The audiobook version of Grandpa’s White Cane, by Jim Hoxie and Joanna Jones with cartoonist and former reporter Alex Portal as Illustrator, is now available through Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD), a program of the National Library Service (NLS) for the Blind and Print Disabled of the Library of Congress. A resident of South Dakota, Jim is a member of BVA’s Midwest North Regional Group. 

Print copies of Grandpa’s White Cane (see adjacent graphic) have already been distributed free to hundreds of ophthalmologists, optometrists, schools for the blind, and elementary schools across the United States and Canada since its first printing in September 2020. Jim and Joanna wrote the book primarily for children, but it is also instructive for those with sight loss. The story details the experience of a grandfather with sight loss due to glaucoma, which is diagnosed by an ophthalmologist who suggests using a white cane while relating several benefits of doing so.

Shortly after the diagnosis, because of his status as a veteran of the U.S. Military, Grandpa attends the VA Central Blind Rehabilitation Center in Hines, Illinois, where he regains his confidence to live independently. He receives training in orientation and mobility with a white cane, relearns how to engage in activities of daily living and communication, and is provided with manual skills training for hobbies and household repair.

For more information about Grandpa’s White Cane and its availability both in print and on BARD, click here.