Want news on our latest releases, heart-warming stories of our impact, wholesome content and opportunities to support our unique work?
Join our community of friends to receive updates to your inbox.
Google HQ has a new permanent resident from Living Paintings!
2nd April 2025
Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo is beloved by both children and parents alike. Thanks to its timeless tale of an adventurous mouse and a fantastical monster, and the unforgettable illustrations of Axel Scheffler, it’s been a mainstay of many a library, including our own! Now, thanks to the generous funding from Google, our Touch to See picture book of The Gruffalo will be in a very new and exciting environment…
Two lucky members of the Living Paintings team, Publishing Manager Liz Davies and Fundraising Lead Lisa Northey-Dennis, visited the Google Accessibility Discovery Centre (ADC) in King’s Cross. The centre opened in December 2022, and was established as a space for people to learn about one thing: accessibility. Though still in its infancy, it attracts over 7,000 visitors a year, with two of them being Liz and Lisa.
Christopher Patnoe, Founder of the ADC and EMEA Head of Accessibility and Disability Innovation at Google, showed them around the space. His blatant passion meant for a fun-filled tour of the centre and all they use to highlight issues of accessibility, including tactile signs and braille, various adapted workstations, and even an ADC arcade, though it’s certainly not your typical penny arcade…
We also discussed our incredible Touch to See books and how they’re made. Chris was enthusiastic to learn all about the process, how our volunteers attach the braille panels, carve the illustrations into wood, press a plastic sheet over top, and meticulously hand paint each raised illustration.
As a token of our appreciation, we loaned Google a copy of Pip and Posy: The Snowy Day until their new Gruffalo book is ready! We may be biased, but we think it looks fantastic on the shelf!
We’re so happy that Google took an interest in the work we do for blind and visually impaired children, provided us the funding for The Gruffalo, and enabled us to tour this brilliant space. To have our books on permanent display in the ADC offices places us as a truly innovative and exciting accessibility solution.
One of the things I love most is the human-ness of the books. In a world where technology surrounds us, there’s a gift to a physical product, one made by human hands, that makes the connection personal. Experiencing reading in these Touch to See books is a visceral, inclusive experience of words and hands and imagination.Christopher Patnoe ADC founder and EMEA Head of Accessibility and Disability Innovation, Google
I read (okay, acted out) the Gruffalo for my kids as they grew up, and so this book has a very personal connection – later my kids were able to read them for themselves. We are made more thoughtful by the stories, and that’s the magic of books and art, and so why shouldn’t someone who has a visual impairment have the same experience?
Thank you so much to Google HQ for providing the funding to help make this project a reality, and to Chris for his hospitality towards our team. We can’t wait to see The Gruffalo take pride of place in the Google ADC – on Chris’ shelf, of course!