Books with author Debbie Barry

This is a story about my grandmother, Zoa Townsend Fletcher, as I heard it from her when I was a little girl. Grandma Fletcher was a great storyteller. She loved to tell the stories of her own adventures to her children and grandchildren. The exciting story of her birth was a great favorite with all of her children and grandchildren, and it was told over and over again. My grandmother told it to her children, and one of her children grew up to be my Daddy, and now it is my turn to tell the story as I know it.

The republication of the 1833 edition of these delightful nursery rhymes, filled with digital reproductions of the original illustrations, will delight children and parents alike. The rhymes contain hints of the history and culture of 18th and 19th Century England, and overflow with generations of tradition. Read these nursery rhymes with your children, to keep alive the love of literature, and to help them develop skills in reading and speaking. You will find within riddles, stories, alphabets, counting games, and lullabies. “HEAR WHAT MA’AM GOOSE SAYS!: My dear little Blossoms, there are now in this world, and always will be, a great many grannies besides myself, both in petticoats and pantaloons, some a deal younger to be sure; but all monstrous wise, and of my own family name. These old women, who never had chick nor child of their own, but who always know how to bring up other people’s children, will tell you with very long faces, that my enchanting, quieting, soothing volume, my all-sufficient anodyne for cross, peevish, won’t-be-comforted little bairns, ought to be laid aside for more learned books, such as they could select and publish. Fudge! I tell you that all their batterings can’t deface my beauties, nor their wise pratings equal my wiser prattlings; and all imitators of my refreshing songs might as well write a new Billy Shakespeare as another Mother Goose—we two great poets were born together, and we shall go out of the world together. “No, no, my Melodies will never die, “While nurses sing, or babies cry.” Caution to parents: The nursery rhymes and songs in this book were written for the children of the 18th and 19th Centuries; 21st Century children may be unsettled or disturbed by some of the images in the rhymes. Parents should read these nursery rhymes with their children, and help them to understand the history, traditions, and cultures of those times.

Three Little Kittens is a new adaptatioon of the classic nursery rhyme, with a Christian ending. Follow three adorable kittens and Mother Cat through the ups and downs of a messy, but fun, kittenhood day and night. Parents will recognize the familiar childhood nursery rhyme, and children will enjoy the new and exciting lyrics. This is a great book for young learners, who are discovering not only traditional rhymes, but also God, Jesus, and the importance of prayer. Through finding and washing their mittens, these kittens learn to be honest, responsible, and hard-working, and they are rewarded by their mother’s smiling approval. Faithful kittens greet a new day with a simple prayer.

Nursery rhymes, old or new, are timeless, but nursery rhymes reflect the culture of the times in which they were written. Here is a collection of new nursery rhymes, which reflect the beginning of the 21st Century. Cute rhymes of animals are little different from those of centuries past, but rhymes of the digital age, of new moons, and of frozen Floridian swamps are new, and were never seen in the traditional rhymes of Mother Goose. Here is a second volume of those new nursery rhymes, written and illustrated to delight children and adults of the 21st Century. They are presented in large print, to make them easier for young eyes to read, and accessible to the visually impaired, young and old. Debbie Barry, author and illustrator of these nursery rhymes is legally blind. Reminding children and parents that blindness does not keep a person from being an active, creative, productive person, nor do other physical, mental, or developmental handicaps, as long as they decide to do everything they can do, instead of letting things they cannot do limit them. Debbie encourages every child and parent to enjoy the freedom of what they CAN do, and to delight in the wonders of life.

Animals say so many different things, and children love to imitate the sounds that they make. This simple, colorful book helps young children learn the names and sounds of almost two dozen animals, and to associate the sounds with the animals. Adorable cartoon animal illustrations will delight young children. Adding animal names to the words they recognize helps children add to their early reading skills. The legally-blind author and illustrator created the illustrations in much the same way young children would draw similar pictures: with bold lines, simple shapes, bright colors, and minimal details, using wide-tipped colored markers on paper. They result is solidly cheerful, old-school illustrations that resonate with young aspiring artists. The bold lines and strong colors allow Debbie to draw her own illustrations from her wheelchair, despite her profound vision loss, providing an example to children young and old that handicaps do not meant helplessness, and do not need to stop a person from doing normal – or even amazing – things!

"Tell me a story, Grandfather, " said the tiny girl, gazing up adoringly at the old man. Traditional legends are retold within a story of a modern-day Native American girl and an ancient Storyteller who holds on to the traditional lifestyle of his people until his final moments. Emily comes of age very early in life, and rises to the occasion, despite great sorrow and loss. This is a wonderful story for children and young adults. The traditional legends and myths told by Grandfather Singing Lark and his family members are based on, and retold from, myths, legends, fables, and folktales. Most are from Native American traditions, but they are not all from a single tribe or nation. Many of the stories are retold from my own memory of stories I heard as a child or since becoming an adult, as stories often are.Come along on Emily’s journey.Intended for students in grades 3-7, the stories offer readers moral and life lessons, and a glimpse into traditions that might be unfamiliar. The story of Emily and Grandfather Singing Lark contains situations that might be uncomfortable for some readers (death of a loved one). Parents and teachers are encouraged to talk about this story with children to help them understand the continuing cycle of life and death, and the very real emotions that accompany loss.

Shapes surround us every day, and shapes seen in the foods they eat will help children learn the five most basic shapes: circle, triangle, square, rectangle, and oval. Children are encouraged to think of other food shapes in their lives. A piece of toast may be a square for one child, a rectangle for another, or a triangle for a third, but each child can make a personal list of foods for each of the five shapes. Pages for practice drawing and coroeing the shapes are also provided in this fun, colorful, interactive activity book. Young children may need an adult to help them read the book the first few times, but they will quickly learn to recognize the shapes, their names, the colors used for them in the book, and the food examples offered to get them started. The legally-blind author and illustrator drew the illustrations for this book in much the same way a child would draw: with bold lines, simple shapes, and just a black Sharpie marker and a box of ten wide-tipped colored markers, on paper.

Join a group of teen-aged best friends for an exciting adventure at a summer camp on an Army National Guard base. It all starts when one of them climbs into the driver’s seat of a tank …. Based on actual events, this is a wonk of fiction, erupting onto the page from the author’s imagination. Written with young adults and adult readers alike in mind, this story is fun for all!

“Jack and Jill” is a familiar nursery story throughout the English-speaking world, and is one of the most beloved of Mother Goose’s nursery rhymes. This new adaptation of the nursery rhyme brings together the five verses of this rhyme, with some adaptation of the text, to become the delightful story presented in this book. Children and adults alike will read and re-read this story with pleasure and delight, peopling memories with the unfortunate children of the nursery rhyme. Decorated with illustrations by legally-blind author, editor, and illustrator, Debbie Barry, this book is a celebration of wishes and imagination. The high-contrast, white-on-black text and illustrations, combine with the extra-large letters, make this book accessible for many visually-impaired and legally-blind readers. Visually accessible books are important, not only for adults, but for those children who, through illness, injury, or from birth experience reduced vision. This is a personal mission of the illustrator, who was blessed to grow up with normal vision, and had a love of reading from early child, but who lost most of her vision while her children were still young.