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Hannah by Gloria Whelan is a "Stepping Stone Book" originally published by Random House in 1991. This absolutely beautiful story is a very short book, only 63 pages, and is ideal for early readers.
I have read at least a dozen books by Whelan. Full-length chapter books, picture books, historical fiction, and sweet stories for young readers. I consider her to be the gold standard, on par with Hilda van Stockum, Alta Halverson Seymour, and Stephen Meader. I was not surprised that I loved this book as well.
“‘If it comes to that,’ Miss Robinson told me, ‘all of us have things that we don’t see. I would guess, Hannah, that you see some things people with perfectly good eyes don’t see.’”
When Lydia Robinson moves to a small northern Michigan community in 1887, it changes Hannah Thomas’s life. Nine-year-old Hannah is blind and the daughter of practical farmers who wish to keep her safe. Miss Robinson, however, understands that Hannah’s safety is tied to her independence.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have never sent Hannah to school. “There’s no point,” as her mother states again and again when asked about it. Miss Robinson, however, is boarding with the Thomas’s and she knows how important it is to help Hannah find her place in the world.
What ensues is a lovely and tender story that is written for early readers. I love this book and would recommend it to anyone, but I am especially excited about having it available in my library for newly independent readers or readers who are working through reading challenges.