Visually impaired characters

This list is made up of books featuring characters who are blind or visually impaired, as well as books which include characters with glasses and/​or eye patches in a natural and positive way. Books here cover a range of ages, from little ones up to teenagers.

  • The Black Book of Colours

    by Menena Cottin, illustrated by Rosana Faria 

    2010 4 to 9 years 

    • Picture books
    • Disability
    • Visual impairment

    A visually impaired boy introduces us to colours as he experiences them – through his senses of hearing, touch, smell and taste.

  • Quiet!

    by Kip Alizadeh 

    2017 2 to 9 years 

    • Visual impairment

    A small child takes us on an auditory tour of her home in this delightful picture of family life, ingeniously interpreted through its sounds. It’s a book that radiates comfort, security, warmth and love.

  • Errol’s Garden

    by Gillian Hibbs 

    2018 4 to 9 years 

    • Mobility/​wheelchair
    • Visual impairment

    Errol loves gardening, but he doesn’t have a garden. Then he comes up with a creative solution, thanks to the discovery of a disused area at the top of his apartment block. A heartwarming book with universal appeal that’s a delight, from beginning to end. 

  • The Great Big Book of Families

    by Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Ros Asquith 

    2010 4 to 9 years 

    • Picture books

    The Great Big Book of Families is about the diversity of families. The simple message is that every family is unique and special and that there is no such thing as normal’ or abnormal’. Books simply don’t get much more inclusive than this.

  • The Invisible Story

    by Jaime Gamboa, illustrated by Wen Hsu Chen 

    2024 4 to 9 years 

    • Picture books
    • Visual impairment

    A beautiful translated picture book celebrating braille.

  • The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree

    by Paola Peretti 

    2018 9 to 14 years 

    • Disability
    • Visual impairment

    Nine-year-old Mafalda has a degenerative eye condition. She starts to keep a list of all the things she’ll miss when her sight goes, but also the constants that surround her. Tender and thought-provoking, with a powerful but unforced message.

  • Ella Jones vs the Sun Stealer

    by Lucy Edwards and Katy Birchall, illustrated by Caroline Garcia 

    9 to 14 years 

    • Adventure
    • Myths and legends
    • Disability

    All humans have been plunged into darkness by a pagan god and only Ella Jones and her trusty guide dog can save them. Gripping. 

  • Things the Eye Can’t See

    by Penny Joelson 

    2020 11 to 14 years 

    • Thriller
    • Visual impairment
    • Disability

    When a former classmate gives 15 year old Libby a mysterious envelope, she finds herself drawn into a a very strange and potentially dangerous mystery.