A Birthday for Ben

Special Stories Publishing is an award winning Irish publishing company, producing children’s books which introduce disabilities, social, health and education issues to children, parents and schools.  Each book aims to help children learn the importance of accepting friends and classmates who are different to them.

A Birthday for Ben, part of Series Two in Special Stories, is told through the eyes of Ben, a young boy who is deaf. He is about to celebrate his birthday, but not exactly thrilled about it.  Fearful he will be left out when the music starts playing, his Mum helps him realise all kids are able to have fun on their birthday.

Authored by Kate Gaynor (Photo Left) and beautifully illustrated Karen Quirke (Photo Right), A Birthday for Ben draws from the experience of Irish Deaf Kids Founder and Kanchi Sounding Board Member, Caroline Carswell (Photo Center).

“The idea for the Birthday for Ben book came from my summer camp experiences as a kid. My primary school was deaf-aware, with 4 pupils in different classes at about the same time. However, at summer camp, I had to explain what my hearing-aids were, and why I wore them. This was fine in itself, but a few of the other kids seemed to find the concept of deafness really hard to “get”.” explains Carswell.

”’A Birthday for Ben’ is a very welcome resource for both parents and teachers as it introduces the whole notion of hearing and deafness to young children,” continues Carswell, “By making the book available to primary schools throughout Ireland, IDK and Special Stories hope to highlight the everyday issues that deaf children may encounter on a daily basis in mainstream school”.

Series Two also introduces Autism, Dyslexia, Down Syndrome.

Karen Quirke, the Illustrator behind “A Birthday for Ben”, is also the artist behind Irish Deaf Kid’s 2010 Calendar, now available at most major book stores throughout Ireland.