This Saturday Hanni will be honored at a Champaign Public Library program called “Get Inspired! Meet a Hero at Your Library.” The Champaign library will be recommending favorite books about heroes for the next couple months, and “Hanni and Beth: Safe & sound” is one of their three picks for march:
1. Officer Buckle & Gloria
Recommended for preschoolers
by Peggy Rathman

The funny on-stage performances of a police dog, teamed with her new partner, teach kids how to be safe at home, in school, and around town.

2. Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound,
Recommended for grades K to 2
by Beth Finke

How will Beth, who is blind, travel safely to work, to the park, or to a concert? Her good friend and guide dog, Hanni, helps her every day!

3. Charlotte’s Web
Recommended for grades 3 to 5
by E.B. White

A clever spider named Charlotte hatches a plan to save her dearest friend, Wilbur the pig

Hanni has been recognized for her heroism before, but being listed right up there with Charlotte the spider? Now, that’s an honor.

The Champaign Public Library’s calendar is full of hero-themed events for the next couple of months – Hanni is looking forward to her time in the spotlight this Saturday at 2 pm.

You might remember my “Papa & Me” blog about a presentation I gave at the Oak Park Public Library? A small independent children’s bookstore in Oak Park called Magic Tree was kind enough to bring books to the library for me to sign after my presentation. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a whole lot of takers.

As I put on my coat to leave the library, I could hear Rose, one of the Magic Tree owners, shoving unsold books back into a box. “Sorry we didn’t sell more books!” I called out in her direction. The temperature was one degree – yes, you read that right, one – outside. I hated to have dragged her out on such a cold night for such little reward.

Rose was unfazed. “No problem!” she exclaimed. “Now you can come to our store and do a presentation –we already have a stack of books!”

And so, this afternoon Hanni and I did a presentation at Magic Tree. Rose read “Safe & Sound” aloud, and I explained three rules to keep in mind if you happen to see a guide dog with a harness on: don’t pet the dog, don’t feed the dog, and don’t call out the dog’s name. “Those things can distract a Seeing Eye dog,” I told them. “It’d be like if someone nudged you or kept calling your name wile you were working on your spelling words at school. You wouldn’t be able to concentrate on your work.”

I suggested we come up with a fake name for Hanni. “If you use her fake name to say hi to her, she wont’ notice,” I said. “She’ll think you’re talking to someone else!”

“For today, let’s call the dog ‘Rose,’” I said. “You know, after the lady who invited Hanni and me to Magic Tree.

The kids liked the idea. The bookstore owner liked it, too. Until it came around to question and answer time, that is. There were some of the usual questions – how do you know where your food is on the plate, do you have to pay for a seat when the dog goes on an airplane with you, things like that. But then came the zinger. “How do you pick up Rose’s poop?”

I looked in Rose-the-human’s direction. She was quiet for a second. Then she burst out in laughter. I answered the question, but decided to refer to Hanni as “the dog” rather than “Rose” for this explanation.

It was a great event. When it was over, Rose didn’t pack any leftover books away in boxes. Instead, she asked me to sign them so she could bring them to a presentation she’d be giving to West Forty next month. “It’s an organization of 40 different public school districts in western Cook County,” she explained. “A lot of reading specialists are involved, I give presentations to them about books they might be interested in using with their kids.” She said she is especially pleased when she brings good books to their attention that they might not have heard of otherwise. “Yours is one of them.”

After posting a blog about using “the visual versus the visualized” when writing stories, I decided to expand the idea and submit it as a radio essay. The essay aired today, on Chicago Public Radio’s “848”show.

Usually the radio essays I do for NPR and Chicago Public Radio go like this: I email them an essay; they say they like the topic. Well, actually, usually they say they don’t like the topic, or they can’t use my essay right now, thanks but no thanks.

When they do* like my essay, though, they email me back with edits and suggestions. I change the wording, we go back and forth a few times, and when everyone is happy I set up a time to cab over to the station to record.

In the studio, a producer sits me in front of a microphone and asks what I had for breakfast that morning. I have no idea why, but when it comes to testing sound levels, public radio producers always ask about breakfast. Even when I did a Story Corps thing with one of the senior citizens in the memoir-writing class I teach, the guy there tested our sound levels by asking us what we had for breakfast. Must be in a public radio guidebook or something.

Breakfast covered, sound levels checked, the producer whips out a written copy of my essay. He reads a few sentences at a time, and I repeat what he’s said. Note: most people read their public radio essays. But that wouldn’t work for me. Although I can indeed read Braille, I’m very slow at it.

Once I’ve repeated all my lines, a producer splices the sentences together, sometimes adding sound effects or music. Voila! When my essay airs on the radio, It sounds like I just sat down and read the whole essay all at once.

The essay that aired today, however, was recorded a little differently. When I sat down in front of the microphone, the producer asked me to tell him what the essay was about.

“You mean you don’t want to know what I had for breakfast?” I asked.

No answer.

So I just started talking. You know, so he could get the sound levels. I went on and on and on about the essay, waiting for him to stop me. He never did.

