The charity Living Paintings have adapted their first ever picture book for blind children focussing on LGBTQIA+ themes.

Grandad’s Camper, by author/illustrator Harry Woodgate, has had its illustrations transformed into 3D versions by a team of volunteers and comes with an audio guide by Layton Williams – who guides little fingers over the raised pictures to help blind and visually impaired children build a picture in their minds eye and ‘see’ through touch.

This accessible picture book is available to borrow for free from Living Paintings postal library providing a useful tool for engaging blind and visually impaired children with the celebrations and learning opportunities.

Author and illustrator Harry Woodgate says:

'I feel massively honoured and excited that the team at Living Paintings are adapting my picture book Grandad's Camper for blind and visually impaired children. Writing and illustrating for all children is a cornerstone of my practice, because I believe that all children deserve to see themselves represented in the stories they read, and that all children should be able to enjoy the myriad benefits that reading for pleasure can bring. By producing tactile, audio and braille books, Living Paintings are transforming access to reading for thousands of children across the UK, and it's incredibly special to know that one of my books is part of that.'

Paul Black, PR and Brand Director at Andersen Press says:

“We have a long history of working with Living Paintings, who are so closely aligned to what Andersen Press stand for; inclusivity, kindness, acceptance and authenticity. We’re beyond delighted that Grandad’s Camper will be joining other Andersen Press titles in their incredible collection of accessible picture books.”

Camilla Oldland, CEO of Living Paintings says:

“Grandad’s Camper is the first book in our library with an explicit focus on LGBTQIA+ themes, and I can’t think of a better story to kick off this journey. Knowing that so families and school will be having meaningful conversations around these vital topics, we have moved the release forward to ensure it’s ready for Pride Month. We hope this beautiful story will help facilitate those conversations with blind and visually impaired children in an engaging and impactful way.”

To read more about Living Paintings' work making children's books accessible to blind and visually impaired children, checkout our blog feature Industry Insights: Simon & Schuster Children’s Books