Supertato comes to life for blind children – thanks to support from Simon & Schuster

We are delighted to announce to release of Supertato – especially adapted for blind and visually impaired children. And, as a first for Living Paintings, the books publisher Simon & Schuster have fully funded the project.

Blind and visually impaired kids across the UK can now experience the joy of Supertato, his veggie friends and – of course – Evil Pea!

Supertato, by the superstar-duo Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet, joins over 200 other accessible picture books in our collection for blind and visually impaired children to explore through touch and sound. But there’s something extra special about this one…

We’re incredibly proud to announce that this book was fully funded by its publisher Simon & Schuster. This is a first in Living Paintings’ 35 year history, and we’re delighted that this major-player in the industry has recognised the vital importance of accessibility in children’s literature in this way.

Supertato, which has also been adapted into a hit CBeebies show, comes with a special audio guide by Greg James (Radio 1 and the voice of Sprouty Claus in the TV series) who guides little fingers over the tactile images to help blind children build a picture in their minds eye and ‘see’ through touch.

What’s more, Simon & Schuster have kindly gifted use of the original audio book and a special ‘read along’ feature – guaranteed to have kids’ rolling in the (supermarket) aisles with laughter as they follow the veggie-gangs hilarious adventures.

 Rachel Denwood, Managing Director at Simon & Schuster Children’s Books, said:

“Living Paintings holds a unique and essential place in the children’s books ecosystem, and it’s been such a privilege to learn more about the mission, history and work of this inspirational charity.  We recently had the pleasure of meeting Camilla Oldland and her brilliant team, and saw the Living Paintings edition of Supertato being lovingly and expertly crafted by hand. S&S is honoured to fund the creation of a Supertato book for the Living Paintings library and thrilled that the joy and silliness of Supertato will soon be experienced by blind and partially sighted children across the country.”

Author-illustrator’s Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet said:

‘We couldn’t be more happy and proud that there will be special editions of Supertato for blind and visually impaired children to enjoy. We are so thankful to the amazing team at Living Paintings for hand crafting these wonderful editions, the very lovely Greg James for proving the audio and our fabulous publisher Simon & Schuster.’

Camilla Oldland, CEO of Living Paintings, said:

“Having the support of Simon & Schuster on this project has been incredible. We’ve been doing this unique work for 35 years and, despite good relations and awareness in the publishing industry, never before has a publisher approached us to fund an accessible adaption of one of their titles themselves. We’re proud that S&S have recognised not just our impact, but the vital need for accessibility in children’s publishing as a whole. We just know that the blind and visually impaired children we work with are going to love the caped crusader that is Supertato!”

Greg James, BBC Radio 1 presenter and reader of our audio guide said:

“There’s a history of visual impairments in my family so I know how vital and life enhancing projects like Living Paintings can be. Everyone should be able to enjoy stories and it was a pleasure to be involved and to learn all about this brilliant charity and the joy they bring to people.”

Supertato is available now!

Our tactile-audio adaption of Supertato for blind and visually impaired children has now landed on our shelves and can be borrowed for FREE.

If you’re not already a Living Paintings library member, you can join our postal library and it won’t cost you a penny.

• Order Supertato