Finally I stopped myself. “Are you recording all this?” I asked. He was. He did have a printed copy of the essay in front of him, but he didn’t want me to repeat it verbatim. He looked it over as I talked, but only interrupted if he found something I’d forgotten to mention. “Tell me about describing the brigadier general,” he’d say. Or, “What about your interview with Miss America?”

When all was said and done, I said just about everything that had been in the written essay. We got done very, very quickly. I knew the producer would have a lot of work ahead of him –he’d have to take all those pieces I’d said and splice them together into something that made sense, plus add music and sound effects. He assured me he’d enjoy the task.

“Do you always record contributor essays this way?” I asked as he helped Hanni and me outside to catch a cab.

“No,” he said with a laugh. “This is the first time I’ve ever tried anything like this.”

I was extremely pleased to hear the finished product on the radio this morning. It was one of the best essays I’ve ever done for public radio. Or I should say, I sounded wayyyyy more natural in this essay than in any other I’ve recorded. If you’d like, please listen to my essay yourself – I’m interested in hearing what you think of our new method!

South Carolina was swell. Our presentation at my sister Bobbies’ Book Club was well-received, and it was downright refreshing to go outside without a parka and boots on.

It would’ve been hard to return to cold and windy Chicago if we didn’t know Mike was there waiting for us. And to add icing, pardon the weather pun, to the cake, there was also a VERY cool new blog comment waiting at home on my talking computer. It was a response to Hanni’s Happy Birthday blog:
“I am a 26 year old totally blind musician from New York. I’m thinking about getting
a guide dog as soon as I get a place of my own…”

This blogging thing is cool. The musician went on to ask where she could get copies of my book. It made me think, gee, now might be a good time to blog about how folks can get copies of both “Long Time, No See’ and “Safe & Sound” in special formats for the blind. The following is “borrowed” directly from my web site:
“Long Time, No See” is available free of charge on cassette or in Braille from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically handicapped (NLS).
Through a national network of cooperating libraries, NLS circulates Braille and audio materials postage-free to those prevented from reading due to blindness or physical handicap.

Eligible borrowers can contact NLS and ask for call numbers RC56482 (cassette) or BR14821 (Braille).

Please note that NLS cassettes are recorded on a slower speed and are unusable on standard tape players. If you do not have a special NLS tape player and feel you qualify for the NLS program, special tape players can be obtained by phoning the national Library Service for the Blind and Physically handicapped at:
1-888-NLS-READ (1-888-657-7323). More information is also available at
www.loc.gov/nls

As for the children’s book, Blue Marlin Publications has teamed up with Seedlings Braille Books for Children to produce a number of copies of “Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound” in a special print-Braille (no pictures) format. Braille words appear directly under the printed words, providing visually-impaired children and their sighted parents a wonderful way to enjoy learning Braille. Print-Braille books are also very popular with blind adults (or older children) who enjoy reading to sighted preschoolers.

To order a copy of “Hanni And Beth: Safe & Sound” in print-Braille, link to
www.seedlings.org.
Back to me. I was extremely pleased when my friends at Blue Marlin Publications decided to donate a portion of the proceeds from sales of the standard print-only version of Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound to Seedlings Braille Books for Children. Blue Marlin’s generosity will help this non-profit, tax-exempt organization continue providing high quality, low cost Braille books for children.

Winters were hard in the college town where we used to live. Urbana’s sidewalks were brick, and difficult to shovel. When it snowed, people walked in the street. Not a good option for a Seeing Eye dog. On days it snowed, Hanni and I were trapped inside.
Winter is easier on us here in the city. Our Chicago apartment is surrounded by other big buildings. Most ground floor units are retail, and shop owners don’t like their customers falling on ice. So they shovel their sidewalks.
Trouble is, they put salt on their sidewalks, too. LOTS of salt.
The American Dog Trainers Network website warns that Ice-melting chemicals and salt on sidewalks and roads can cause severe burning to a dog’s footpads. “Whenever possible, avoid walking your dog through these substances…”
Trust me, I’d avoid walking Hanni through those “substances” if I could. But for one, I can’t see the dang stuff. And for two, if we avoided the salt, we’d never get anywhere. We’d be trapped, just like we were when it snowed in Urbana.
Musher’s Secret to the rescue! Musher’s Secret is this waxy stuff you can get online from pet suppliers. I rub this goop on Hanni’s paws every time we leave home.
It smells a bit like Vicks Vaporub, and it hardens on her paw after I rub it in – the salt can’t get through to her pads.
Hanni loves having her paws rubbed, but she could do without the waxy stuff. And really, we could both do without the ice and snow for a while.
And so, we’re treating ourselves to a Valentine’s Day gift. We leave this Thursday to visit my sister Bobbie and her husband…in South Carolina! I’m doing a presentation for Bobbie’s Book Club on Friday and hoping to get a few good long walks in, too.
Hanni and I are both looking forward to a few days away from snow, away from ice, away from road salt, and away from Musher’s Secret. I promise I’ll still rub her paws, but maybe while we’re sitting outside. In the warm sun.