Move over Spotify Wrapped – it’s our turn (2025 in review)

Just like that, we’re at the end of another year – and at the end of January! 2025 was a busy year for Living Paintings. Our volunteers were hard at work, producing an incredible array of audio tactile titles, and our beneficiary count has been growing. Here are some of our highlights for an amazing 2025. 

New books for everyone!

Though our free postal library definitely has its stalwart titles (looking at you, Julia Donaldson!), we’re always on the lookout to expand. We always strive to find new titles to adapt into the audio tactile format because why should blind and visually impaired children miss out on the magical world of stories?

This year, we’re pleased to say that we added 12 NEW audio tactile adaptations to our library. These include beloved classics like The Elves and the Shoemaker (with audio guide by Richard E. Grant) and Two Little Dickie Birds (with audio guide by Harry Hill).

We also brought wonderful contemporary titles to life. To mark Pride Month, we released our first-ever audio tactile book that deals with LGTBQ+ themes: Grandad’s Camper, with audio guide from the brilliant Layton Williams. Rounding off the year was Margaret’s Unicorn, a beautiful tale set in Scotland’s misty moors.

You can explore all the brilliant new and existing titles in our library.

• Explore our library

Incredible media opportunities

Someone call Pinewood Studios, because 2025 saw Living Paintings on TV screens across the nation – and even internationally!

Starting off, in February, we were featured on The Kelly Clarkson Show, aired in America (yes, THE Kelly Clarkson), to talk about our audio tactile books.

In April, 11-year-old Scarlett hosted Newsround and visited Living Paintings HQ to learn how our books are made.

We closed the year off with a bang. November saw Living Paintings trustee, Louis Moorhouse and lifelong beneficiary Eleanor, take part in Children in Need.

Louis took part in (and won!) the Ten to the Top quiz on Radio 2 with Paddy McGuinness.

Eleanor sung in the Children in Need choir on national television! What an experience.

Finally, in December, Magic Light, the studio behind the Julia Donaldson TV animations, produced a wonderful short film discussing the making-of process for our latest Julia Donaldson collaboration, The Scarecrows’ Wedding.

Honouring Len’s Legacy

When Len, our dear friend and volunteer, passed away in June, our BIG GIVE campaign was all about celebrating his life, and the work he did to help blind and visually impaired children access stories. Our campaign went viral on social media and we ended up raising over £17,000! The money is currently being used to fund new titles for our library.

At Christmas, we built upon this work by launching Len’s Repair Shop, which had, at its core, the belief that our special books need constant attention and repair to make sure they’re perfect every time for every new reader.

We raised an amazing £5,000. The funds are being put to really good use with our repair and restore programme, ensuring our audio tactile books get back into the hands of blind children as quickly as possible.

Thank you to all our beneficiaries and supporters for an incredible 2025, and here’s to an even better 2026!