APH News: September 2014

Exciting New APH Products Announced!

Read on to learn about these new products – now available!

• APH Sizzlin’ Summer Savings Sale
• NEW! Wilson Reading System Braille Student Kit One
• Advanced Desktop Stick-On Number Lines
• NEW! Step-by-Step: A Guide to Mobility Techniques
• NEW! EZ Track Calendar: A Low Vision Appointment Book and Calendar, 2015
• NEW! Braille DateBook, 2015
• APH Braille Book Corner

146th APH Annual Meeting Registration Still Open!
(October 16 – 18)

There’s still time to move “Full Steam Ahead!” and register for the 2014 APH Annual Meeting. You can register from the APH website. Just click here: sites.aph.org/annual-meeting/2014/. From the site you can register for Annual Meeting, check out the agenda, look for related meetings, reserve your hotel room, and more.

You don’t want to miss the keynote address: "A Message From the Engine Room: Imagining and Building Full-Steam Ahead Technologies," by Dr. Josh Miele, Director of the Description Research and Innovation Lab at The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center in San Francisco. Other not-to-be-missed opportunities include presentations about products for students with CVI, products for teaching and developing orientation and mobility skills, use of APH products to teach the skills of the Expanded Core Curriculum, and well, a whole boatload of other great events! And speaking of boats, you’ll want to join us for the opening session aboard the Spirit of Peoria, where you’ll be treated to an historical re-enactment, welcoming remarks from Tuck Tinsley, an opening reception, and participate in a live riverboat race!

Pictured on the right are many of our exciting presenters.

Deadline for registration is September 28, 2014. For more information, contact Janie Blome, 800-223-1839, ext. 367, or email jblome@aph.org.

Rollin’ On the River – Saturday Afternoon and Evening Events

The Belle of Louisville will be celebrating her 100th birthday during the week of Annual Meeting, and there will be festivities along the Louisville waterfront all week long. Opening ceremonies for the Centennial Festival of Riverboats will take place Tuesday, October 14, with the Belle’s 100th Birthday Parade taking place at 5:30 pm. This unique community parade, inspired by the tradition of a New Orleans “second line,” will follow the commencement ceremony and the re-christening of the Belle. The parade will start at the Belle of Louisville and evolve into live music at the Riverboat Stage. A fireworks display will close out the evening.

If you want to take a stroll across Louisville’s new Big Four Bridge over to Indiana, the City of Jeffersonville will be hosting their Steamboat Days festival Friday – Sunday. The Big Four pedestrian bridge will link both festivals together for a weekend full of activities. In addition to Jeffersonville’s many shops and dining opportunities, Steamboat Days will feature a juried art village, live art demonstrations, live music on the Riverstage, a parade and a children’s area.

Other events will be taking place all week, and you can find out all the details at http://festivalofriverboats.com/events/. Hope to see you there!

National Prison Braille Forum: Countdown to Launch Time!

There is still time to register for the 14th annual National Prison Braille Forum! On Wednesday, October 15, APH will host corrections and vision professionals who will travel to Louisville from across the country to discuss running accessible media production operations in correctional facilities.

Two major topics to be covered are the reentry of transcribers interested in pursuing braille translation as a career and Unified English Braille Code (UEB) training for prison programs. As always, Forum participants will give individual reports on their prison braille programs or work as independent transcribers.

There is no charge to attend the National Prison Braille Forum, and anyone interested in learning about the work being done in prison braille programs is welcome to join us. Click here for more information or to register for the Forum.

What do you think about APH?

RATE US by Completing the 2014 APH Customer Satisfaction Survey

Link to survey: http://archive.aph.org/products/gpra.html
Deadline: September 20, 2014

APH is required to annually collect and report customer satisfaction data to the US Department of Education (DE) in compliance with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). This 11-question, on-line survey offers you an opportunity to rate your satisfaction with our products and to express your thoughts and experiences with them. Your feedback will provide valuable input both for the Federal Quota Program and for the staff of APH.

We encourage you to share this opportunity for input with your staff, other professionals, and all appropriate parties. Please help us spread the word. You can respond to the survey by going to the link http://archive.aph.org/products/gpra.html.

If you have questions or require assistance, please email Mary Nelle McLennan at aphsurvey@earthlink.net.

Thanks, as always, for your input and your continued support.

