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Brilliant Bea: A Story for Kids With Dyslexia and Learning Differences
An endearing and empowering story that demonstrates that a learning difference like dyslexia doesn’t define who you are. Despite her struggles with reading and writing, Beatrice is a natural and brilliant storyteller. With the help of a kind-hearted teacher, Beatrice uses an old-fashioned tape recorder so she can speak her words and then play them back, as a technique for learning in whole new way. With her new approach, Beatrice is able to show her classmates who she really has been all along. This book is set in EasyReading, a dyslexia-friendly font.
32 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 16, 2021
4 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Shaina Rudolph
7 books10 followersShaina Rudolph is a children's book author. Her books include, All My Stripes and Brilliant Bea. She has been an educator for 15 years. She's originally from New Jersey and has lived in Los Angeles for many years.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
April 26, 2025
Bea is frustrated at school, yet again, as she rarely gets to go to recess. She needs to stay and finish her schoolwork. She tries, but writing and reading are difficult for her to complete. Bea can tell magnificent stories, though! Her savvy teacher offers her a recording device, so that she may tell her stories without the stress of writing them down. While telling a story Bea notices she is being listened to and meets Rudy who offers to draw for her. The connection changes the way Bea sees herself and how her classmates see her, as well.
I love that this teacher thought to give her a tape recorder at first and that later she has a comic she and a friend created copied for everyone. Teachers have the opportunity to change lives and this story certainly highlights that reality. If you are looking for a book that will offer reading and writing differences in a casual way, this book is for you!
I love that this teacher thought to give her a tape recorder at first and that later she has a comic she and a friend created copied for everyone. Teachers have the opportunity to change lives and this story certainly highlights that reality. If you are looking for a book that will offer reading and writing differences in a casual way, this book is for you!
November 12, 2021
I love this book for all kids but especially as a teacher of students with reading and writing challenges. It has a diverse cast of characters, which I also appreciate. It shows that you can overcome challenges while learning and I love the throwback to the tape recorder!
November 2, 2024
[REVIEW]
On the one hand, I love that the protagonist was a Black child. Non-white children are less likely to be diagnosed with dyslexia, so representation like this is incredibly vital. I also appreciated the author’s note on dyslexia and learning the signs of it and how to get diagnosed.
On the other hand, I didn’t LOVE the story. I know it’s a children’s book, but I think it could’ve been developed more, somehow. I also think that this book could’ve explored other ways schools and people can accommodate dyslexic students. Not forcing children to read aloud in class, for example. Providing texts printed in dyslexic-friendly fonts. Including audiobooks along with written texts. Bea’s teacher did give Bea something to help her develop her stories, but it’s not going to help her forever. She needs accommodations like the ones listed above to allow her to really thrive academically (and even creatively). All in all, a nice book, but not one I think people should start with when trying to learn about dyslexia.
On the one hand, I love that the protagonist was a Black child. Non-white children are less likely to be diagnosed with dyslexia, so representation like this is incredibly vital. I also appreciated the author’s note on dyslexia and learning the signs of it and how to get diagnosed.
On the other hand, I didn’t LOVE the story. I know it’s a children’s book, but I think it could’ve been developed more, somehow. I also think that this book could’ve explored other ways schools and people can accommodate dyslexic students. Not forcing children to read aloud in class, for example. Providing texts printed in dyslexic-friendly fonts. Including audiobooks along with written texts. Bea’s teacher did give Bea something to help her develop her stories, but it’s not going to help her forever. She needs accommodations like the ones listed above to allow her to really thrive academically (and even creatively). All in all, a nice book, but not one I think people should start with when trying to learn about dyslexia.
July 21, 2021
Despite her struggles with reading and writing because of dyslexia, Beatrice is a natural and brilliant storyteller. With the help of a kind-hearted teacher, Beatrice uses an old-fashioned tape recorder so she can speak her words and them play them back, as a technique for learning in whole new way and enables her to show her classmates who she really is.
