Blind children can now enjoy reading best-selling picture book Zog
18th December 2018
There are some children who are at risk of missing out on the gift of reading, those who are blind or partially sighted. Thanks to Living Paintings blind children can experience exciting and fantastical stories such as Zog by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler using our accessible version, which comes with braille, tactile pictures and fun audio guide.
Children like Jacob, aged 12, who is losing his sight to cone dystrophy, and Teddy, aged 2, who has Norrie’s Disease and is totally blind, can enjoy the lovable dragon, thanks to our Touch to See adaptation. Jacob loves that he can sit down with his sighted younger brothers and read them this brilliant tale.
Jacob, 12 years old, said,
“I was able to feel the characters, the details on Zog – like his horn, wings and tail, Princess Pearl and the knight with his sword. Mel on the audio is really good, she makes me laugh.”
For our Touch to See adaptation, generously funded by The Fence Club Trust, we’ve brought Axel Scheffler’s distinctive illustrations of Zog and friends to life with our hand-painted tactile pictures and an audio description read by TV presenter, Mel Giedroyc.
Axel Scheffler said,
“I’m thrilled to be supporting Living Paintings, the work they do in making books accessible through touch and sound is incredible. It’s wonderful to know that so many children who are blind or partially sighted can enjoy Zog thanks to their free library.”
And Mel Giedroyc said,
“Reading with children is such a fun and rewarding part of parenting. I’d really encourage everyone to share the gift of reading with blind and partially sighted children by supporting Living paintings. I was honoured to record the audio for their incredible Touch to See adaptation of Zog, which makes the dragon’s adventures fully accessible to those without sight.”
Zog is a fantastic tale following the life of a young dragon trying to make his way through the ups and downs of Dragon School. This clumsy character gets himself into all kinds of bother whilst learning how to fly, roar, breathe fire and fight knights. Along the way, he makes a friend who is always there to get him back on the mend. It’s now Year 5 and Zog is tasked with capturing a princess, will his friend be able to help him out again?