Your APH Partners

Field Test Opportunity: Nemeth Tutorial

APH staff, in a project with Northern Illinois University, is developing a web based Nemeth tutorial that works equally well for both sighted and blind users with a refreshable braille display. The tutorial requires an internet connection and a modern browser and, for blind users, a screen reader and refreshable braille display. Supported screen readers include JAWS®, Window-Eyes®, and NVDA® on Windows®, VoiceOver® (on both Mac® and iOS®) and TalkBack® on Android®. Supported browsers include Internet Explorer®, FireFox®, and Chrome® on Windows, Safari® on Mac and iOS, and Firefox and Chrome on Android.

Any braille display that the selected screen reader supports works with the tutorial.

To participate in the testing, send a blank email to nemeth-subscribe@tech.aph.org. This subscribes you to an email list where other test participants, developers, and customer service personnel exchange experiences, impressions, and suggestions.

APH’s Nearby Explorer Version 2 Released

The most powerful, complete, and inexpensive GPS application ever developed for blind users just got even better with virtual map exploration!

Virtual map exploration is a feature that lets the user use the touch screen on any supported Android device to get detailed feedback about nearly any location on earth.

When the user opens Map View in the app, Nearby Explorer announces the relevant information about the spot touched just as if the user were actually in that location. The kind of information the user gets depends on how she sets the feedback possibilities. The choices come from one of 20 possible options on the home screen that include Country, State, County, City, Street, Nearest Place, and more. The relationship to other geo-based objects gives a unique, dynamic perspective to blind users.

If a student is studying the counties in her area, for instance, she may mask out all the other feedback and move a finger around to discover the placement and relationship of each county in the state. One may also zoom the map out to encompass large areas, such as the entire state or region.

While the onboard maps for Nearby Explorer include only the United States and Canada, a network connection adds basic information about any place on earth through Google’s Places service. While the user cannot follow a street outside the U.S. or Canada, countries, cities, and places of interest all provide enough feedback to get a good perspective about placement and relationship. It is interesting, for instance, for a user to turn off all feedback except country, then expand the map view to cover hundreds or thousands of miles and find those countries she’s read about in the news.

Nearby Explorer costs $99 and is available in the Google Play Store at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.aph.avigenie&hl=en. It is also available on quota by calling customer support at 800-223-1839.

If you purchased Nearby Explorer through the Play Store, the automatic update is free. If you purchased on quota, you should get an email with a link to download the update.

Tennis Anyone?

Are your students ready for international tennis competition?

Check out the new tournament rules established by the International Blind Tennis Association. APH has all your tennis equipment needs.

Media Release: Transforming Braille Group LLC Announces Low Cost Refreshable Braille Display On the Horizon

Orbit Research LLC and the Transforming Braille Group LLC are pleased to announce an agreement to produce a low cost, refreshable braille display.

Orbit, an international engineering company based in Wilmington, Delaware, specializing in high quality, low cost products for blind and partially sighted people, will be undertaking the research, development and manufacture of this unique product.

The Transforming Braille Group LLC is a global consortium of organizations of and for the blind which is investing $1M in the project.

The objective of the project is to produce a stand-alone 20-cell refreshable braille display for $300 (or £200) which will bring refreshable braille within the reach of children in developing countries and will provide libraries in developed countries with a viable alternative to hard copy braille. The product will be launched at CSUN in 2016.

The display is designed to work through USB and Bluetooth connectivity with ‘smart’ phones and tablets. It is not intended to compete with high specification refreshable braille displays already on the market, primarily used in education and employment, but is intended to bring Braille-displayed e-books to a wide audience at an economical price.

"The agreement with TBG is a landmark in our journey to develop and manufacture essential products at an affordable cost through the application of mainstream technology in unique and innovative ways” said Dr. Gina Spagnoli, Orbit Research’s Founder. “While each of our previous products has brought a multi-fold improvement in the state of the art in terms of performance, cost, size and features, we are thrilled that through this partnership with TBG, we will be able to offer a game-changing product that will impact the daily lives of millions of blind people across the world.”

TBG President, Kevin Carey said: "At last we have a technology which will guarantee the survival of braille. It has been my long-standing, publicly stated objective to find a disruptive technology which will radically force down the cost of refreshable braille so that the world’s digital content becomes available in a tactile format. This new device will bring braille within the price range of educators in developing countries and will enable most blind people to access e-books and other internet material without resorting to specialist libraries."

