Back to school with Living Paintings

We all know the feeling of back-to-school season: the rush for new uniforms, stationery and books, and the butterflies in the bellies of children everywhere. Blind and visually impaired children have many unique additional obstacles to overcome. Living Paintings is here to help! We’re shining a light on tactile books with audio descriptions to help little learners (and their parents) adjust to this new and exciting time.

Your questions

How can I help my child adjust to an unfamiliar environment?

How can I prepare them to meet lots of new people?

How can I help my child access resources to help them learn like their peers?

Parents of blind and visually impaired children often have questions like these when their child enters school. One way to help is through our Touch to See books that address issues like starting school, meeting new people and helping with the emotional challenges to come.

How Living Paintings books help

Our tactile books, with supporting audio descriptions, bring the magical world of picture books and learning to life for blind and visually impaired children. Our catalogue of Touch to See picture books contains over 200 titles, each available to borrow for free from our postal library, and we’ve seen time and again the extraordinary impact they have on our members.

90% of child library members are more interested in learning

82% of library members gained greater confidence in their reading

82% of library members feel more confident in joining class discussions and activities

Here are some perfect titles to support you and your child during back-to-school season!

Book titles perfect for back-to-school season

First Day at Bug School

A perfect story to reassure those back-to-school nerves, First Day at Bug School tells of all the fun activities you can do at school.

From singing to sports and everything in between, it’s a celebration of the exciting opportunities offered to children at school.

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Spot Goes to School

That ever important first day of school is universal. We’ve all experienced it. Spot Goes to School is a wonderful title for young readers where Spot starts school and finds himself having lots of fun.

A highly interactive book with tactile images peppered throughout. It’s perfect to help with starting school nerves.

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Thomas Goes to School

It’s always comforting to see familiar characters go through what we’re going through, so Thomas Goes to School is a great choice. Thomas finally gets the chance to be the star pupil at a local fete.

It’s a simple and exciting story, which blind and visually impaired readers will love, with raised images including Thomas the Tank Engine, a playful clown and the much-loved Conductor!

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ABC with Percy the Park Keeper

Join Percy the Park Keeper and his furry friends in this fun concept book that helps children learn the letters of the alphabet.

The pages are packed with beautiful illustrations, brought to life as raised images by our incredible volunteers, and will help blind and visually impaired children engage with their ABCs.

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Like all titles in our catalogue, these books support children by providing an accessible and entertaining way to engage with the world of reading. They are also communal, and can be shared by both sighted and non-sighted people. Clear braille sheets are included, at Grade 1 and Grade 2, so blind and visually impaired readers can read, whilst sighted readers can use the original text.

Our books also come with an audio descriptive guide. Clear voices guide little fingers over the raised images, describing the individual details and helping readers see through touch and sound.

Listen to an excerpt from ABC with Percy the Park Keeper, read by Toby Jones!

Order your copies now from our FREE postal library, to help support your child through the next wonderful milestone in their life.

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