[Nfb-krafters-korner] OT Print braille book for blind grandma's

[Carol Osmar]

Joyce and all other blind grandmas, I received this print braille 
children's book in the mail today and just had to share the info 
with you.  It is a little pricy at forty dollars but I am so 
impressed with the story behind the book I think it is worth it.



 Patty asks her grandmother, "What is it like not to be able to 
see?" Grammie says, "I Can't see, B...I Can Imagine!" Patty's 
grandmother is blind but together they share adventures as 
Grammie imagines things around her and composes songs for her 
five grandchildren.  They laugh when they hear frog conversations 
in The Frog Song; hold their breath as they ride in a rocking 
chair-chariot with delightful ponies going to Rock-A-Bye Town; 
giggle when they meet Pepper in Patty's Puppy Pepper; stare in 
wonder at things below when Grammie's rocking chair turns into a 
swing and she is Swinging From a Star; and grin when they meet 
Mary Lou with her hair standing on end.
  Wrapped inside a beautifully illustrated and colorful 
children's book with an accompanying CD, one family's priceless 
history has been forever preserved.
  This 61 page hardbound children's book I Can't See, B...I Can 
Imagine is written by Patricia Bennett Wilson and illustrated by 
Sharon Bean.  The book contains a CD with the story and 
children's music by Patricia's grandmother, Persis Beach Bennett 
- first recorded on 78rpm records in 1949 updated and reproduced 
in 1990's.

Call 541-548-4138 tilde Emailicanimagine at bendcable.com

Persis Beach Bennett lived in the house on Richardson Street her 
father built in Lancaster , N.H.  Her four children were born in 
that house.  In 1915, about the time her last child was born, she 
began to have trouble with her eyesight.  By 1925, she was almost 
completely blind.  Her blindness, however, never stopped her from 
enjoying life.  She loved music and spent much of her time 
playing the piano and composing songs.  Persis's life is 
reflected in her music: she was Christian, so she wrote Christian 
songs: she loved nature, so she wrote nature songs; she loved 
love, so she wrote love songs; she loved her grandchildren, so 
she wrote songs for them.  Patty, Carl and Janie mentioned in the 
children's songs are three of her five grandchildren.  Majestic 
Trees was written after the huge New England hurricane on 
September 21, 1938 , that destroyed hundreds of ancient trees in 
Lancaster .  The entire town cried, and she cried - so she wrote 
a song.
  Persis wanted to save the music for her family, but because she 
was blind, writing it down was impossible.  Instead, in 1949, she 
recorded it on 78 rpm records.  Her family loved the music and 
played the records so often they were ruined.  By the time the 
next generation entered the picture, the records were so badly 
deteriorated they were impossible to understand.  Her 
granddaughter retrieved the records from a basement and 
re-recorded them all.  So, here they are - Songs From 
Grandmother's House.
  Patricia Bennett Wilson
  Persis' granddaughter, Patricia, was born and raised in New 
England, and now lives in Redmond , Oregon .  As a child, she was 
captivated by the songs her grandmother wrote.  When Persis 
passed away in April 1954, Patricia began worrying, "What will 
become of Grammie's music?" In 1994, she retrieved the records 
from a basement in New Hampshire .  They were terribly scratched 
and nearly impossible to understand.  With God's help and the 
assistance of many talented people in central Oregon , all the 
music was reproduced.
  In addition to producing this CD, Patricia wrote the children's 
book I Can't See, BddI Can Imagine.  It contains its own CD that 
includes the story and her grandmother's five children's songs.  
She says, "Children love the book and its CD, but people of any 
age will love all the Songs From Grandmother's House .was
  Beulah Bennett Sayles
  Beulah Bennett Sayles, daughter of Persis, was a self-taught, 
but accomplished, pianist.  Not only was she the pianist on the 
original recordings, but she spent many years after her mother's 
death writing the music down - miraculously discovered in 1995.  
When the recordings deteriorated over time, it was the written 
music that saved the day.