A new addition to our Dapo Adeola collection: We’re Going to Find the Monster!

 ‘We’re Going to Find the Monster’ illustrated by multi-award-winning Dapo Adeola and written by legendary children’s author Malorie Blackman has now been adapted into an accessible version that blind and visually impaired children can experience through touch and sound.

In 2022, we were creating our accessible Touch to See version of Clean Up! – part of the incredibly popular Rocket Says… series of picture books by Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola. It was the first time Dapo had heard about our unique work. In an interview with The Guardian at the time, Dapo asked the question we’ve been shouting for the last 35 years: “How is this not the norm?”

On learning about our work, he was inspired to launch a successful fundraising campaign to bring two more of his titles to life for blind and visually impaired children: Look Up! and We’re Going to Find the Monster, his collaboration with former children’s laureate Malorie Blackman.

Following the launch of Look Up! in December, we’re so excited to now have We’re Going to Find the Monster join it on the shelves of our free postal library for blind children. This picture book holds a special place in the hearts of so many, having been given to every reception-age child starting school in 2022 – a year after it was first published. Now, those children who may not have been able to fully experience the story can meet the funny, relatable and diverse characters for the first time.

The book includes a special introduction by the author Malorie Blackman, with the audio guide read by actress Mira Morrison.

On his fundraising efforts, Dapo said:

“Picture books are awesome. They give a lot of children their early experiences of the joy of reading, introducing them to their first images and stories about the wider world outside of their homes.

A huge part of my career so far has been dedicated to producing books that allow as many children from various backgrounds to see themselves reflected in the wonderful and imaginative stories in the pages.

But diversity goes beyond the characters featured in the books. It’s also important to make sure that all children can have access to and enjoy these words and images.”

Are you ready to find the monster?

If you’re not already a member of Living Paintings free postal library for blind and visually impaired children, you can join here. Joining or borrowing won’t ever cost you a penny.

• Borrow We’re Going to Find the Monster!