The magic of new beginnings: Margaret’s Unicorn enters Living Paintings library

New beginnings are difficult for us all to come to terms with. But imagine how much harder it is for blind children, who lack the visual knowledge to truly adjust? That’s why, to help them explore these themes in an accessible way, we’ve adapted Margaret’s Unicorn, written and illustrated by Briony May Smith, into a tactile-audio version, available now from our free postal library.

What is the book about?

Set amongst the immense beauty of the Scottish Highlands, Margaret’s Unicorn is the perfect story for animal lovers. In it, a young child’s family moves to a house in the hills of Scotland, something that she struggles with. That is until one day, Margaret finds a magical baby unicorn which changes her life forever.

This is a heartfelt story that highlights the beauty of new beginnings. We’re confident that blind and visually impaired children will fall in love with this story, and, of course, our tactile adaptations of its gorgeous illustrations.

What goes into a Living Paintings book?

Every Living Paintings title begins with line drawings, adapting key original characters and scenes from the book. Next, our line drawings get sent to our master carvers, who produce detailed 3D carved versions.

Once these carvings are produced, we place them into our thermoform machine that heats plastic over them, forming the tactile image. Finally, these tactile images are hand-painted by our in-house team of volunteer painters, who bring the tactile images – like the adorable baby unicorn – to life.

Accompanying these tactile illustrations is an audio descriptive guide, which guides young readers through every illustration and tactile page, helping them more fully understand the characters and scenes in the story.

Thank you so much to actress Shirley Henderson for your support – blind and visually impaired readers are in for a treat with this one!

We also have braille inserts on clear plastic sheets, interleaved throughout, so both sighted and non-sighted readers can read the book together.

How can you order?

Margaret’s Unicorn is available now to order from our FREE postal library, along with a wide range of other accessible titles.

• Order now!