Children's Book: "Buddy the Brain", written and illustrated by Alison Rheaume

What prompted Alison to write the book? 

"As a brain injury survivor who is an adult, it has taken a lot of mindful language and education to help explain to my niece and nephews why I live a bit differently. From the perspective of a child, adults "should" be able to walk on grass, run, attend a birthday party, and handle loud environments, right? 

Well, as those are some of the things I have struggled with, along with feeling tired, using mobility devices, and more, I recognized the value in kid-friendly education about brain injury. 

This book is meant to be an engaging and cute way to start the conversation in understand the brain, what it does, how to keep it safe, and what someone who has sustained a brain injury may be going through, whether it's a parent, relative friend, or even themselves.  

Additionally, I have struggled to read children's books to my niece and nephews, which has felt embarrassing to me. The crazy fonts, visually busy illustrations, and text on top of graphics has made it extremely difficult to read. I realized that if books were more accessible to read, then many more people like myself could be included and feel confident in reading."

Children's Book: "Buddy the Brain", written
and illustrated by Alison Rheaume

The book is available in many formats for accessibility; in addition to hardcover and paperback, there will also be an eBook with alt text embedded, Braille print, ASL video, and an audiobook with two versions - one reading the text and one reading the text and added character descriptions. (The audiobook recording and editing was performed at Franklin TV/Franklin Public Radio!)

The book is mindfully designed to be accessible to read due to: large print, simple font (that Alison created from her own handwriting), well-contrasted text on a solid background (never on top of images), and images that are fun and simple, not visually overstimulating.

You can order your copy (or copies) of the book - 

https://alirheaume.com/buddythebrain

Upcoming Author Events

March 13, 2026: MAHPERD Adapted PE Conference - book

sales and signing

March 20, 2026, 3:30 - 4:40 PM: Franklin Public Library author

reading and signing (no sales, BYOB) and illustration display

March 28, 2026, 10:30 - 11:30 AM: Tatnuck Book Store in

Westborough, MA - book sales, author reading, signing, and

illustration display

School book readings, discussions, and activities: various

schools and dates - email me to book one at your school!