John Dickson (text) and Philip Bunting (illustrator) Matt Formston: Surfing in the dark, Berbay, March 2023, 40 pp., RRP $25.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780645558401
This inspiring true story is the first book in a new series about “significant Australians living with blindness or low vision”. It has been written by children’s author John Dickson, illustrated by the talented Philip Bunting, and produced by Vision Australia in conjunction with Berbay Publishing.
Matt Formston is an award-winning world champion surfer and Paralympian cyclist. At the age of five, he was diagnosed with macular dystrophy and declared legally blind. However, Matt’s parents decided that his life would be as normal as possible. He attended a mainstream school, and his father taught him to surf on a boogie board. He cycled and played football but suffered a severe bout of glandular fever in his teens which affected his fitness.
Eventually he regained his sporting prowess, completing a 1200 km charity bike ride. It was after this that he was asked to become a cycling Paralympian. He and his sighted pilots won medals and championships all over the world but eventually he retired from cycling and returned to surfing, at which he has also excelled.
This engaging biography is innovatively published with both standard written format and the text in Braille. This includes both on the cover and on each page throughout the book. This makes the book accessible to other young blind people wanting to read about others like themselves and provides inspiration and encouragement to all readers.
Reviewed by Lynne Babbage
