SEEING FINGERS

Young readers will derive a heightened sense of gratitude for their own ability to see as well as a profound respect for the achievement of Louis Braille from this well written biography. Blinded at age three by a sharp awl in his father's harness shop, Louis learned to see the world in the only way possible -- through his sense of touch and small and the constant encouragement and patience of his family. Yet there was little anyone could do with Louis' enthusiasm for the printed word. Abbe Palluy, a kind and sympathetic friend of the Brailles, suggested that Louis attend a special school for the blind in Paris, but even here there was no firsthand contact with books. Intrigued by Valentine system of ""sonography"", based on six dots, Louis began experimenting and one day in the same harness shop where he was first blinded, and with a similar tool -- he opened the way to a new freedom for the blind with a system of raised alphabet. Though be went on to a professorship in his own school, Louis did not achieve world wide recognition until after his death. Avoiding academic technicalities, Miss DeGering imbues her story with warmth and simplicity. Recommended.