The DRM Guide to Disability Resources on the Internet: Sponsors

	DISABILITY RESOURCES ONLINE
	Monitoring, Reviewing and Reporting on Resources For Independent Living
	Updated 2/2006
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Forward, Shakespeare!
By Jean Little
Orca Publishing Co., 2005. Softcover, 100 pages, $5.99
The topic of guide dogs, as readers of this website know, is close to my heart. Since having become a guide dog handler three years ago, I am always glad to stop and talk to people who want to ask about the training and working life of my sweet Boise . Many of the children Boise and I meet, however, are surprisingly familiar with guide dogs; perhaps they have read Forward, Shakespeare! By Jean Little. This well-established Canadian children’s author is not only an excellent writer – she is also a fellow guide dog handler who has drawn upon her own experiences for this young adult book.
The story of how getting his first guide dog changes a newly-blinded young boy’s life, this novel also tangentially explores the social and psychological aspects of blindness. Little also does a good job of relating how guide dogs are trained in one particular school. While no one book could touch upon all areas of handling a guide dog, Little’s book is a worthy introduction.

-Reviewed by Sally Rosenthal


About the reviewer: A former librarian and occupational therapist, Sally Rosenthal has recently celebrated her third anniversary with her guide dog Boise who gives this book an enthusiastic two paws up.