Visual impairment in books
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.
-
Things the Eye Can't See
Author: Penny Joelson
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Interest age: 12-14
Reading age: 12+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.
-
Quiet!
Author: Kip Alizadeh
Publisher: Child’s Play
Interest age: 2-7
Reading age: 5+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.
-
The Invisible Story
Author: Jaime Gamboa Illustrator: Wen Hsu Chen Translator: Daniel Hahn
Publisher: Lantana Books
Interest age: 4-8
Reading age: 6+A beautiful translated picture book celebrating braille.
-
Errol’s Garden
Author: Gillian Hibbs
Publisher: Child’s Play
Interest age: 4-6
Reading age: 5+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.
-
Specs for Rex
Author: Yasmeen Ismail
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Interest age: 3-6
Reading age: 5+A perfectly judged niche story that has general appeal due to a clean text and cute character; Specs for Rex is a visual treat that's really worth putting your glasses on for.
-
The Patch
Author: Justina Chen Hedley Illustrator: Mitch Vane
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing
Interest age: 4+
Reading age: 5+Becca has amblyopia and needs to wear both glasses and an eye patch to strengthen her weak eye.
-
Benjamin & the Super Spectacles
Author: Rachel Bright
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 4+Benjamin Bounce keeps bouncing into things and needs spectacles... A lovely picture book about friends making each other feel super!
-
Ava’s Spectacular Spectacles
Author: Alice Rex and Angela Perrini
Publisher: New Frontier
Interest age: 4-6
Reading age: 6+When Ava doesn’t want to wear her glasses at school one day, her quick-witted teacher offers some wise words of advice about their importance. The reimagined fairy tales are told with plenty of humour and zest.
-
Ella
Author: Alex T. Smith
Publisher: Scholastic
Interest age: 2+
Reading age: 6+An original take on the Cinderella story featuring a specs-wearing ladybird
-
The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree
Author: Paola Peretti Translator: Denise Muir
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 9+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.
-
She is Not Invisible
Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Publisher: Orion Books
Interest age: 12+
Reading age: 12+Laureth receives a mysterious email informing her that her father's notebook has been found. She decides to travel to New York to investigate. Laureth is blind, but this book isn't about that: it's an action-packed adventure, full of twists and turns.
-
The Great Big Book of Families
Author: Mary Hoffman Illustrator: Ros Asquith
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Interest age: 4+
Reading age: 7+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.
-
Humpty Dumpty
Author: Annie Kubler
Publisher: Child's Play
Interest age: 0+
Reading age: 5+A simple board book featuring a well-known nursery rhyme with interactive text
-
Max the Champion
Author: Sean Stockdale and Alexandra Strick Illustrator: Ros Asquith
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Interest age: 4+
Reading age: 5+This inclusive book is about a boy who loves sport, his friends, and school - and has a vivid imagination
-
Rapunzel: Flip-up Fairy Tales
Author: Simona Sanfilippo
Publisher: Child's Play
Interest age: 1+
Reading age: 5+One of a series of ‘Flip-Up Fairy Tales’ which retell traditional stories with beautiful artwork and flaps to lift.
-
The Black Book of Colours
Author: Menena Cottin Illustrator: Rosana Faria
Publisher: Walker Books
Reading age: 6+A visually impaired boy introduces us to colours as he experiences them – through his senses of hearing, touch, smell and taste.
