In 1953, Esref Armagan was born completely blind to a poor family in Istanbul, Turkey. He received no formal education and spent his childhood days in his father’s shop, where he developed the curiosity to create and draw. He experienced the world through touch and learned to visually reproduce his surroundings, including color, shadows, and perspective, with his hands.
This blind artist’s story will be an inspiration to young artists of all abilities.
This audiobook won the 2017 Wilbur Award for Best Youth/Children Audiobook. It was also a finalist for the 2017 New York Festivals International Radio Program’s awards for Best Nonfiction Audiobook as well as for Best Solo Narration.
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“Bronson Pinchot’s measured, reverent voice is a great match for this account of Esref Armagan…Pinchot uses subtle changes in his tone to capture the young boy’s interactions with his father, who mentored him, and the author’s own thoughts and revelations about the artist. While Pinchot’s voice is light and cheerful for Armagan’s successes, it turns somber at the many challenges he faced. In a well-modulated voice often accompanied by soft reflective music, Kellgren delivers the author’s explanations of Armagan’s painting techniques, referencing certain pages in the book. Children with access to the print book will enjoy reading along while listening.”
— AudioFile
“A thoughtful biography that celebrates diversity and perseverance. Recommended.”
— School Library Journal“The author’s particular focus on the artist’s development—his discoveries of shadows and of perspective, for instance—and specific techniques for preparing canvases with modeling clay or glued-down string offers real insight into how obstacles raised by physical disabilities can be overcome with motivation and ingenuity…Informative as well as inspiring.”
— Kirkus Reviews“A story of talent, perseverance, and refusal to accept limitations.”
— Deborah Stein Kent, National Federation of the Blind“The author is to be commended for sharing the story of this largely unknown painter in this well-written, entertaining, and inspiring book.”
— Stephanie Kieszak-Holloway, president of the Georgia Organization of Parents of Blind Children“May Painting in the Dark break down our misconceptions and encourage us all to find our internal vision, to follow our heart’s desires, and never pre-judge our neighbor’s abilities.”
— Barbara Oswald, blind artist, photographer, gallery ownerBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Rachelle Burk writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for children and has been a contributing writer for Scholastic Science World classroom magazine.
Bronson Pinchot, Audible’s Narrator of the Year for 2010, has won Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Awards, AudioFile Earphones Awards, Audible’s Book of the Year Award, and Audie Awards for several audiobooks, including Matterhorn, Wise Blood, Occupied City, and The Learners. A magna cum laude graduate of Yale, he is an Emmy- and People’s Choice-nominated veteran of movies, television, and Broadway and West End shows. His performance of Malvolio in Twelfth Night was named the highlight of the entire two-year Kennedy Center Shakespeare Festival by the Washington Post. He attended the acting programs at Shakespeare & Company and Circle-in-the-Square, logged in well over 200 episodes of television, starred or costarred in a bouquet of films, plays, musicals, and Shakespeare on Broadway and in London, and developed a passion for Greek revival architecture.
Katherine Kellgren (1969–2018), narrator and actress, appeared onstage in London, New York, and Frankfurt, including in the role of Laura in a regional production of The Glass Menagerie and appearances on Comedy Central. In recognition of her mastery of audiobook narration, she received many honors, including the prestigious Audie Awards, with four for best female narrator; the Odyssey Award; Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award; dozens of AudioFile magazine Earphones Awards; an AudioFile Golden Voice Award; Booklist Voice of Choice award; and acclaim from press and listener reviews.