Matt Formston: Surfing in the Dark

John Dickson

Matt Formston: Surfing in the Dark
Format
Hardback
Publisher
Berbay Publishing
Country
Australia
Published
1 March 2023
Pages
40
ISBN
9780645558401

Matt Formston: Surfing in the Dark

John Dickson

Matt Formston always dreamed of becoming a professional surfer. But by the time he was five years old, he was almost completely blind. Matt never let that stop him. Now he is a record-holding cycling Paralympian and a world champion surfer.

This is the first book in the Big Visions series by Berbay Books, published in partnership with Vision Australia. The series depicts everyday Australian heroes living with blindness or low vision. Each book features braille alongside the conventional text and is designed to inspire conversations about inclusivity, representation and resilience.

Review

Surfing in the Dark is a picture book about Matt Formston, a blind world champion surfer. Its point of difference – and one I love – is that Philip Bunting’s bright and familiar illustrations are dotted with Braille, allowing the reader to either read along if they’re blind or low vision themselves, or to understand how blind people read, if they are not, following the bumps on the page. I’m a big fan of anything that means disabled kids will have one less thing to explain to non-disabled kids, and I am thrilled Surfing in the Dark has been published and illustrated by such a well-known illustrator.

Matt Formston’s story about not giving up, even when his progress is affected by setbacks, is a universal one, and I can’t think of a kid (or adult!) who wouldn’t benefit from reading Surfing in the Dark when things seem a little hard. Great for ages 3+

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