New Little People, BIG DREAMS title leaping into the library!

Every child has a dream. A big, bold, life-changing dream. For children with visual impairments, access to inspiring stories isn’t always easy. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce the next title in our Little People, BIG DREAMS series – Little People, BIG DREAMS: Simone Biles, now accessible for blind and visually impaired children! 

Who is Simone Biles?

Growing up in foster care, Simone’s gymnastics training was an anchor in her life. She first tried the sport after visiting her local gym on a field trip. Coaches spotted her natural talent and, after years of hard work, she began winning medals!

Widely cited as the greatest gymnast of all time, Simone is also an advocate for mental health awareness, having famously put her health before her sport by withdrawing from the 2020 Olympic finals.

At the 2024 Olympics, Simone staged one of the most dramatic comebacks in sport history, propelling the U.S. team to win gold with her dazzling routines.

This picture book tells her heroic story in a way that will inspire young children to follow their dreams.

What goes into our accessible adaptation?

We bring stories to life through raised tactile images, exclusive audio descriptive guides and clear braille pages. Our tactile pages begin as line drawings, based on key illustrations from the book, which we then carve out of wood. The wood carvings are then used to create plastic raised images.

Our talented volunteers paint the tactile pages to bring them to life.  We add in clear braille pages to encourage sighted and non-sighted shared reading.  We complete the journey of making Simone’s incredible story accessible for blind and visually impaired children with a descriptive audio guide to detail all the wonderful illustrations and tactile pages.

We’ve included a range of tactile images in this book, covering Simone’s life from a young girl to the world-renowned athlete she is today. These include:

1) Simone Biles with her three gold medals

2) A young Simone stretching

3) Simone, mid-leap, doing the splits in a black leotard, trailing a ribbon behind her

For this title, we were delighted to have the support of comedian Kemah Bob for our audio description. Kemah’s playful voice guides readers through all the illustrations and over the raised images, helping them access the illustrations and story in a unique way.

Thank you, Kemah, for your support!

How to order

Little People, BIG DREAMS: Simone Biles is available now for FREE from our postal library. Borrow your copy today and help your little people dream BIG!

• Order now!