Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind
9 May 2012
A special children’s picture book, Colour the Stars, gives
children the opportunity to experience a different way of ‘seeing’ the world.
Written by Dawn McMillan and illustrated by Keinyo White,
Colour the Stars is a poignant and uplifting story about two children, Isaac
and Luke, which explores the question ‘How do you describe a colour to someone
who can’t see?’.
Dawn (right) is also generously donating the royalties of the book,
which is published by Scholastic, to the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the
Blind’s Guide Dog Services.
“It felt right to support the RNZFB with proceeds from the
story. I chose the RNZFB guide dogs as one day a boy like Luke might decide he
needs a guide dog,” Dawn says.
Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB) Chief
Executive, Sandra Budd, says the story will be a great tool to raise awareness
of blindness.
“The story conveys vision impairment in such a wonderful way
for children to learn and be aware of the different ways blind and partially
sighted children discover the world,” she says.
Colour the Stars begins when the two boys are sitting
together on the banks of a stream in the bush and Isaac asks Luke if he knows
about colours. Isaac then uses the non-visual senses of touch and smell to
teach Luke the different colours of the rainbow.
About the author:
Living in a small coastal village on the western side of the
Coromandel Peninsula, Dawn’s inspiration to write the story came when she was
sitting in her favourite place in the bush, alongside a ford that crosses a
stream.
“I often sit there alone, listening to the water and
enjoying the colours and the smells that surround me. One day it seemed as if
Luke and Isaac were there with me, wanting to tell their story,” she says.
1 comment:
If that's the case, then I would like my nephew to have a check on it. He might love this picture book. And if he does, then I'll be giving one to him.
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