A Blind Guide to Stinkville by Beth Vrabel

In “A Blind Guide to Normal,” Richie Ryder Randolf and his mother move in with his grandfather when his father gets a job researching buffalo in a remote part of Alaska where there are no schools for Ryder to attend.

While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.In “A Blind Guide to Normal,” Beth Vrabel investigates the scars that events leave on lives, the scars that we see as well as the ones that we can’t see but which are just as painful. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft stories told with LEGO bricks books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers-picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Beth Vrabel’s characters are complicated and messy, but they come together in a story about the strength of community and friendship. This is a stirring small-town story that explores many different issues-albinism, blindness, depression, dyslexia, growing old, and more-with a light touch and lots of heart. The funny thing is, as Alice confronts her own blindness, everyone else seems to see her for the first time. No one, not even her new friend Kerica, believes she can scout out her new town’s stories and write the essay by herself. To prove it, Alice enters the Stinkville Success Stories essay contest. She’s going to show them-and herself-that blindness is just a part of who she is, not all that she can be. But when her parents start looking into schools for the blind, Alice takes a stand. In Stinkville, Alice finds herself floundering-she can’t even get to the library on her own.

Back in her old neighborhood in Seattle, everyone knew Alice, and Alice knew her way around. For the first time in her life, Alice feels different-like she’s at a disadvantage. But life has always been like this for Alice. Putting on sunscreen and always wearing a hat are just part of life. And a cane keeps her from bruising her hips on tables. Sure, she uses a magnifier to read books. Before Stinkville, Alice didn’t think albinism-or the blindness that goes with it-was a big deal.

A Blind Guide to Stinkville by Beth Vrabel