that she had wanted to do another book on Braille after her YA Bio of him focusing on his emotions about being blind. I'd say she succeeded. I read it very quickly since I wanted to turn it right back into the library, so I can't refer to it or reread it which would have been nice. It emphasizes how lucky Braille was that his family cherished him and didn't just disown him as a member since he couldn't contribute to the family's economic upkeep. Many disabled people at that time ended up homeless. It also gives interesting insight in how an army officer's stamped code led to Braille's idea of using the famous 6 dot rectangle for communication. The army one was based on sounds; Braille was based on the alphabet. In other words, very few inventions are completely out of a vacuum. I felt this did an excellent job of showing young children how Braille felt and why he was so anxious to give the blind a way to access books. It also covered the digital age and how that has affected books for the blind (not a whole lot of change, really). Definitely recommended.
Addendum: many are complaining about the lack of actual Braille in the book. I have two answers for them. 1) Braille is very expensive to include in a standard book for children. Actually for a standard book meant for any audience. It also drastically increases the size and weight of the book. 2) This is a book meant for visual kids. I’m sure the Blind have biographies on Braille in Braille. The point was to expose mainstream kids to the concept and to become aware of an important inventor for the Blind and to give kids the concept of what blindness is like.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

While it means it's not the strictest of nonfiction, writing Six Dots in first person makes it much more immediate. I guess I never realized that he was so young and had so little support when he came up with the Braille alphabet. And that he lost his sight due to an accident! How awful.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great biography about young Louis Braille and the experiences that led him to creating the Braille reading system. I work at a school for the deaf and the blind, and we have both the regular version of this picture book, and the "twin" version, which includes both text and braille, but for a book like this, I really wish every copy had braille included. Other than that, highly recommend.

[Abby Stopka]

I Read this book as a child. As a visually impaired person I've always had a fascination with braille it was Interesting to learn how Braille was designed and a bit about who designed it.

[Jaimie Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six Dots is not only a story about braille, it is also a story about reading and about the power of education and the support and love of family.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple story about how Louis Braille became blind as a child (unfortunately because he didn't obey his father) and later worked to make reading available to the blind.

Ages: 4 - 8

**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it!

Visit my website!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Amazon.com)
This picture book biography of Louis Braille (1809–59) strikes a perfect balance between the seriousness of Braille's life and the exuberance he projected out into the world. The text highlights Braille's determination to pursue an education. Readers will learn how he attended the Royal School in Paris and was frustrated by the lack of books for the blind, an obstacle that set him off on a long quest to invent an accessible reading system. Braille ultimately found success by simplifying a military coding technique that had earlier been introduced but was far too complex. The focus on Braille as one of the world's great inventors is apt, and by taking a close look at his childhood, his family, and his experiences as a young person, Bryant makes Braille's story even more powerful. She writes from his perspective, which brings a level of intimacy sure to resonate with readers. Kulikov's mixed-media artwork mirrors and magnifies the text, keeping the spotlight solidly on young Braille and his world as he moves through it.

An author’s note and q&a add more detail into Braille’s life. French words and a pronunciation guide appear at the beginning of the book. The complete Braille alphabet appears at the end of the book, as well as an author’s note and a q&a session that gives us more interesting details of Braille’s life.

Although many Braille biographies stress his disability, Bryant’s title subtly emphasizes his creativity and celebrates him as an inventor, making this a STEM related book as well as a mini biography.

Picture book biographies have always been a mixed bag for me. I can't decide if I like them or not no matter how well they are illustrated or written. What is their purpose and how best can they be used? There is not enough information provided to help students with reports. Also, as a side note, why are blind people always shown with their eyes closed?

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louis Braille was in an accident, causing him to lose his eyesight. He desperately wanted to learn to read but books just weren't available. When he hears of a school where they have books for the blind, he begs his family to send him there. The school was largely a disappointment...there's little food, the lessons still require him to just listen and memorize, and the few books they have are too simple for him to really learn much. But one day, the headmaster shows them a code that the military is using to send messages. They can read, using the code. But the code is meant for short messages and the system of raised dots is pretty complex. Louis decides he will find a way to make it simpler and more efficient.