March 2, 2024
In this book, the author addresses a very relevant, but sometimes difficult, topic for children: dyslexia. The story follows, Bea, a young girl who's dyslexia makes her learning experiences a bit different than what is typical for other kids her age. It is very difficult for her to stay on task and not daydream when in the classroom, which means she sometimes misses out on recess if she has work she still needs to catch up on. Bea also gets very nervous when the teacher asks her to read aloud from a reading to the class because she worries about stumbling on and mixing up letters and words. Luckily for Bea, she is surrounded by a very supportive family and teacher. The family says they love to hear her unique stories and her teacher finds ways to positively twist some misspelled words, such as when she tells Bea that she sees "dullying" as bullying being dull. To further help Bea, her teacher decides to gift her a tape recorder where she can instead tell her stories so that she doesn't have so much anxiety about reading aloud what she wrote and can still tell the exciting stories she loves to share. This proves to greatly help Bea as classmates start to show interest in her story recordings at recess and soon join her by either listening or assisting in tasks like drawing illustrations to match the stories. Soon enough, Bea realizes she's no longer afraid of having to learn differently anymore, and she becomes more confident in her identity. She ends up writing a book that everyone in her class takes home, and the story ends with a flash forward to Bea as an adult back in the same classroom with her teacher reading her published book to a new group of students that details her story about learning with dyslexia.
I would use this book in my classroom to help students who are also diagnosed with dyslexia or are just having struggles with reading in general. Sometimes, a good book that shows another kid dealing with the same hardships is all a student needs to feel inspired and not so embarrassed by their own struggles, so I think this book would greatly help students who can resonate with Bea. She serves as a wonderful example of perseverance and defying odds as she grows up to be a published author. This book would also be an excellent choice for a read-aloud or classroom library in general because it would inspire all children to believe in themselves and not let their struggles define them.
I would use this book in my classroom to help students who are also diagnosed with dyslexia or are just having struggles with reading in general. Sometimes, a good book that shows another kid dealing with the same hardships is all a student needs to feel inspired and not so embarrassed by their own struggles, so I think this book would greatly help students who can resonate with Bea. She serves as a wonderful example of perseverance and defying odds as she grows up to be a published author. This book would also be an excellent choice for a read-aloud or classroom library in general because it would inspire all children to believe in themselves and not let their struggles define them.
December 13, 2021
I appreciate the idea, but the text fell flat for me and the story just felt off somehow.
March 9, 2022
What a gorgeous cover and such a great topic about a student with dyslexia, but the story was choppy and missed the mark for me.
November 20, 2023
I found the book Brilliant Bea by Shaina Rudolph and Mary Vukadinovich on Kirkus while looking up books that are about ability/inclusion for my Youth Literature master class. I picked this book because, as a special education teacher, I work with many children who have reading difficulties or dyslexia.
Brilliant Bea is about a young girl named Bea who struggles with writing and reading in school. She often tries to get out of the assignments by distracting the teacher or thinking of different ways she can leave the classroom. Her classmates did not appreciate this. One day, her teacher gave her a tape recorder so she could record her stories instead of having to write them. This turned her whole world around. She quickly made friends with a boy who wanted to draw pictures for her stories. They made a book and passed it out to the class. The book ends with Bea as an adult reading a book she wrote to that same teacher's class.
I love that this book explains that Bea has dyslexia and struggles with reading and writing but then focuses on how she can tell brilliant stories and how she can find different ways to do it. Focusing on a student's ability and not their disability is very important and a great message to convey to children. Both Rudolph and Vukadinovich are writing this book from an outsider's perspective, as neither of them has dyslexia. However, both of them have worked with students who are diverse learners, so they have closely seen the struggles and successes they go through.
