October 2012 - Bookshare Blog

Published October 31, 2012

A Book Series for, and about, Students with Learning Differences

Students with learning differences will enjoy this series of chapter books about Hank Zipzer, the world’s greatest underachiever. Through Hank’s everyday adventures, the series deals with learning differences in a kind and humorous way. The stories are inspired by the true life experiences of author Henry Winkler, first known for his starring role as the Fonz in Happy Days. There are 17 titles in the series and Bookshare has them all! The titles themselves give clues to the fun inside the books. Here are a few: Niagara Falls, or Does It? (#1) “He’s smart, creative and funny but writing a…

Myth-begotten Beasts

What better time than Hallowe’en week to read about this creatures and beasts? Are these legendary creatures fact or hoax? You be the judge! The Sea Serpent and Me (Grades K-2) When a tiny sea serpent tumbles from the bathtub faucet, a little girl finds an unexpected friend. The Mystery of the Lake Monster (Boxcar Children #62) (Grades 3-5) While visiting the Adirondack Mountains, the Aldens hear stories about a monster in the lake and then encounter evidence that it may be real. Animal Monsters: The Truth About Scary Creatures (Grades 3-5) We think of some scary-looking animals as monsters…

Book Formats for Everyone!

Options are good, and Bookshare offers more choices in the form of books, reading tools, and now book formats. Bookshare wants to help its members read how and what they want to read. Over this past year, Bookshare added new download options to our existing book formats—DAISY Text and BRF (Braille Ready Format). Continue to use these formats with your existing assistive technologies; however, if you are looking for a different reading experience, you may want to try one of the new formats. The new book formats, DAISY Audio and MP3, provide more options in terms of technology and the…

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Published October 24, 2012

New Deaf and Deaf-Blindness Special Collection

We are proud to announce that Bookshare has a new Special Collection on Deaf and Deaf-Blindness. Now, rather than doing a subject search, books on these subjects can be found in one place. (If this link doesn’t work for you, go to the Bookshare homepage and choose “and more…” under the Browse Booklist link, where you’ll find our full list of Special Collections.) The current 200+ books gathered into one easy-to-locate group are categorized by topic: Culture, Biography/Autobiography, Sign Language/Training, Other Nonfiction, and Fiction. (Please note—while all fictional books have deaf characters, some are very minor or poorly portrayed.) Books…

Understand Dyslexia in National Dyslexia Month

An adult with dyslexia watching the new HBO documentary “Journey into Dyslexia” suddenly began to understand a tremendous array of memories and emotions never understood before. The opening title screen with words artistically drawn at angles was reminiscent of how words can swim on the page for a dyslexic reader. He said, “I felt like when I read a book, I had to force the letters to stay in a consistent line across the page.” From those opening screens, the movie captures the frustration and isolation of being a dyslexic very well. According to the movie, 10% of the population…

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Month: October 2012

A Book Series for, and about, Students with Learning Differences

Myth-begotten Beasts

Book Formats for Everyone!

New Deaf and Deaf-Blindness Special Collection

Understand Dyslexia in National Dyslexia Month