TBG estimates that its new product will retail at a unit cost less than 20% of the current market price.

Contact for details: Kevin Carey, President, Transforming Braille Group LLC,
Tel: +44(0)1273 834321, humanity@atlas.co.uk,
www.Transformingbraille.org (under construction)

Oldies but Goodies: The "Established" APH Product Series

The On the Way to Literacy Handbook guides teachers and parents in supporting a young child’s first steps towards literacy. With a significant amount of new information and reorganized content, the 2nd edition of the On the Way to Literacy Handbook (©2007) brings together information and research from the field of teaching children with visual impairments, research regarding early literacy for typically sighted children, and the findings of the National Early Literacy Panel.

This handbook encourages the use of everyday events to support a child’s learning in key areas: early communication and language, concept development, tactile discrimination skills needed for learning through touch and for reading braille, and knowledge about written language. This handbook contains extensive information on selecting and reading aloud from appropriate books and providing children opportunities to use the tools for writing in braille or print.

Opportunities to develop early literacy skills are important for all children. Although portions of the On the Way to Literacy Handbook focus on the future braille reader, a great deal of the information is appropriate for a child who will read print. Approaches and activities are adaptable for older children and for those with additional disabilities, including children who may use another means of communicating, such as a symbol communication system. Appendices list additional sources of information to help readers meet each child’s unique and changing needs.

In addition to the handbook, the On the Way to Literacy: Early Experiences of Visually Impaired Children series consists of 18 tactile/visual storybooks to be read to young children. All of the storybooks provide valuable exposure to braille, with large print for the sighted reader, and feature tactile as well as visual illustrations. Because is often difficult to tactually recognize a raised image based on a visual picture, tactile illustrations are designed to meet the special needs of tactual learners. They represent familiar objects in a highly simplified way, retaining features that are key for tactual recognition: texture, shape, and size. They also present a range of types of illustration, objects and textures attached to the page, collaged shapes, highly realistic thermoforms of actual objects, and simple raised outline drawings of familiar objects. The handbook and storybooks can be purchased separately or in sets.

If you have any suggestions for other products you would like to see highlighted in this monthly feature, please send your comments to Monica Turner at mmturner@aph.org.

The Hall of Fame Induction of Mike Collins and Newel Perry – October 17, 2014

The ceremony to induct Mr. Collins and Dr. Perry into the Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field will take place during the 146th Annual Meeting on Friday evening, October 17, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky when these heroes will join the 52 outstanding legends previously inducted.

• Michael T. Collins 1947–2008

  Mike Collins served as supervisor of the Perkins School for the Blind’s campus-based Deafblind Program and then as director of the Hilton/Perkins International Program, with the mission of training teachers to teach children who are deafblind with multiple disabilities in developing countries.

• Newel Perry 1873–1963

  Dr. Newel Perry is called the father of the modern civil rights movement of the blind, presiding as mentor and godfather to the [organized blind] movement.

For more information on these inductees, please visit: archive.aph.org/hall/news.html

Additional information regarding the 2014 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will soon appear on the APH website, archive.aph.org. Visit the Hall of Fame website at archive.aph.org/hall/ for information on the Hall and those inducted.

"Like" the Hall of Fame, then ‘Tube with Us!

The Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is now on Facebook! "Like" the page to learn more about this year’s inductees, Michael T. Collins and Newel Perry, as well as updated information on the 2014 induction ceremony, and items of interest on the other 54 Hall inductees.

The URL is http://www.facebook.com/BlindnessHallofFame or you can search Facebook for "Hall of Fame for the Blindness Field."

Also visit the Hall on our recently launched YouTube channel—click on "Playlists" to watch the inspiring Hall of Fame induction ceremonies!

Treasures From the APH Libraries

The APH Barr Library supports research initiatives at APH, while the Migel Library is one of the largest collections of nonmedical information related to blindness in the world. Although the collections do not circulate, arrangements can be made to use the materials on-site. In addition, an ongoing digitization effort means APH will continue to make materials available through the online catalog at http://migel.aph.org.

From the Barr Library: Kurzhals, Ina W. "Personality Adjustment for the Blind Child in the Classroom." The New Outlook for the Blind 64.5 (1970): 129-34.