The illustrator’s, Fiona Lee, pictures complement the authors' words by conveying the emotions that Bea is going through. Lee has a lot of white space around her pictures but fills up the space with pictures when Bea starts to tell her stories. The words of the story also wrap around the pictures and help fill in the space.
This book would be a great read-aloud for grades first through fourth. It can be used to talk about how everyone learns and works in different ways to accomplish the same task. Students can write about how they learn best and talk about all the different answers the students have. This would be a great activity for the beginning of the school year.
Brilliant Bea is about a young girl named Bea who struggles with writing and reading in school. She often tries to get out of the assignments by distracting the teacher or thinking of different ways she can leave the classroom. Her classmates did not appreciate this. One day, her teacher gave her a tape recorder so she could record her stories instead of having to write them. This turned her whole world around. She quickly made friends with a boy who wanted to draw pictures for her stories. They made a book and passed it out to the class. The book ends with Bea as an adult reading a book she wrote to that same teacher's class.
I love that this book explains that Bea has dyslexia and struggles with reading and writing but then focuses on how she can tell brilliant stories and how she can find different ways to do it. Focusing on a student's ability and not their disability is very important and a great message to convey to children. Both Rudolph and Vukadinovich are writing this book from an outsider's perspective, as neither of them has dyslexia. However, both of them have worked with students who are diverse learners, so they have closely seen the struggles and successes they go through.
The illustrator’s, Fiona Lee, pictures complement the authors' words by conveying the emotions that Bea is going through. Lee has a lot of white space around her pictures but fills up the space with pictures when Bea starts to tell her stories. The words of the story also wrap around the pictures and help fill in the space.
This book would be a great read-aloud for grades first through fourth. It can be used to talk about how everyone learns and works in different ways to accomplish the same task. Students can write about how they learn best and talk about all the different answers the students have. This would be a great activity for the beginning of the school year.
March 26, 2025
Summary:
Brilliant Bea by Shaina Rudolph is a heartfelt picture book about a young girl named Bea who has dyslexia. Although she struggles with reading and writing, Bea is highly creative and intelligent. She finds traditional learning methods challenging, but with the support of her teacher and the introduction of a speech-to-text technology, Bea discovers new ways to express herself and shine in the classroom. The story highlights Bea’s journey in overcoming obstacles, building confidence, and embracing her unique strengths. The book also includes a dyslexia-friendly font to make reading more accessible for children with dyslexia. (ChatGPT March 25, 2025)
Commentary:
As someone who doesn’t have a lot of knowledge on Dyslexia, reading this book gave me a better understanding especially the struggles that a child goes through. The beautiful illustrations and dyslexia-friendly fonts helped the author positively portrayed Dyslexia. Neurodiversity, self acceptance and confidence are some of the themes that surrounded this book. (ChatGPT, 2025)
Application:
In a classroom setting this book would be ideal to use for social-emotional learning discussions. I would start the lesson by asking the students theme related questions, then I would read-aloud the book and have the students carefully see the illustration and font. After reading the book, have another discussion that involves the students reflecting on the main character. The suggestive age group for this group is for 5-9 year olds (Amazon, 2025) . I do agree that the appropriate ages are 5-9 years old because the format of the book makes the book easy for students to understand.
