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Should Ruby, a blind 4th grader, be suspended when she hits a boy who pulled a nasty prank on her at school? What if the boy she hit wasn't really the culprit?
Blooming Besties is the story of a blind elementary school student, Ruby, and her goofy, sighted sidekick and best friend Charleigh, who sticks up for her in the principal's öce.
This is just one of several experiences the girls have together that solidify their bond, challenge their values, and cause hilarious growing pains. Themes of blindness, using a cane, responsibility, lying, bullying, no-tolerance policies, inclusion, and growing up with a best friend weave together in a sensory-rich storyline spanning the girls' fourth through seventh grade years.
About the author
Mary Tellefson, M.A., M.S, holds licenses for K-12 principal, director of curriculum and instruction, teacher of the visually impaired, orientation and mobility specialist, and elementary education. She's taught blind and visually impaired learners at every grade level from early intervention to post-secondary learners attending universities over a 40-plus-year career. She has served in state and national organizations, created core content for O&M university-level training programs, developed and presented spatiotemporal development workshops across the U.S., and led the O&M team to create the Open Hands, Open Access (OHOA) training modules for interveners.
She is well regarded in the field of orientation and mobility as innovative and industrious, often thinking outside the box to find solutions. She's published qualitative and action research manuscripts in the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness (JVIB), Re: View, the Council for Exceptional Children Quarterly, and Future Reflections, an NFB Quarterly.
The Culturally Responsive Orientation and Mobility Standards is her third published book. In 2021, she published two chapter books for children in grades four through seven, Two Canes on the Tundra and Blooming Besties (Orange Hat Publishing), featuring main characters who are blind.
Mary lives in Edgerton, Wisconsin with her husband of 37 years. She has three children and seven grandchildren whom she sees weekly.
