UK Winner of International Book Contest!

Typhlo and Tactus is the world-wide competition for tactile picture books. ClearVision organises the UK judging round and this summer  our team of young borrowers with sight impairment and tactile book experts were delighted to examine twelve beautiful entries on topics as varied as using a white cane, recycling and a day at the seaside.

The UK judges selected five books to send to this year's international competition in Czechia (formerly the Czech Republic) in November: Arctic Animals and Stone Age by Margaret Sharp; My First Haircut by Yang (also known as Christina) Dong; Can You Help Horsey? by Patrizia Pecl and Gianna and Marvin Go To The Park by Maria Jastrzebska-Targosz. The competition was intense, with 59 books entered from 16 countries, but we were delighted that three UK books made it to the final 12: Arctic Animals, Stone Age and My First Haircut.

My First Haircut won first place! It came in just ahead of a Belgian book Petit Baton Et Ses Amis (Little Stick and His Friends) and third place winner from Poland: Nocny Spacer Małej Myszki (Little Mouse’s Night-time Stroll). The judges loved My First Haircut's humour, tactile enjoyment and the way it gently introduces children to what they can expect at the hairdressers'. Having a haircut is something a lot of children with sight impairment (and other kids too!) find daunting, so it's a very welcome topic. This was Yang's first entry in the competition and in fact her very first tactile book! She's previously written picture books for sighted children and is a Senior Lecturer in Illustration at UCA (University of Creative Arts, Farnham). Books in the international competition will be part of a touring exhibition around Czechia, enjoyed by hundreds of blind Czech children, before being returned to their home countries for further celebrations.

Our huge congratulations to Yang and also to the creators of the other UK entries, which were of superb quality. The level of creativity and artistry in this years' entries was truly spectacular. The ultimate winners are the children who will benefit from these gorgeous books, many of which have been donated to ClearVision for children with sight impairment across the UK to enjoy. Thank you to everyone who entered... and maybe see you in the next competition in two years' time!

If this has sparked your enthusiasm for creating books, check out our How To guides on our Making Books page, which will open in a new tab.