Under the Love Umbrella joins the Living Paintings library

5-year-old Jude loved books, and his favourite was Under the Love Umbrella. The colourful illustrations and sweet message brought him lots of happiness. Now, after Jude’s passing to cancer, his parents have funded an accessible adaptation, enabling blind and visually impaired children to enjoy this beautiful story.

Where it all began

Lucy and Arron, Jude’s parents, found out about Living Paintings during one of Jude’s hospital stays, where a mother, whose daughter was being treated for bilateral cataracts, told Lucy about our Touch to See picture books.

“As soon as I saw the volunteers painting the pictures, I knew I loved it. The care and attention put into every part of the process was amazing, and their service allows families to have that which we always wanted with Jude.”

Lucy was so impressed with what she saw, she sent a donation in, but she knew she wanted to do more.

Fundraising in memory of Jude

When Jude passed away, Lucy and Arron knew what they wanted to do: to honour Jude’s legacy by sharing his love of reading with blind and visually impaired children. So, they fundraised to get Under the Love Umbrella adapted into the tactile book format. Written by Davina Bell and illustrated by Alison Colpoys, it is, as Lucy puts it, “a beautiful book that lets children know that, no matter what they’re feeling, they are loved and will always be loved.”

Bringing the Love Umbrella to life

Under the Love Umbrella was adapted by an incredible team of volunteers, which Lucy and Arron (and baby Barnaby) got to see first-hand when they visited Living Paintings HQ.

Every image begins as a line drawing. These are then carved into wood by our wood carvers, and placed into a thermoform machine, where a plastic sheet is pressed over top, forming the tactile image. Lastly, the images are painted by our skilled painters, who have brought Alison Colpoys’ rich illustrations to life for our blind and visually impaired readers.

But it’s not just the raised illustrations that help visually impaired children access these stories. There’s also our signature audio descriptive guides, and we’re thrilled to have Olivia Colman on board for this one.

Her unmistakable voice guides little fingers over the raised images, helping our blind and visually impaired readers create the images in their mind’s eye and see in their own way – through touch and sound.

Listen to a sneak peek here!

How did it turn out?

“Thanks to Living Paintings’ work, thousands more children can experience this magical story for themselves, and to have it in Jude’s memory is something we know he’d have been chuffed with.” Lucy Mellon-Jameson

 “Dedicating this book to Jude is the perfect way to honour his legacy and this incredible project he started. We hope blind and visually impaired children enjoy this wonderful story, and take comfort in the knowledge that, no matter who or where they are, they will always be loved.” Camilla Oldland, CEO of Living Paintings

Under the Love Umbrella is available now, and you can order your copy free of charge from our postal library.

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