The premise of this article is that it is critical for those who instruct children with visual impairment and blindness to assist them in becoming well-adjusted individuals. The process of personality development is often the most complex among children who are blind. Kurzhals maintains that the instructor’s capacity to display enthusiasm, compassion, and commitment is foundational to the personality development and social integration of children who are blind in the classroom. In addition to fostering appropriate emotional and physical contexts, there are particular pedagogical techniques required, such as large quantities of individual attention, teacher-student preparation, student-oriented homework, and effective measures for assessment.

From the Migel Library: Smithdas, Robert J. There Is a Silver Lining. Vol. 1-5. New York: Industrial Home for the Blind, 1955-59.

Robert J. Smithdas was known for a lifetime filled with achievement and advocacy. After attending Perkins School for the Blind, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in 1950 – one of only three individuals who were deafblind to have done so at the time. He then attended New York University, studied vocational guidance and rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities, and became the first student who was deafblind to earn a Master’s degree. He worked at the Industrial Home for the Blind and Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults until his retirement in 2009. He had been named “Handicapped American of the Year” by President Johnson in 1965, was a guest when President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA in 1990, and was named as Barbara Walters’ most memorable interview in 1998.

But Robert Smithdas was also a writer, and was named Poet of the Year in 1961 by the Poetry Society of America. The Migel Library holds a rare 5 volume set of his poetry that was distributed to Industrial Home for the Blind League members during the holidays in the 1950s. These works were digitized by the Migel Library while collaborating with researcher David Goldstein and the Smithdas family just before Robert’s passing on July 17, 2014. They are available at Internet Archive at https://archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Aaphmigel%20smithdas.

APH is working with the Internet Archive to digitize portions of the M.C. Migel Library. Search the phrase “full text” to find these items at http://migel.aph.org. The digitized texts are available in a variety of formats, including DAISY, Kindle, EPUB, PDF, etc.

Contact Library staff: library@aph.org, 800-223-1839, ext. 705

Social Media Spotlight

The guys from Thoughtfly Studios (www.thoughtflystudios.com) were here in August getting footage for an upcoming video. They used a heli-drone to photograph the outside of the building and the grounds. Here are some photos of the drone in action!

"Like" APH at Our Facebook Page!

We invite you to visit our Facebook page and "Like" us! You can find APH at these social media sites: Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Flickr, Pinterest, and at our blog, Fred’s Head from APH.

APH Welcomes New Ex Officio Trustees

Donna Sorenson, the Montana State Department of Public Instruction and the Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind, replacing Steve Gettel.

Patricia Trice, the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind–Staunton, replacing Nancy Armstrong.

Sandra McNally, the Connecticut State Department of Developmental Services, replacing Stacie Albert.

Paula Penrod, the Kentucky School for the Blind, replacing John Roberts.

Chris Short, the Iowa Department of Education, replacing Margie Ortgiesen.

David Feinhals, the St. Joseph’s School for the Blind/Concordia Learning Center, replacing Judy Ortman.

APH Travel Calendar

September

September 2-5, 2014
Appropriation: various Legislative Visits on Capitol Hill
Washington, DC

September 17-20, 2014
Envision 2014
Minneapolis, MN

September 22-25, 2014
Firebrand Community Conference
Portsmouth, MA

September 27, 2014
Indiana Vision Expo 2014
Indiana State Library in IN

October

October 6, 2014
Perkins Innovation Advisory Group
Watertown, MA

October 23-25, 2014
National Braille Association, Fall 2014, Professional Development Conference;
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

October 23-24, 2014
Functional Vision & Learning Media Assessment
Watertown, MA

October 24, 2014
MN TBVI & COMS Statewide Conference
Baxter, MN

October 30-November 2, 2014
National Rehabilitation Association, 2014 National Training Conference
De Moines, IA

November

November 7, 2014
VRATE 2014 – 18th Annual Vision Rehabilitation & Technology Expo
Phoenix, AZ

November 10-12, 2014
AVRT (MACRT-ASERT)
Colorado Springs, CO

APH Sizzlin’ Summer Savings Sale

Load up a world of savings on selected APH products with APH’s Sizzlin’ Summer Savings Sale 2014, July 1—September 30. As always, first come, first served.

archive.aph.org/sale/

Recommended APH Products for Programs Serving Students with Visual Impairment 2014-15

Every year APH’s Janie Blome puts together this handy document that lists APH educational products in various categories. It is designed to help educational programs forecast purchases to meet student needs for the upcoming school year.

