Private and Confidential

By Marion Ripley and marion-ripley-colin-backhouse

How do you read and write when you can’t see? This is a question many children wonder about as they begin to master these skills. In this uplifting story, Laura has discovered that her Australian pen pal is blind, so she decides to learn to use a Brailler machine. It’s an exciting challenge, and soon Laura and Malcolm are corresponding in Braille. Laura has always wanted to have her very own private and confidential letters—and now she does!A genuine Braille message is printed at the back of the book along with an alphabet key so that readers can experience how Braille works. The short afternote also shares interesting facts about Braille. This unique book offers a meaningful way to introduce children to the subject of visual impairment.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803729006
• ISBN13: 9780803729001
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Dial
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.3" x 8.8"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

A Sweet and Educational Story

This book is a distinctive experience. Pen pals from different parts of the world share information with each other, but when adversity presents itself a young girl uses creative thinking to make her pal feel better. This is a good book for introducing or demonstrating many concepts to children: resourcefulness, diversity, and a caring attitude, for example. The author addresses blindness and the use of Braille as well. I enjoyed translating the letter, and think it would be a great experience and activity for children. The activity effectively allows us as readers to interact with the story and learn more about Braille too. The Braille alphabet and Braille biography in the back of the book are great resources for further discussion and education on the subject. The attractive illustrations in realistic colors enhance the story, and, actually, include part of the story (the letters). This story is an interesting and engaging read and a good resource for educating children in a variety of ways.

Private and Confidential

Private and Confidential is a heart warming book that would be great to read to young children and old. It shows a girl wanting to receive mail and what better way than to become a pen pal. She finds out after not recieving a return letter for a while that her pen pal is blind and is in the hospital receiving an operation. She then writes a braille get well card to her pen pal. Private and Confidential A story about Braille would be great to introduce pen pals and blindness to children in the classroom.

Private and Confidential review

I really liked how this book used blindness. Marion Ripley put each of the children on a level playing field. While this book can introduce children to blindness it also shows children that blind children are just kids. I also loved how the story incorporated the use of braille at the end. This can give children an opportunity to feel and see how a blind person reads. In the classroom teachers can use this book and have children feel the braille with their eyes closed. It would be a fun activity to learn the braille alphabet and write letters in braille.