Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille

A Helen Keller quote kicks off this imaginative profile of inventor Louis Braille. Based on author Jen Bryant and illustrator Boris Kulikov's 2016 picture book, this iconographic-animated adaptation tells the story from little Louis's perspective (“I was always a curious child…”)—from the accident with an awl that ultimately led to infection and blindness, to his acceptance at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris at the age of 10, and his improvement of the previous system of reading bumps on a page (taking inspiration from military cryptography patterns). At times indistinctly drawn on purpose—the black background and light overlay to depict things Louis could hear but not see—this is a solid portrait of the teen inventor. Narrated by Pete Cross, Six Dots also features an author's note with Q&A, and read-along options. Recommended. Aud: E, I, P. (J. Williams-Wood)