Adeola launches campaign to make picture books accessible to blind children

Award-winning children’s illustrator and writer Dapo Adeola has launched a fundraising campaign to adapt his books Look Up! by Nathan Byron (Puffin) and We’re Going to Find the Monster by Malorie Blackman (Puffin) into accessible versions for blind children.

In partnership with Living Paintings, a charity that adapts picture books into braille and audio formats, Adeola hopes to raise at least £7,000 to create the books and make them accessible for free from the charity’s postal library. 

He said: “A huge part of my career so far has been dedicated to producing books that allow as many children from various backgrounds to see themselves reflected in the wonderful and imaginative pages within. But diversity goes beyond who is featured in a book – it’s important that all children are able to access and enjoy them. 

“Picture books are awesome. They give so many children their first experiences of the joy of reading, helping them understand the world around them and themselves. But by their nature, the words and illustrations work together for the full experience. I hate to think of anybody being excluded. By making both the words and the artwork accessible, we’ll make sure that blind children get much more than half the story.” 

The campaign launches on 14th March and anything raised beyond the £7,000 target will be donated to Living Painting, supporting its free postal library and the development of new books for the collection. 

Liz Davies, publishing manager at the charity, said: “We’re huge fans of Dapo’s books and are so excited about the prospect of bringing his wonderful work to life for blind children. 

“His picture books are staples in school reading nooks and bedroom bookshelves, with sighted children loving his unique style. The publishers have now given us permission to adapt two of these titles and we’re thrilled to be working with Dapo to help blind children experience something so many of their sighted peers enjoy.”