From the Editor: Barbara Cheadle is the founder and past president of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC). She also founded Future Reflections, which she edited from 1981 until 2009. She holds a degree in library science, and she has a special interest in children's books that feature blind characters.My first reaction to this lovely storybook was a wave of fond nostalgia for my own childhood and idyllic, endless summer days of imaginative, free play with my younger sister, Mae. But this gem of a book has so much more to commend it--its depiction of a warm relationship between two siblings, its celebration of imagination, and even its rich, alliterative use of words that engage our senses.But I get ahead of myself. Rau takes us through one day of play in the lives of siblings Chip and Joy, from morning--when Chip knocks on the adjoining wall between their bedrooms to tell Joy to "Wake up!" to bedtime, as they each knock on their shared wall and say one last "Good night."The day starts with an ordinary activity that has an unexpected, playful twist: eating cereal for breakfast--out of the box, sitting on the floor under the kitchen table.

The fun has only begun. The illustration shows the grape juice box tipped over and juice spilling out, "Cchhh!" As they clean up the mess with "fluffy towels" that quickly become "sopped" and "soaked," Joy exclaims, "I'm purple!" and Chip chimes in, "I'm wet!" Rau gives us a hint of one significant way this book is about so much more than a day of fun.The hint is confirmed when, after a bike ride, the children take a break in their "closet cave," comfortably furnished with "fleecy friends" and "plumpy pillows." Although Joy is normally afraid of the dark, she is never afraid to turn off the lights and listen to Chip as he uses his fingers to read the bumpy dots--words in Braille--to her. The beauty of this revelation--Chip is blind and reads Braille--is that it is so matter-of-fact. It comes at just the right time: when you are already engaged with the characters as normal kids--interesting, lively, and imaginative kids to be sure, but still, just ordinary kids.This is also the one and only time in the story when Chip's blindness is alluded to directly. But now that we are tuned into it, we are ready more fully to appreciate the rich, imaginative sensory ways Chip and Joy use ordinary objects to create their own made-up games.

They play Guess the Coin, Hunt for Silly Sounds (think "fizzy drinks" and "topple towers," Guess the Spice (is it cinnamon or nutmeg?), or Boat Bed.In the background we perceive a mom and dad who intentionally create and support opportunities for independent and creative play. Rau brings them a little more into the story when Chip and Joy smell "yeasty perfume" and race down the stairs to help Mom and Dad bake bread. Their favorite contribution (besides eating it) is punching down the "spongy, silky, squishy, sticky dough" that "hugs their fists." Their day ends with a vigorous game of Boat Bed in Chip's room, where his bed is converted to a pirate ship of "warm wood" sailing over "wide-open waters" and splashed with "salty sea-spray."The illustrations are bright and cheerful, full of movement, energy, and small details that add to the mood, such as a smiling sun and a smiling moon that beam into Joy's bedroom window at the beginning and the end of the day. I look forward to reading this book to my grandsons--including the one who is an only child. It provides so many opportunities to open up topics for discussion.

Not the least is, of course, about kids who are blind who love to play and have fun, just as other children do.