When Hanni and I showed up to do a session at the bring books to life Book Fair last night, we were told that Grammy-award winner Ella Jenkins had confirmed with the Chicago Children’s Museum at the very last minute. “Do you mind sharing your presentation space with her?” Mind? You gotta be kidding. It […]

Some teachers struggle to get students to take part in class. Not me. My blindness sometimes makes class participation necessary. I take advantage of that. Take the How to Get a Children’s Book Published session I gave this morning, for example. My publisher at Blue Marlin Publications generously provided me with handouts she uses during […]

My plan for this week was to write a blog post about the trip Hanni and I made to Fairview Elementary School last Monday, but wouldn’t you know it. I got scooped! A story in the local Trib describes our trip to Mt. Prospect, Il far better than I ever could. Aside from two teeny-tiny […]

I was a bad cook when I could see. That didn’t change when I lost my sight. I still can’t cook, but now, I have an excuse. Or at least I did have an excuse, until that story about Laura Martinez came out in the Chicago Tribune last month. Martinez is 25 years old and […]

After reading that article about Braille in last week’s New York Times, a senior producer at Chicago Public radio asked if I’d be interested in writing an essay about Braille. I sent one their way, and while I was at it, I sent along another essay as well. The second one was about that fifth […]