What I love: Louis is so determined to read. This book really speaks to the importance of literacy. The book shows that Louis was able to do something worthwhile that positively impacted a lot of lives and he did it while he was still a child/young adult. This is a great example of a real person overcoming a disability/achieving despite a disability and contributing to society in a powerful way. And this is a great example of persistence.

While overall I wasn't wowed by the illustrations (they were just so-so), the illustration of Braille with hundreds of sheets littering the floor around him as he attempts to simplify the army's code so it is usable by the blind, really hit me. This is a great example of determination and perseverance. He was young and must have felt discouraged at times. But he kept trying and working at creating a usable system so that he could read. Remarkable and inspiring!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louis Braille (January 4, 1809–January 6, 1852), who lost his eyesight at the age of three due to an infection following an accident at his father’s workshop, went on to invent the braille reading and writing system, which forever changed the lives of the blind and the visually impaired. After his groundbreaking invention, he continued to work tirelessly, developing implementations of braille in mathematics and music, co-creating a precursor of the dot-matrix printing machine, and mastering the cello and the organ, which he played professionally at Parisian churches even as tuberculosis slowly syphoned away his vitality and finally claimed his life at the age of forty-three.

Helen Keller rightfully compared Braille to Gutenberg, for no other invention since the printing press had transformed the lives of more people who would’ve otherwise lived bereft of the joy and liberation of reading and learning, their basic human need for communication unmet. But although Braille belongs alongside inventors like Tesla and Edison in impact and legacy, one crucial element sets him apart from and perhaps even above them: He was only a child when he developed his revolutionary invention — which means he had no training, no funding, no public or institutional support, no commercial motive or business plan, and only the vision for something life-changing and redemptive born out of the necessity of a disability that had forever changed his own short life.

Jennifer Fisher Bryant chronicles the creatively restless remainder of Braille’s short yet illustrious life in her 1994 young adult biography, but Six Dots ends with the feat of young Louis’s invention.

[Lydia Provost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille is an excellent biography of the childhood and adolescence of the inventor of the Braille writing system. I would use this book as a read aloud in grades 3 or 4. The book is informative, yet captivating, and would spark many group discussions.
In my classroom, I would use this book to help students gain a new perspective on their peers who are a part of the blind community or have difficulties seeing. This book really welcomed the reader in to Louis's thoughts and feelings. I would use this book to begin a conversation about the little life miracles that we take for granted each day.
I would also use this book in my classroom to teach students about the history of the Braille writing system. The author recounts the events and people involved that led to the writing system's creation. This would be very informative for students, and they could even take some time to practice learning and explore the Braille that is around them.
Finally I would use this book to teach my students about perseverance and determination. The story of Louis Braille is filled with many obstacles and heartbreaks, but it is also filled with many dreams and triumphs. My students and I could discuss some of their obstacles and dreams and create a community in our classroom that is supportive and conducive to perseverance.
This was an excellent read! The story really captivated me and made me fall in love with Louis Braille. When you read this your heart will break alongside his and you will rejoice with him too. You will be inspired by the dreams and determination of a young man who seemed to have all odds against him.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Featured in a grandma reads session.

Our reading group is going through a chapter book about Helen Keller, so when this picture book landed on one of our shelves, we grabbed it!

A very thorough and informative book about the little boy born in Coupvray, France, tiny and far from robust. He was the youngest of four, born on a working farm and vineyard, to a father who worked with leather. Within his toolset awaited the awl that would change his bouncing toddler's life to one without light. His wounds became infected and he lost sight in both eyes.

From there the story of Louis Braille gets even more interesting - he is one of the youngest inventors to have influenced the most people with his creation - a way to read and write for the blind. Ways existed, just not anything close to the experience in reading and writing that a sighted person had, and that bothered him. He remembered enough from his days before blindness to realize there was a need. Throughout his school days he worked on his tools and his coding and this book does an excellent job of showing a sighted reader what all the excitement is about - a better explanation than I can ever remember reading or hearing about.

