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Living Paintings adapted 12 new children’s picture book titles into accessible tactile audiobook formats last year, breaking their own annual record.
The decision to adapt new picture books comes from an increasing demand from their audience, which doubled in 2023, according to Living Paintings. It continues their work with publishing houses such as Penguin Random House, Walker Books, Macmillan, Bloomsbury and HarperCollins to bring picture books into a format that can be experienced through touch and sound.
Their free postal library now contains 181 picture book titles with the newest including: Coming to England by Floella Benjamin and Diane Ewen (Macmillan Children’s); Ready, Steady, Mo by Mo Farah and Kes Gray (Hodder Children’s); The Burpee Bears by Joe Wicks and Paul Howard (HarperCollins Children’s Books); and Look Up! and Clean Up by Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola (Puffin).
Each book is hand-made by volunteers from Newbury in Berkshire and includes hand-painted tactile versions of the illustrations and an audio description that guides the reader over the “feely pictures”.
The charity hopes to release another 10 picture books throughout 2024. Liz Davies, publishing manager at Living Paintings, said: “Picture books are our first experience of reading and stories […] we’re able to bring that magic to the lives of blind and visually impaired children who may feel excluded.”