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Summary
Summary
Blinded after a terrible accident, Bess must learn to overcome her disability with the help of new friends and skills at the Perkins School for the Blind, in the wake of America's Great Depression.
After Bess Brennan is blinded in a sledding accident, she must face a frightening, much-altered world. Confronted with a new set of obstacles, Bess manages to overcome her disability with the help of her new friends at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts, where she also learns how to read braille. Her twin sister, Elin, assists her with recording daily events in her diary and contributes entries of her own. Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, Bess's story will inspire all readers to be strong in the face of hardship.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-7-After Bess loses her eyesight in a sledding accident, she enters the Perkins School for the Blind. At first she fights against learning, especially braille, but gradually she adjusts to the school and her condition. Readers learn a great deal about how people compensate for vision loss, such as arranging food on a plate by the hours of the clock and placing their finger over a cup when pouring a liquid so that the fluid does not overflow. The information is well presented, as are Bess's feelings when people talk about her as if she were not there. However, the voice of the narrator is not always that of a 12-year-old, even in the 1930s. "My sorrow is unfathomable" is not a typical expression. It is also hard to believe that Bess would be able to remember the detail she includes in her diary, which she dictates to her sister when she returns home on the weekends. The book briefly alludes to the economic problems of the day and other news items, such as the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby. Qualms aside, Bess's story should hold the interest of readers.-Margaret C. Howell, West Springfield Elementary School, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
In 1932, twelve-year-old Bess begins attending Perkins School for the Blind following an accident in which she loses her sight. Her twin sister records Bess's diary entries for her--and writes a few herself, providing readers with an additional point of view to round out the narrative. Denenberg creates a convincing, engaging portrait of Bess's adjustment to her new school and her new life. From HORN BOOK Spring 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 4-8. Denenberg presents another entry in the Dear America series, this one set during the Depression. After being injured in a sledding accident, 12-year-old Bess Brennan loses her sight and is sent to the Perkins School for the Blind in Massachusetts. During her weekend visits home, her twin sister helps her record her experiences in a diary; at school roommates help her familiarize herself with the Perkins campus and begin the slow process of learning Braille. A bit of melodrama comes from a subplot about a timid roommate and a cruel housemother. The myth that a blind person's remaining senses become more acute is not directly stated, though Bess does learn to pay more attention to clues she hears and smells. Readers may wish for more insight into the sisters' feelings about Bess' blindness, and the history is rather light here; it's the detail about the education of the visually impaired in times gone by that will keep readers involved. As with other books in the series, photos and a historical note are appended. Catherine Andronik.
