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 black print. The books were presented last Saturday, April 15, during the Reading Festival of the Unlimited Reading Association. Readers read to blind and visually impaired children from the books. As the children listened, they discovered the world-famous rabbit by touch.
Children with a visual impairment prefer 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 is doing in the playground. The tactile Miffy books with texts in black print and Braille make this possible. Parents can read the books as usual, while blind children can explore the colorful drawings in relief. This also makes it their first introduction to Braille.
The tactile reading book is also a pleasant solution for parents, grandfathers and grandmothers who themselves have a visual impairment. Thanks to the Braille script, they too can read the books and enjoy Miffy’s adventures together with their sighted child on their lap. The tactile Miffy books are produced in a limited edition and exclusively available to members of the Passend Lezen Library Service.
Irmgard Reijntjes, director of Library Service Appropriate Reading: “Miffy is for everyone. Every child should be able to enjoy this famous rabbit, which is very popular all over the world. It’s 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 Netherlands’ largest producer of adapted reading formats. 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 responded enthusiastically and immediately embraced the idea of producing a number of books in tangible 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 Christian Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CBB), the Appropriate Reading Library Service and Friends of Dedicon are also involved in the creation of this publication. The tactile images were made on the CBB relief printer.