Brilliant Bea by Shaina Rudolph is a heartfelt picture book about a young girl named Bea who has dyslexia. Although she struggles with reading and writing, Bea is highly creative and intelligent. She finds traditional learning methods challenging, but with the support of her teacher and the introduction of a speech-to-text technology, Bea discovers new ways to express herself and shine in the classroom. The story highlights Bea’s journey in overcoming obstacles, building confidence, and embracing her unique strengths. The book also includes a dyslexia-friendly font to make reading more accessible for children with dyslexia. (ChatGPT March 25, 2025)
Commentary:
As someone who doesn’t have a lot of knowledge on Dyslexia, reading this book gave me a better understanding especially the struggles that a child goes through. The beautiful illustrations and dyslexia-friendly fonts helped the author positively portrayed Dyslexia. Neurodiversity, self acceptance and confidence are some of the themes that surrounded this book. (ChatGPT, 2025)
Application:
In a classroom setting this book would be ideal to use for social-emotional learning discussions. I would start the lesson by asking the students theme related questions, then I would read-aloud the book and have the students carefully see the illustration and font. After reading the book, have another discussion that involves the students reflecting on the main character. The suggestive age group for this group is for 5-9 year olds (Amazon, 2025) . I do agree that the appropriate ages are 5-9 years old because the format of the book makes the book easy for students to understand.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2023
Copyright date: 2021
Star rating: 5
Award: N/A
Genre: Realistic fiction
Summary w/ themes: This book is about a girl named Bea, who struggles with reading and writing due to her dyslexia. Her teacher comes up with a solution, having her record her stories on a tape recorder instead of writing. She then makes a new friend and together they create comic books for the whole class. This book has themes of friendship, creativity, accommodations, and dyslexia.
Use for future classroom: This would be a fun book to read aloud if someone in the class/grade level has dyslexia.
Thoughts of book: I enjoyed this book. I like that the teacher was able to provide an accommodation for Bea so she wouldn't be so scared of creating stories on her own. I also think it was cute that one of her classmates started illustrating her stories and how together they were able to create comic books for the whole class.
Star rating: 5
Award: N/A
Genre: Realistic fiction
Summary w/ themes: This book is about a girl named Bea, who struggles with reading and writing due to her dyslexia. Her teacher comes up with a solution, having her record her stories on a tape recorder instead of writing. She then makes a new friend and together they create comic books for the whole class. This book has themes of friendship, creativity, accommodations, and dyslexia.
Use for future classroom: This would be a fun book to read aloud if someone in the class/grade level has dyslexia.
Thoughts of book: I enjoyed this book. I like that the teacher was able to provide an accommodation for Bea so she wouldn't be so scared of creating stories on her own. I also think it was cute that one of her classmates started illustrating her stories and how together they were able to create comic books for the whole class.
April 6, 2024
This book is about a young girl who is struggling with her dyslexia. She is falling behind the other students, and due to that she starts to feel bad about herself. Her teacher notices that she is an amazing storyteller and decided to gift Bea with a tool that would not only help her tell her stories but also help aid her with her classes as well.
I enjoyed this book a lot and wish I had it around when I was younger. I struggled a lot with reading and writing as a child and reading this would have helped me to remember that I was not alone with the struggle I was facing.
This story is perfect for kindergarten through 4th grade. I can see it encouraging students with dyslexia or those struggling with reading in general. I would use this story to encourage students to always be nice to others, and remind them that just because people’s minds may not work the same ways ours does not mean we have a right to treat them any differently.
I enjoyed this book a lot and wish I had it around when I was younger. I struggled a lot with reading and writing as a child and reading this would have helped me to remember that I was not alone with the struggle I was facing.
This story is perfect for kindergarten through 4th grade. I can see it encouraging students with dyslexia or those struggling with reading in general. I would use this story to encourage students to always be nice to others, and remind them that just because people’s minds may not work the same ways ours does not mean we have a right to treat them any differently.
June 18, 2024
Things I loved:
1. The dyslexia-friendly font
2. The teacher who recognized Bea's storytelling gift and accommodated it
3. The fun, bright illustrations
4. That the teacher doesn't talk down to Bea and explains that by calling her brilliant, she means that Bea is "bright and radiant and the opposite of dull."
Things that made my mom of a learning-disabled kid heart ache:
1. The line that she was the one at school that "Ms. Bloom had to use up all of her patience on."
2. The fact that Bea kept having to miss her desperately needed recess break to finish up her work since she was always behind
3. That poor Bea felt stuck for so long
This is a story that kids with learning disabilities will be able to see themselves in. I hope they all get a happy ending to their struggles like Bea.