My readers were quick to try and figure out their names in LB's dots. It was very gratifying to see the fire take hold in my older participants. . .who are right around the age he was when he started his quest in earnest.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bryant, Jen Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille Illustrated by Boris Kulikov PICTURE BOOK Alfred A. Knopf, 2016. $17.99 Content: G.

When Louis was five years old, he had an accident that made him blind in one eye. An infection spread to his other eye, rendering him completely blind. Louis was an intelligent boy who hungered for reading and writing. When he couldn’t find any satisfying solutions for his need for knowledge, he begged his family to let him go away to school. While at the Royal School for the Blind, Louis was still not satisfied with the limits of his reading, so over years he invented the system we know as braille.

This book is a great succinct biography about Louis Braille’s early years. The illustrations are muted and not very colorful. At the end of the book there is a question and answer section about Louis. Also there is a picture of the whole braille alphabet which is fun to use.

EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE. Reviewer, C. Peterson.
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2016/...

[Mr. T.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

How was it like to BE Louis Braille as a young person who wanted to read and write? I think the author and illustrator team of Jen Bryant and Boris Kulikov achieved that in this collaboration. I could feel Louis Braille's struggle and passion to read. His emotion came across.

As a teacher, I hope to find read alouds that inform and most hopefully inspire my young students, a book that is a discussion springboard about perseverance and hope. I believe this picture book can do that, inform and inspire.

I agree Louis Braille should be considered an inventor, a world changer really. I too, along with other reviewers, wish this book had raised Braille and not just flat, printed Braille. But I still learned from it, like how capital letters and numbers are created in Braille. So I borrowed another picture book that did have Braille letters, so my kids and I could practice reading with my finger.

Thank you Jen Bryant and Boris Kulikov and your publishing team for this picture book. I appreciated the extra info in the back, the note and more info.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: On the day I was born, Papa announced me to the village: "Here is my son Loo-Wee!"

Premise/plot: Six Dots is a picture book biography of Louis Braille. It is probably best for older readers because there is a lot of text.

Here's one of my favorite quotes, "I didn't want people to feel sorry for me. I just wanted to read and to write on my own, like everyone else."

The end papers include the braille alphabet, just not in braille. (It would have been great fun if the braille alphabet and the quote by Helen Keller, "We the blind, are as indebted to Louis Braille as mankind is to Gutenberg." had actually been in braille so readers--of all ages--could feel Braille for themselves.)

My thoughts: I liked this one. It is a very personal, compelling story.

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I'm already a fan of Jen Bryant from River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams. She captures that elusive child entry point for nonfiction child readers. In this book, it is a brave first person telling of a very personal yet important story that resulted in the momentous invention of the Braille for the blind.

In addition to being an accomplished researcher and writer, she seems to be blessed with amazing illustrators who are able to capture the unwritten essence of the real life people Bryant biographies. In this book, it is the stark yet seamless transition between what a sighted Louis and blind Louis see, feel, and hear. Dark pages with chalk outlines for objects give sighted readers a sense of the vibrations of our world. This one makes my short list for both the Caldecott and/or the Sibert for informational books.

[Joana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was always curious of how the braille alphabet was created and how blind people used their hands to read the tiny dots. This book talks about Louis Braille, the inventor of the braille alphabet who at a young age lost his sight. The illustrator, Boris Kulikov, does a wonderful job portraying how Louis would imagine his surrounding using dark colors. His motivation to read and write like the other children lead him to the Royal School for the Blind. Despite the strict living conditions, Louis never left. One day he finally gets his hands on a book, but reading it wasn't what he expected. Then one day the head master tells them how a french captain created a code to deliver secret messages. I think this was the inspiration that led Louis to create the braille alphabet.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read about the life of Louis Braille, the systems already in place for blind readers during his lifetime, and the revolutionary braille method he created. I hadn't given it much thought before, but there were systems already being used so that blind people could read way back when, but they were ludicrously complicated and cumbersome. Bryant did a great job of capturing Braille's yearning to read, his disappointment when he finally learned how, and his determination to make things easier for other people with visual impairments and to expand the world for himself and his friends.