An accident with a sharp tool, a code that soldiers can read in the dark, and a teenager working on his own night after night—all combine to create a system of reading and writing that's used by blind people all over the world!

Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille by Russell Freedman, illustrated by Kate Kiesler (Clarion Books, 1997), 79 pages.

If you want to learn to read braille, try Braille for the Sighted (Beginning Braille) by S. Harold Collins (Garlic Press, 1998).

If you want to write braille, slates and styluses are available at the National Federation for the Blind Online Store. You may need help getting started since you must write from right to left and reverse each letter, but keep at it—writing in braille is a blast!