Exciting News …Welcome to the Online Book Launch of 'Discovery at Paradise Island' - Dyslexia Font edition by the Former Disability Minister - The Honourable Craig Crawford MP

You can buy the book here  Just click here and it will  take you straight to the online shop and you just choose the book and you can pay using paypal.  Or you can send me an email and I can send you a copy.  

Order Now... Just visit the online shop - lots of choices

individual book

class sets

pdf files

CD Sets

Author - Sharon Boyce

ISBN – 978-0-9581610-6-0

I am really excited about this book. The original book now reprinted in open dyslexia font.

A Little About The Book - Blurb‘

The fun and discovery starts as soon as Alexandria and Sarah arrive at Paradise Island. What would usually be a relaxing holiday on a tropical island turns into an exciting adventure. Sarah thinks because Alexandria’s mum is in a wheelchair their holiday will be quite boring. How wrong is she?

The island activities, a mystery code, digging for pirate treasure, clues and discovery make for a surprising holiday and Sarah discovers some things she didn’t know before she went away with Alexandria’s family.'

Discovery at Paradise Island is a children's adventure storybook written for audiences aged seven to twelve years. The story gives children a chance to learn and discover about disability. This book aims to develop children’s literacy, numeracy and social intelligence, while at the same time making it exciting and fun to read. It integrates into the school SOSE syllabus and also critical literacies and numeracy with the code breaking work. It has teacher and parent directed activities included and engagement questions at the end of each chapter to encourage children to think about what they have read and apply it to their own lives.

Written by an author with a strong educational background and a thorough knowledge of disability both from a practical perspective and a theoretical framework this book explores a variety of social justice issues through the eyes of a child. Because this book can be used as a teaching resource across the curriculum and because it has a particular focus on disability it would be an invaluable classroom tool.

The book links into the SOSE syllabus especially the Culture and Identity strand, as well as critical literacy and numeracy. It also is a much needed resource in the area of disability awareness. The engagement questions at the end of each chapter encourage children to think about the issues they are reading about and to apply them to their own lives. At the conclusion of the book it has a section containing teacher and parent directed activities.  

What is OpenDyslexic Font?

This book has been reprinted using this open dyslexic font. This is an open source font that can be downloaded and used by anybody for any purpose. The typeface includes regular, bold, italic, and bold italic styles.  It is being updated continually and improved based on input from people who use the font. It has been designed to make the text heavier on the bottom of each letter in order to try to anchor it onto the page so there is less movement of the letters for the reader. There are no quick fixes for dyslexia, however there are some solutions that may make it easier for a person to read certain types of font on certain types of paper. I wanted to see whether it made it easier for this book to be read if it was printed in the open dyslexia font and on a cream based, environmentally friendly, low gloss paper.

Information about the open dyslexia font can be found on the website - http://opendyslexic.org. 

It is definitely not the only answer for dyslexia, but again based on individual preference, it may be helpful for many people.  Often people with dyslexia will describe letters that float or move around a page with no real anchor.  This font adds gravity and weight to the letters and words as it is thicker at the bottom than at the top.  Studies have found that text printed in this font often stays more still on the page and works better for them.  It is important though that you ask students if it works for them.  This is just another one of the solutions in the dyslexia puzzle.  Have a look at the website and download this font from this website http://opendyslexic.org. 

There are a number of different books that have been printed in OpenDyslexic font.  I decided to try doing a print run of my book with this font as it will work for all students; those without dyslexia as well as students who have dyslexia.  If it only helps in some small way that is all right.

I became very interested in Dyslexia and the understanding of hidden disabilities in the work I do in schools and professional development with my consultancy Discovering Disability and Diversity.

www.discoveringdisability.com.au

We sometimes need to find a combination of solutions and strategies to help students with dyslexia to be able to access literature. It may even make it a lot better for those students that have dyslexia. I want to at least create an number of different options of this text in a variety of formats to support students with reading difficulties! 

I would love it if you would like to buy this book and see whether it works with your students who are either diagnosed with dyslexia or have problems with reading and processing information.  For me it has been a little bit of a learning curve and something that really has to be trialled with the individual who has dyslexia.  Each individual is different and a solution that works for one person will not necessarily work for all.  I do however think it is exciting to create a book that uses the open dyslexic font that is very popular according to many studies around the world and is very popular with people who have dyslexia. I explored this more in my new book, Discovering Dyslexia - Uncovering Some of the Mysteries. If it only helps in some small way at least, I will be happy.

What Australia's most amazingly talented and leading poet and academic Bruce Dawe said about the original story when he first launched my book...

Comments by Professor Bruce Dawe –

I have been invited by Sharon to introduce her charming novel to those who are here today. As the records would show I avoid book launches whenever possible. But this one I chose not to avoid.

There are two main reasons: Firstly, and most importantly, because I admire its author, and have done so ever since she was a student in classes I taught at USQ quite a few years ago. She was a good student. I particularly admired her fortitude, her intelligence, and her good humour, all qualities that make a student a welcome member of any course.

The second reason why I accepted this invitation to help in the launch of Discovery at Paradise Island is that when I first read the story in manuscript I enjoyed it. Re-reading it more recently, my pleasure was just as great.

Having myself recently attempted to write stories for children I have come to realize how challenging that form of literature is to write. It is not at all easy, even though some of the increasing number of people who seek success in this form seem to believe it is.

It requires an understanding of children, a love of children, and yet an adult perspective on them and their view of the world. Sharon’s book displays all three qualities. And one other thing which also helps to make such literature reach out to us as adults as well - is when the work we’re reading is imbued with a love of family. I have never met Sharon’s family – they may all be ogres for all I know. But her book tells me different.

Let me just point out some of the intrinsic sources of this book’s appeal.

It has comic scenes where the comic action is not cruel, but kind.

It has a skilful use of detail throughout to give verisimilitude to the adventure, and to the characterization of all the participants in the adventure.

It has a central mystery, which, of course, children and adults both love in adventure stories.

It is a novel about learning, and about a family friend who learns how a family, through loving care, deals with a member who has a physical impairment. And one of the finest aspects of this theme is that it is not subverted by the sentimentality which can sometimes be exploited. The character of the person who has a particular disability is clearly drawn without any special pleading on the author’s part. This enables us to appreciate her resolution as a matter of fact.

At the end of each chapter there are questions to ascertain how well we have understood what has just happened.

That central theme describes a learning curve. And I believe that all those who are fortunate enough to buy and read Sharon’s Discovery at Paradise Island will have learnt much from it, as well.

It is my pleasure to have helped to launch Sharon’s Discovery at Paradise Island. I am sure you will find, as I did, many an enjoyable discovery in this book, too…

Click here for more details about my new Dyslexia resource book.   https://youtu.be/yrIxZeoiaAA

The book presents a whole new way to understand what dyslexia is and what it actually means for people who experience it. It uses examples as simulations of real texts to create a feeling of the frustration and the way information is processed for a person with dyslexia. It can be used in so many different ways. It depends on your role as to what you want to gain from the book or how you want to use it, to either help yourself or to help others or both! There is really nothing else like this resource and it can be used in so many ways. I love the fact it is easy to read and I love the reactions I get from people who have used this and really benefited from it. Check out more details at the shop and our resource information pages.