http://oralux.org/ : Audio GNU/Linux distro for vision impaired persons (Knoppix based). Even if you're not interested in the distro itself, you might want to look at the various components they use. From their Roadmap: "We wish to follow a humble and pragmatic approach. First with Oralux 1.00, targeting users who know GNU/Linux or who are able to learn it. Release 2.00 will more concern the persons who have no particular skill to use a computer, whereas the computer would be useful for them."
Lots of posts here recommend Heinlein, and he is an icon of sorts, but the easy sexism of his age pervades his books to an extent I find it impossible to tolerate. Other writers of his era manage to avoid being quite so offensive, but usually only by having no female characters at all.
There are a number of new female science fiction writers -- Connie Willis, Pat Murphy, Suzette Hadon Elgin all are good. Many of the men mentioned by others here are great too, of course. One method we found led us to some great writing we'd missed is to get hold of a list of Hugo and Nebula Award winners and go from there. We've also discovered favorite authors in the "Year's Best Science Fiction" series edited by Gardner Dozois.
One of the great ones (IMHO) who I didn't see mentioned is Samuel R. Delaney, and I think his earliest stuff is probably good for a 13-year old; his later writing, while great, can be pretty strong. Same is true of Phillip K. Dick. As others have mentioned, it's probably a good idea to at least skim through any book before passing it on to a child. There's a short story by one of those women that was so horrifying I still wish *I* hadn't read it.
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Try Abledata or Assistivetech.
Most of what you're asking for here, for US organizations at least, is at http://www.guidestar.org/
http://oralux.org/ : Audio GNU/Linux distro for vision impaired persons (Knoppix based). Even if you're not interested in the distro itself, you might want to look at the various components they use. From their Roadmap: "We wish to follow a humble and pragmatic approach. First with Oralux 1.00, targeting users who know GNU/Linux or who are able to learn it. Release 2.00 will more concern the persons who have no particular skill to use a computer, whereas the computer would be useful for them."
Lots of posts here recommend Heinlein, and he is an icon of sorts, but the easy sexism of his age pervades his books to an extent I find it impossible to tolerate. Other writers of his era manage to avoid being quite so offensive, but usually only by having no female characters at all.
There are a number of new female science fiction writers -- Connie Willis, Pat Murphy, Suzette Hadon Elgin all are good. Many of the men mentioned by others here are great too, of course. One method we found led us to some great writing we'd missed is to get hold of a list of Hugo and Nebula Award winners and go from there. We've also discovered favorite authors in the "Year's Best Science Fiction" series edited by Gardner Dozois.
One of the great ones (IMHO) who I didn't see mentioned is Samuel R. Delaney, and I think his earliest stuff is probably good for a 13-year old; his later writing, while great, can be pretty strong. Same is true of Phillip K. Dick. As others have mentioned, it's probably a good idea to at least skim through any book before passing it on to a child. There's a short story by one of those women that was so horrifying I still wish *I* hadn't read it.