Tactile books for blind children - Living Paintings - How we help children and families

Living Paintings

Our tactile, audio and braille books

Over 5,000 blind and visually impaired children in the UK are currently experiencing the transformational benefits of our Touch to See books and resources – both at home and at school.

Handcrafted with love and care by a team of volunteers, our tactile picture books and sensory experiences are designed to bring the visual world of books and learning to life. Special audio descriptions guide their fingers over the raised pictures, helping them build a picture in their minds eye and ‘see’ through touch.

Parents, carers and professionals can join our postal library of accessible books for free on behalf of children using our online form or by contacting us.

a tactile illustration from Ruby's Worry for blind children. The book also featured braille.

Touch to See Picture Books

From nostalgic classics to modern releases, we provide free access to over 200 of the worlds best-loved picture books, especially adapted into accessible tactile, audio and braille versions that blind and visually impaired children can experience through touch and sound.

A young girl feels a tactile picture featuring Elmer the patchwork elephant

Tactile books for pre-school aged children

Our youngest borrowers can enjoy classic characters such as Spot and Peppa Pig, taking their first steps in learning about the visual world and developing their tactile skills. Simple hand-painted tactile pictures are accompanied by short audio guides which include animated descriptions, music and sound effects.

a tactile image of an owl, designed for blind children to explore through touch. It is alongside the original image.

Tactile and audio fact books

Created by Living Paintings, our themed tactile ‘boxsets’ contain a range of images to help blind and visually impaired children explore interests, discover new hobbies and understand the visual world around them – in a way that works for them.

Stories from our library members

Ted’s Story

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