Santa Claus is coming to town: The Night Before Christmas latest addition to Living Paintings library

We’re thrilled to announce our latest Touch to See picture book for children who are blind… The Night Before Christmas, with beautiful tactile adaptations of Mark Marshall’s captivating illustrations, and an audio guide read by Jack Abrey.

What is it about?

“‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…”

So begins The Night Before Christmas, a beloved rhyme that has warmed the hearts of children the world over. The story follows a quiet Christmas eve, where children lay snug in their beds and are visited by Santa and his magical reindeer, who leave the children presents and masses of good tidings.

It’s a delightful tale that fills children’s heads with the imagery of the most wonderful time of the year, and now children who are blind or visually impaired can be included in the festive fun with our new audio tactile version of this wonderful story.

What goes into a Living Paintings book?

To bring Marshall’s beautiful illustrations to life for children who are blind or visually impaired, we need the help of our incredible team of volunteers. All our books are handmade by these volunteers, whose tireless efforts ensure each of our Touch to See titles is the best that it can be.

We start by making line drawings of the original illustrations, which then go to our master carvers, who produce 3D versions of these line drawings in wood. These completed carvings then go into a machine that presses a plastic sheet over top and produces the 3D image. Finally, these plastic sheets are hand-painted by our volunteer painters, and along with the clear braille pages, it is all bound together with the original story, to create an incredible, accessible experience for children.

But it’s not just our raised images that help blind children enjoy the visual world of stories: we also include an audio descriptive guide with our books. These guides describe the details of every image in the book, including our tactile illustration.

For this title, we were happy to work with friend of Living Paintings, Jack Abrey. His voice will guide little fingers over these raised images and help them visualise and understand the many beautiful images in this book.

Thank you, Jack, for your amazing support.

How to order

The Night Before Christmas is available now! Beneficiaries can borrow it FOR FREE from our postal library.

Get in the Christmas spirit today!

• Order now!