Books with author Debbie Barry

Really amazing things happen on Halloween! Nothing is quite what it seems, when a group of teens take a class trip to the pumpkin patch, just days before Halloween. Follow Debbie’s adventure, as she discovers an unexpected treasure, and a most unexpected reward.This is a work of fiction. All characters, places, and situations are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is coincidental.Debbie Barry lives with her husband in southeastern Michigan with their two cats, Mister and Goblin. They enjoy exploring history through historical re-enactment. Debbie grew up in southwestern Vermont, and she enjoys recreating memory stories of her own life into stories for children and young adults. Debbie graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in dual majors of social sciences with an education concentration and of English in 2013. Debbie went blind suddenly, without obvious cause, at the age of 45. Before going blind, Debbie was an avid, even voracious, reader. She enjoyed drawing and painting in various traditional media. Since going blind, she has returned to drawing and painting within the limitations of her vision. She has found that being blind does not have to mean being truly disabled. Debbie remains active in various social and service organizations, and is active in her church. She likes to be active, despite her limitations.

"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.

Bugs, bugs, and more bugs! Children are fascinated by bugs, and love to see them in colorful pictures. Young learners will find counting a delight when they count the adorable bugs in this colorful book. The illustrations were drawn in a simple, child-like style by the legally-blind author of the cheerful words. All of the illustrations were made in the traditional style, using colored markers on paper, just as young children draw similar pictures.

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 story of how she expressed the trunk home from New York was a great favorite with all of her children and grandchildren, and it was told over and over again.

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 story of how she expressed the trunk home from New York was a great favorite with all of her children and grandchildren, and it was told over and over again.

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 are some 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. The high-contrast, white-on-black text combines with the large text, making 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.

Young children learn the alphabet with bold, simple, child-like illustrations that will delight early readers and pre-readers. Each letter is snown in both the upper case and the lower case, and children will start to read as they learn to recognize and associate even the longest words in the book. Illustrated by the legally-blind author, using the same bold coloring markers used by children, this book’s illustrations were all drawn by hand.