All items on this list are available for purchase with federal Quota funds. Please note that the federal Quota funds spending deadline is September 30 each year.

Here is the link: archive.aph.org/products/recommended/

Table of Contents

• Early Childhood
• Itinerant and Classroom Teachers: Elementary
• Itinerant and Classroom Teachers: Secondary
• Dormitory/After School Programs/Home
• Multiple Disabilities/Deafblind
• Daily Living

NEW! Wilson Reading System Braille Student Kit One

6-79502-SK1 — $229.00

Replacement Items

Wilson Reading System Braille:
Student Reader One: 6-79502-01 — $37.00
Supplemental Worksheets One: 6-79502-SW — $61.00
Modified Workbook One: 6-79502-WA — $43.00
Modified Workbook Two: 6-79502-WB — $39.00
WADE Sheets: 6-79507-00 — $23.00

Related Products

Wilson Reading System Braille Readers:
Student Reader Two: 6-79503-00 — $16.00
Student Reader Three: 6-79504-00 — $18.00

Wilson Reading System Large Print Readers:
Student Reader One and Workbooks 1A and 1B: 8-79501-SK1 — $37.00
Student Reader Two and Workbooks 2A and 2B: 8-79501-SK2 — $37.00
Student Reader Three and Workbooks 3A and 3B: 8-79501-SK3 — $37.00

Wilson Reading System Instructional Materials:
Card Sets w/Carry Case: 6-79505-00 — $139.00

Print/Braille Magnetic Tiles and Journal: 6-79506-00 — $59.00

The Wilson Reading System® (WRS) is a research-based reading and writing program.

WRS is a complete curriculum for teaching decoding and encoding (spelling), beginning with phoneme segmentation. Unlike other programs that overwhelm the student with rules, the language system of English is presented in a systematic and cumulative manner so that it is manageable. WRS provides an organized, sequential system with extensive controlled text to help teachers implement a multi-sensory structured language program.

This system specifically addresses the learning style of students with a language-based learning disability; however, it is beneficial to any student lacking basic reading and spelling skills.

For more information and professional development opportunities on the use of the program, please visit: wilsonlanguage.com

Note: Braille workbooks, supplemental worksheets, Teacher Brochure, and WADE (Wilson Assessment of Decoding and Encoding) sheets will be available in the future. These will complete the Braille Student Kits Two and Three.

Note: Wilson Reading System Instructional Materials are needed to work with the WRS Large Print and Braille Student Kits.

Recommended grades: 2 and up.

Advanced Desktop Stick-On Number Lines

1-03482-00 — $18.00

Related Products

Desktop Stick-On Number Lines: Large Print/Braille (5-pack): 1-03481-00 — $13.00

Consumable Number Lines:
Large Print: 1-03012-00 — $10.00
Braille/Tactile: 1-03013-00 — $12.00

Number lines are available for large print and braille readers.

APH’s Desktop Stick-On Number Lines visually and/or tactually demonstrate the basic concepts of negative numbers: counting, sequencing, number relationships, addition, and subtraction. Supports Common Core State Standards, Number Sense, Grades 6 & 7. These self-adhesive number lines are perfect for the student’s desk or tabletop. The adhesive will not permanently stick to surfaces or mar them. Each number line is reusable for approximately five times before the adhesive becomes ineffective.

Includes: 5 large print/braille number lines with numbers -10 to +10

Recommended ages: 11 years and up.

NEW! Step-by-Step: A Guide to Mobility Techniques

8-75980-00 — $299.00

This interactive computer curriculum provides step-by-step instructions and demonstrations of how to perform mobility techniques. Step-By-Step, developed by Dr. Sandra Rosen, guides the user in strategies to identify and correct mobility errors commonly made by new learners.