1. The dyslexia-friendly font
2. The teacher who recognized Bea's storytelling gift and accommodated it
3. The fun, bright illustrations
4. That the teacher doesn't talk down to Bea and explains that by calling her brilliant, she means that Bea is "bright and radiant and the opposite of dull."
Things that made my mom of a learning-disabled kid heart ache:
1. The line that she was the one at school that "Ms. Bloom had to use up all of her patience on."
2. The fact that Bea kept having to miss her desperately needed recess break to finish up her work since she was always behind
3. That poor Bea felt stuck for so long
This is a story that kids with learning disabilities will be able to see themselves in. I hope they all get a happy ending to their struggles like Bea.
December 31, 2021
Bea used to stay in a lot at recess because she hadn't finished her work. She had trouble expressing herself with writing because she struggles with dyslexia. One day her teacher tells her she is brilliant and creative, and gives her tan accommodation - the help of a cassette recorder so she can tell her stories instead of writing them. Soon, lots of the children on the playground are listening to Bea's brilliant stories during recess.
I loved that her teacher figured out a way to let Bea shine! Her stories were wonderful - I would love to sit in the grass and listen to imaginative Bea. Magination has included some great reader's notes that include what Dyslexia is, symptoms, treatment and how to find out if your child has dyslexia.
Cross posted to http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com
I loved that her teacher figured out a way to let Bea shine! Her stories were wonderful - I would love to sit in the grass and listen to imaginative Bea. Magination has included some great reader's notes that include what Dyslexia is, symptoms, treatment and how to find out if your child has dyslexia.
Cross posted to http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com
April 21, 2022
I loved the beginning of the story in which Bea was talking about her feeling and having difficulty in school. I felt the wrap up of the story too quick. She went from her struggle to feeling better to quickly. I would have like more time spent on the struggle. I live to see stories of kids academic struggles because if they are struggle they are making up a narrative about their struggle (I am dumb/stupid, everyone is starter than me). Giving kids character that struggle help kids understand their own struggles.
November 4, 2024
Read this with 6th grade classes as a way to talk about hidden disabilities. It's a solid book but not without flaws. It feels a little disjointed as it keeps switching to the story that Bea is telling, rahter than just the story being told about Bea - however, it really drives home the point that students with both visible and hidden disabilities need supports within their classrooms so they are not "stuck in stucksville".
I appreciated the author's note at the end about diagnosing dyslexia and finding resources to help students.
I appreciated the author's note at the end about diagnosing dyslexia and finding resources to help students.
July 9, 2025
I think this book is a good snapshot into what school can be like for kids with dyslexia, and I love the Black girl representation. I can see this book giving hope to kids who are struggling in school. I would have liked to see more types of accommodation represented; a teacher giving a kid a tape recorder seems like a pretty unrealistic thing to happen, and no other accommodations were talked about.
May 23, 2022
The author, Mary Vukadinovich, has been a learning specialist in the LA area for years. Brilliant Bea is a piece of magic conjured up by someone who has extensive experience working with this student population. If you are a parent of a child with dyslexia, rest assured that Mary wrote this book with your child in mind. This story truly is brilliant, just like Bea!
June 9, 2022
Bea is an expert storyteller and wordsmith, but reading and writing are extra hard for her because she has dyslexia. This book - recommended to me by one of my adult students whose childhood mirrored Bea's - is a wonderful work for both teachers (let's all be the Ms. Blooms for our students) and children.
April 21, 2024
Bea, a young girl with learning disabilities, receives an accommodation that allows her to tell (instead of write) her stories. It’s refreshing to have a picture book portray LD since there are few out there. However, I would have liked the author to have at least mention that Bea also receives specialized instruction. Accommodations are necessary but not sufficient.
November 12, 2021
Brilliant Bea is marvelous! Funny, visually engaging, creative and a thoughtful display of the underrepresented intersections diversity. It's also written in a font that is responsive to neuro-diversity.
