Dapo Adeola launches campaign to bring his books to blind children
14th March 2022
Dapo is aiming to raise £7,000
Dapo Adeola is one of the UK’s most prominent children’s illustrators, with his characters and style instantly recognisable to millions of children. As a champion for diversity and inclusion within children’s publishing, he is now launching a campaign to improve the accessibility of picture books for over 25,000 blind children in the UK – starting with his own bestsellers.
We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to get permission to adapt ‘Look Up!’, by Nathan Byron, and ‘We’re Going to Find the Monster’ by Malorie Blackman into accessible tactile, braille and audio experiences for blind children. Dapo has now launched a fundraising campaign to raise the £7,000 needed to bring these awesome titles to our collection.
Dapo said:
“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 pages within. But diversity goes beyond who is featured in a book – it’s important that all children are able to access and enjoy them.
Picture books are awesome. They give so many children their first experiences of the joy of reading, helping them understand the world around them and themselves. But by their nature, the words and illustrations work together for the full experience. I hate to think of anybody being excluded. By making both the words and the artwork accessible, we’ll make sure that blind children get much more than half the story.”
Liz Davies, Publishing Manager at Living Paintings said of the project:
“We’re huge fans of Dapo’s books and are so excited about the prospect of bringing his wonderful work to life for blind children. His picture books are staples in school reading nooks and bedroom bookshelves, with sighted children loving with his unique style. The publishers have now given us permission to adapt two of these titles and we’re thrilled to be working with Dapo to help blind children experience something so many of their sighted peers enjoy.”
Find out more about our campaign with Dapo and make a donation on our JustGiving page.
Help us bring Rocket to life for blind children
We’re so excited about the prospect of adding this multi-award winning picture book to our collection for blind children. What can we expect?
In this awesome book, science-mad chatterbox Rocket wants to be the greatest astronaut, star catcher and space traveller that ever lived! Bur first, she needs to convince her big brother brother Jamal to stop looking at his phone and start looking up at the stars…
This heart-warming story is bursting with energy and passion for space and the natural world that will bring about a desire to switch off the screens and switch on to the outside world.
A superstar pairing!
Last year, Dapo joined forces with former Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman to release this rip-roaring adventure.
We’re Going to Find the Monster is the tale of two intrepid adventurers who transform their house into a wild wonderland – and their big brother into a mighty monster!
This beautiful story is bursting with bursting with humour, creativity and fantasy.
