edited by Cynthia G. Hawkins
The announcement of products and services in this column does not represent an endorsement by the American Council of the Blind, its officers, or staff. Listings are free of charge for the benefit of our readers. “The ACB E-Forum” cannot be held responsible for the reliability of the products and services mentioned. To submit items for this column, send a message to [email protected], or phone the national office at 1-800-424-8666, and leave a message in Sharon Lovering’s mailbox. Information must be received at least two months ahead of publication date.
Helen Keller Achievement Awards 2023
The American Foundation for the Blind recently announced the two honorees who will receive the prestigious Helen Keller Achievement Award. AFB board chair Debbie Dennis introduced them, stating, “Both of our honorees this year embody the heart and passion of Helen Keller in their efforts to create a more inclusive and just world for people with disabilities.”
The two awardees are:
- The Honorable Tony Coelho, former California Congressman and champion for disability rights, led the efforts to introduce the Americans with Disability Act (ADA).
- Charter Communications is being honored for its achievements in expanding inclusive media for audiences with vision loss.
Read Across America
In partnership with National Braille Press, and as part of the Children’s Braille Book Club Project (CBBCP), volunteers from Columbia Threadneedle Investments assembled 450 braille copies of the children’s book “Paddington.” To enable both blind or low vision and sighted family members to read together, the CBBCP rebinds specially chosen children’s print books with corresponding braille overlay pages into an accessible finished volume.
New Book About Helen Keller
There’s a new book about Helen Keller! It’s called “After the Miracle,” written by Max Wallace. In this powerful new history, Wallace draws on groundbreaking research to reframe Helen Keller’s journey after the miracle at the water pump, vividly bringing to light her rarely discussed, lifelong fight for social justice across gender, class, race, and ability. It will be available in bookstores, as well as Amazon and Audible, in mid-April.
Winners of the 2023 New England Braille Challenge
The 2023 New England Braille Challenge was held at the Carroll Center in Newton, Mass. This year’s winners are:
Foundational Level:
1st place - Noora Al Ibrahim, Jason Dipersio, and Daniel Dipersio
Apprentice:
1st place - Devin Fedorchuck
Freshman:
1st place - Daniel Gevers
2nd place - Gesilene Vitoria
Sophomore:
1st place - Annie Cohane
2nd place - Adrian Rodriguez
Junior Varsity:
1st place - Hannah Gevers
2nd place - Darby Lalumiere
Varsity:
1st place - Alan Quan
2nd place - Donovan Casse
What’s New from National Braille Press?
Newly available is “Strega Nona” by Tomie dePaola. It’s in UEB, for ages 2-6. When Strega Nona (“Grandma Witch”) leaves Anthony alone with her magic pasta pot, he is determined to show the townspeople how it works – with unfortunate results.
Over in the cooking section, a number of braille cookbooks are available. They include:
- Dump Soups: Simple and Delicious No-Fuss Cooking, Braille or BRF
- Cooking with Feeling (Recipes and 180 adaptive culinary techniques for the visually impaired), BRF
- Recipes from My Kitchen: Asian and American Comfort Food, BRF
- 5-Ingredient Whole-Food Plant-Based Cookbook: Easy Recipes with No Salt, Oil, or Refined Sugar, Braille or BRF
- Allrecipes Air Fryer Recipes, Braille or BRF
Got a new iPhone? Anna Dresner’s “iOS 16 Reference Card” is now available, along with the guides for iOS 15.
If you have an Android phone, there are guides available for that as well: “Getting Started with Android: Android and TalkBack for the Beginning User (Android S-12),” by Kim Nova and Chris Nova, and “Android Commands and Settings, Android S-12,” by Ana Garza.
To view a complete list of books available, visit https://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/publications/all_books.html. For assistance with all NBP listings, call toll-free 1-800-548-7323, or visit www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/publications/index.html.