Bringing picture books to life for blind and visually impaired children

Taking shape

In his garage workshop, 88-year-old Len Webb uses a chisel to carve the underwater creatures that were originally illustrated by Axel Scheffer for Julia Donaldson’s picture book, Tiddler. Having previously worked in set design, Webb has been volunteering for Living Paintings for more than 20 years. “Len is an absolute diamond,” says Living Paintings’ head of communications Nick Ford.

At the helm

Living Paintings’ CEO Camilla Oldland with Nick Ford at the charity’s headquarters in Kingsclere, Hampshire.“Reading a book to your kid is one of those special things in life, and it’s heartbreaking to imagine [missing out on that],” says Oldland. “Books should be for everyone.”

First draft

A tactile version is in the works of Under the Love Umbrella by Davina Bell, which involves turning Allison Colpoys’ original illustrations into line drawings so that they can be carved. Living Paintings is reproducing the book thanks to fundraising by Lucy Mellon-Jameson, whose five-year-old son Jude died following a neuroblastoma diagnosis. “Neuroblastoma can cause blindness, and although Jude didn’t experience that, his mum wanted to adapt his favourite book into a version that blind and visually impaired children can enjoy through touch and sound,” Ford explains.

Finishing touches

Webb uses a fine sandpaper to smooth down the surface of his carvings. “The main challenge,” he says, “is carving tactile images that our visually impaired library members will find easy to follow.” Once he has completed the master artwork for Tiddler, multiple copies will be reproduced with a Thermopress machine that creates moulds and presses the shapes into heated plastic. Around 35 copies of each book will go into the Living Paintings library, which is free to join.

All hands on deck

Once pressed, volunteers meticulously apply several coats of paint to each copy. Here, one volunteer paints a seahorse’s scarf, while another adds detail to a portrait of Peppa Pig. Pictures of Spot the Dog dry on racks in the background. Living Paintings has around 120 volunteers, from carvers and painters, to Braille proofreaders and scriptwriters, who write audio guides, as well as blind and visually impaired people who check the books are ready for the public.

Coming to life

“We’re often asked why the books are in colour,” Ford says. “The majority of blind and visually impaired children have some level of sight, but also, these books are designed to be shared.” One visually impaired boy felt a “bit isolated” at school, Ford recalls, until he received a Living Paintings book. “Suddenly he had this unusual, colourful object just for him, and all the other children were flocking over. It was a catalyst that helped him talk to his classmates.”

Making a splash

A finished copy of Tiddler. The process of bringing a book to life, from gaining the publisher’s permission to ending up on the library shelves, takes around six months. The audio component is also crucial, Ford says, in “guiding little fingers over those raised pictures, so readers can build up a picture in their minds”. Living Paintings’ books have been voiced by numerous celebrities, including Dame Joanna Lumley, Sir Derek Jacobi and radio host Greg James.

Photography by Harry Lawlor