The Hague, April 18, 2023 – Everyone knows Miffy. But what if you are blind? How do you know what Miffy looks like? There is good news for children with a visual impairment: five titles from Mercis publishers feature tactile drawings and text in braille and large print. The books were presented last Saturday, April 15, during the Reading Festival of Vereniging Onbeperkt Lezen. The books were read to blind and partially sighted children. As the children listened, they discovered the world famous rabbit by touch.
Children with a visual impairment want to participate as much as possible. Just like their sighted peers, they also want to be able to point out which shells Miffy finds on the beach. Or tell her what she’s doing in the playground. The tactile Miffy books with texts in large print and Braille make that possible. Parents can read the books as usual, while blind children can explore the colorful drawings in elevated print. For them it is also their first introduction to Braille.
The tactile reading book is also a pleasant solution for parents, grandpas and grandmas who have a visual impairment themselves. Thanks to the Braille, they too can read the books aloud and enjoy Miffy’s adventures together with their sighted child on their lap. The tactile Miffy books are produced in a limited edition and are exclusively available to members of Bibliotheekservice Passend Lezen.
Irmgard Reijntjes, director of Bibliotheekservice Passend Lezen: “Miffy is for everyone. Every child should be able to enjoy this famous rabbit, which is very popular all over the world. It is therefore great that we have also been able to add these tactile Miffy books for blind children to our collection.”
The idea for this unique publication comes from the Dedicon Foundation, the largest producer of custom reading formats in the Netherlands. Director Maarten Verboom: “We strive for a world in which everyone has access to text and images. Even when you can’t see (well). After the success of the tactile Donald Duck, the choice for a tactile Miffy book was quickly made. Publisher Mercis reacted enthusiastically and immediately embraced the idea of producing a number of books in tactile form. We see a growing willingness among publishers to organize accessibility of reading material at the source.”
In addition to Mercis, the Unlimited Reading Association and the Dedicon Foundation, the CBB, Bibliotheekservice Passend Lezen and Friends of Dedicon are also involved in the creation of this publication. The tactile images were created on the CBB’s elevation printer.