December 16, 2021
Found the writing itself to be a little choppy, but I will always love a story that highlights the idea that there are all kinds of different of ways to learn and be "smart." Not to mention the imaginative and whimsical illustrations!
December 28, 2021
Brilliant Bea is exactly as the title suggests, BRILLIANT! Inclusivity matters and this book celebrates the differences that exist in our beautiful classrooms. As a long time educator and curriculum writer, I 100% recommend having this book in your student library.
March 2, 2022
Brilliant Bea is the story of Bea, the greatest storyteller on Earth, who happens to have dyslexia. How perfect is it that she has a teacher who helps her find a way to share her stories & celebrate her brilliant self?
March 9, 2022
Not great for storytime, but a wonderful recommendation for a child with dyslexia. I loved how the teacher allowed her to learn and work in a way that worked for Bea, and that this allowed Bea to find her calling in life. It has a great section at the back of the book for parents.
December 10, 2023
I read the book “Brilliant Bea” written by Shaina Rudolph and Mary Vukadinovich and illustrated by Fiona Lee. I read this picture book for my graduate course in Children's Literature while studying contemporary realistic fiction on inclusion/abilities. This book came highly recommended by the School Library Journal, Kirkus and Booklist. This book is about a girl named Beatrice “Bea” with dyslexia. Bea has always struggled with reading and writing, so much that she is always kept from recess just to finish her schoolwork. Bea describes the stressors of her dyslexia where the words jump around the page and how if she was reading out loud, she would want to melt, or go to the nurse. She described that writing wasn't much better and that it felt like her pencil wouldn't write what her brain was thinking. However, Bea happens to be the best storyteller on Earth with a vivid imagination. One day Bea’s teacher Ms. Bloom kept her after school to give her a tape recorder in order for Bea to tell her stories without the frustration of writing them down. While she tests it out at recess, Bea notices a boy named Rudy who is curious to what she is doing. After telling him about the tape recorder and how it works, Rudy offers to draw for her. The connection with Rudy forever changed Bea’s perspective on how she sees herself and how her classmates see her as well. I found it really cool that this book is set in “EasyReading”, a dyslexia-friendly font. This book has many themes such as friendship, creativity, accommodations, and dyslexia/learning disabilities. Brilliant Bea is nurturing and relatable as it was created by someone who has extensive experience working with this student population. While researching the authors, it was found that Shaina Rudolph is an author and educator in the Los Angeles Area. She has personally worked with unique learning needs for the last 10 years. Mary Vukadinovich is a learning specialist in Los Angeles and has many experiences firsthand with students with dyslexia. She has been working with students with language-based differences for the last 16 years. This book would be best for student in 3rd grade. I also recommend this book for students with dyslexia as a relatable mirrored book. This book would be best for a read aloud to spark discussion on overcoming learning challenges and how everyone has a challenge in life but can still be accepted by others. Readers can complete a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting Bea with themselves. I want my readers to be able to see that even though Bea had differences in learning she still is just like any other kid, and Dyslexia doesn't define her. I liked that the teacher created a meaningful accommodation for Bea so that she would be able to do all assignments just like her classmates only with a learning tool. I love that this will resonate with many teachers who have students with dyslexia.
December 1, 2025
short but warm to the heart. learning difficulties in children should be facilitated so they don't get isolated and falling behind in class, thus turning it into learning difference—meanig that we have to acommodate their individual needs in learning.
November 9, 2021
The story started out strong, and ended strong, but it jumped so fast in the middle I felt confused and checked to make sure I hadn't skipped a page. I dig the illustrations.
November 9, 2021
dyslexia
November 12, 2021
What an inspirational read!
November 13, 2021
Fantastic writing, great story! We have the other book by this author (All My Stripes featuring Zane the zebra) and couldn’t wait for another story release. Can’t wait for more from this author!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews