Young Reader Books

The following books center on characters that are blind or visually impaired or are impacted by those with visual impairments. If there are other books you would like to see here, please let me know so I can add them.

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Do You Remember the Color Blue

Do You Remember the Color Blue
Alexander, Sally Hobart. Do You Remember the Color Blue: And Other Questions Kids Ask About Blindness. East Rutherford, N.J.: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 2002. Grades 4-7. This book provides honest and informative answers to the questions that children ask about blindness. Addresses guide dogs, why people who are blind wear dark glasses, relationships, the attitudes of others, and more.

Teacher's Pet ​

Teacher's Pet
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Teacher's Pet (Vet Volunteers, Name: Maggie). Puffin Books; Reprint edition (2009). Grade Level: 3-7. Maggie is adjusting to middle school and it becomes easier when she find that her biology teacher, who is blind, can learn a few things from her about working with his guide dog.

Things Not Seen

Things Not Seen
Clements, Andrew. Things Not Seen. East Rutherford, N.J.: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 2002. Grades 5-9. Fifteen-year-old Bobby wakes up invisible one day. His parents don’t deal with this development well, so Bobby sets off for the library to find his own solution. He befriends Alicia, a girl who is blind, who becomes a partner in the adventure, and helps him find a way to deal with his dilemma.

Water at the Blue Earth

Water at the Blue Earth
Creel, Ann H. Water at the Blue Earth. Boulder: Roberts Rinehart Publishers, 1998. Grades 5-9. "Wren Taylor, the daughter of an 1850s pioneer family in New Mexico territory, befriends Luther, a Ute boy who is blind. When war breaks out between the settlers and the Ute, Wren must decide where her loyalties lie."

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
Denenberg, Barry. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan. Dear America Series. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2002. Grades 4-9.  In 1932, Bess is blinded in a sledding accident at the age of twelve. She becomes a student at Perkins School for the Blind, where she finds new friendship, independence, and self-confidence.

Annerton Pit

Annerton Pit
Dickinson, Peter. Annerton Pit. Little Brown & Go. (1977). When Martin and Jake's grandfather fails to return from a ghost-hunting expedition, the boys set off for Newcastle in search of him. Their investigations take them to Annerton Pit. Told from the point of view of the main character, who is blind.

Just Maria

Hardwig, Jay. Just Maria. Regal House Publishing, January 7, 2022. Just Maria is the story of Maria Romero, a blind sixth-grader who is trying her hardest to be normal. Not amazing. Not inspiring. Not helpless. Not weird. Just normal. Her task is complicated by glass eyes, rutabagas, rubber chickens, and a child gone missing on the streets of Marble City.

Seeing Lessons

The Story of Abigain Carter
Hermann, Spring. Seeing Lessons: The Story of Abigail Carter and America’s First School for Blind People. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1998. Grades 4-7. "Ten-year-old Abigail Carter’s life changes forever when she and her sister go to Boston to be the first students at Perkins, the first school for the blind in America. She is determined to prove that people who are blind can live fulfilling, independent lives."

The Window

The Window
Ingold, Jeanette. The Window. Orlando: Harcourt Trade Publishers, 2003.  Grades 6-9. "Fifteen years old and blinded by the accident that killed her mother, Mandy has just moved to Texas to live with relatives she has never met. She explores the mystery of her family history and learns about her own strengths and resilience as she makes a new life for herself."

​Dog Driven

Cover of Dog Driven
Johnson, Terry Lynn. Dog Driven.  HMH Books for Young Readers, December 3, 2019. McKenna Barney is trying to hide her worsening eyesight and has been isolating herself for the last year. But at the request of her little sister, she signs up for a commemorative mail run race in the Canadian wilderness—a race she doesn’t know if she can even see to run. Winning would mean getting her disease—and her sister’s—national media coverage, but it would also pit McKenna and her team of eight sled dogs against racers from across the globe for three days of shifting lake ice, sudden owl attacks, snow squalls, and bitterly cold nights.

Blind Sighted

Blind Sighted
Moore, Peter G. Blind Sighted. Viking Juvenile (2002). Grade Level: 7-9. A story of fifteen year old Kirk who is a loner who struggles making friends and with school. He takes a job reading to a young woman who is blind who makes him feel good about himself.

The World at His Fingertips

The World at his Fingertips
O'Connor, Barbara. The World at His Fingertips. Carolrhoda Books, 1997. Grade Level: 6 and up. In this book the author goes into simple details about how Louis Braille came to invent the braille alphabet.

Wild Horse Summer

Wild Horse Summer
Ryden, Hope. Wild Horse Summer. Boston: Clarion Books, 1997. Grades 4-6. Alison, a twelve-year-old from Chicago, is nervous about spending the summer on a ranch in Wyoming. She learns to ride, and her cousin Kelly, who is blind, helps her to overcome her fears and anxieties.

Who Was Helen Keller

Who Was Helen Keller
Thompson, Gare. Who Was Helen Keller. Grosset & Dunlap, 2003. Grade Level 3-7. This book tells the story of Helen Keller. This illustrated biography is perfect for young middle-grade readers. It includes line drawings and sidebars on related topics such as Louis Braille.

Being Blind

Being Blind
White, Peter. Being Blind. Think About Series. North Mankato, Minn.: Smart Apple Media, 1999. Grades 2-5.  Peter White, who is blind, explains what blindness is, how it is caused, and ways in which some vision problems can be helped.