Features

• Textbook to teach mobility techniques to Orientation and Mobility (O&M) students in university programs
• Reference and review guide for O&M instructors
• Manual for Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVIs) and Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapists (CVRTs) that covers mobility techniques that are within their scope of practice
• Tool to help professionals, families, and friends of persons with visual impairments understand and support performance of mobility skills

Learning Module Topics Include

• Human Guide Techniques
• Long Cane Techniques
• Non-Cane Techniques
• Special Environments
• Special Techniques
• Street Crossing Techniques
• Transportation Techniques

Step-By-Step Includes

• Seven Study Guides
• Seven Review Guides
• Introduction and Appendices
• User’s Guide for Flash Drive Videos
• URL for downloading all text materials
• Video flash drives: One 32 GB flash drive for Macs and another for PCs include interactive videos.

Note: While only O&M specialists should teach the 30 techniques included in Long Cane Techniques, Street Crossing Techniques, Special Environments, and Transportation Techniques modules, teachers of students with visual impairments, vision rehabilitation therapists, and other professionals, family members, and friends may wish to learn, as appropriate, some of the 23 techniques included in Human Guide Techniques, Non-Cane Techniques, and Special Techniques modules.

NEW! EZ Track Calendar: A Low Vision Appointment Book and Calendar, 2015

with binder: 1-07900-15 — $39.00
inserts only, no binder: 1-07901-15 — $33.00

This calendar offers a systematic and organized way of keeping track of appointments, holidays, and other events.

Each large print page holds four days, with enough room to write notes and appointments. The calendar comes with a three-ring binder.

NEW! Braille DateBook, 2015

1-07899-15 — $68.00

Optional Item

Additional Filler Paper and Tabs: 1-07897-00 — $11.00

Replacement Item

Calendar Pages, 2015: 1-07898-15 — $18.00

Related Product

Braillable Labels and Sheets: Small Label Pack: 2 lines, 15 cells (3.875 x 0.95) 10 sheets, 18 labels per sheet: 1-08872-00 — $13.00

The 2015 Braille DateBook is an attractive planner-organizer designed specifically for braille users!

Keep track of appointments, addresses, family schedules, class assignments, and more with the Braille DateBook from APH. Use it at your desk or on the go—it is sturdy, compact, and fits in a backpack or brief case.

Includes

• Binder
• Calendar pages
• Blank filler pages and blank tabs
• A Saddle-Shaped Stylus
• Print and braille tips pamphlet

Recommended ages: 11 years and up.

APH offers a number of recreational books in braille (Quota funds can be used). Each of these titles was originally transcribed and produced by APH for the National Library Service which has graciously granted permission for this offering. As usual, these titles have been added to the APH Louis Database where you can find thousands of titles produced in accessible formats.

Note: all books are produced upon receipt of orders, therefore, please allow several weeks for delivery.

Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95
by Phillip Hoose: T-N1985-80 — $57.50
Documents the survival tale of an intrepid shorebird who has endured annual migrations between Argentina and the Canadian Arctic throughout the course of a long lifetime while his species continues to decline. Grades 4-8. *(AR Quiz No. 152444 , BL 7.9 Pts 5.0 )

Stronger Than Steel
by Bridget Heos: T-N1987-60 — $29.00
Details scientist Randy Lewis’s study of the golden orb weaver spider’s silk and its possible uses. Discusses his research with transgenic goats — which he injected with spider genes — and provides a basic introduction to DNA and gene theory. Grades 5-8. *(AR Quiz No. 156751, BL 3.0 Pts 6.2)

Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—The World’s Most Dangerous Weapon
by Steve Sheinkin: T-N1989-00 — $96.50
This book about the history of the atomic bomb discusses the discovery of the behavior of uranium when placed next to radioactive material, the race to build a bomb, and the impact of the weapon on societies around the world. Grades 6-12. *(AR Quiz No. 153499, BL 6.9 Pts 10.0)

Dark Tide
by Elizabeth Haynes: T-N1988-70 — $127.50
Genevieve leaves her stressful software sales and dancing jobs in London for a different life on a houseboat in Kent. But a friend is killed, the boat is ransacked, and Genevieve can’t reach the man she thought would protect her. Some adult content.

Driver’s Education
by Grant Ginder: T-N1982-80 — $115.50
Finn, an editor of TV reality shows, is persuaded to deliver his grandfather’s beloved car Lucy to him by driving it from New York to San Francisco. Following his grandfather’s map, Finn relives the old man’s exploits. Meanwhile, Finn’s father Colin takes care of his aging parent. Some adult content.

*Accelerated Reader quiz number, book level, and point value. For more information on the Accelerated Reader program, see the January 2006 APH News or www.renlearn.com/ar/