Six Dots: A Story Of Young Louis Braille

For quite a while, I have been looking for a picture-book biography that truly inspires. There are so many to choose from, but I think I’ve found my favourite!

This picture book is about Louis Braille. The cover with Braille letters and the endpapers with Helen Keller’s quote is instantly uplifting! The story of how Louis Braille turned blind, how other senses take over to fill the gap, and his journey of inventing the Braille system are so informative. Jen Bryant @jenbryant13 in her authors’ note points out that Louis Braille was a child inventor who worked alone without public support or financial help. The translanguaging (English and French) is perfectly seamless too.

In a writers’ workshop, this book is an excellent mentor text for:

- Biographies written in first-person

- The role of endpapers to inform a reader more about a topic

- Translanguaging, for bilingual learners

- Use of upper case to show a change in pitch

- Onomatopoeia

- Use of senses in description

- Placement of pictures and text.

I’ve ordered my hard copy – when are you ordering yours?