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A real page-turner
One publisher leads in accessible books for older children, says Katharine Quarmby
Ben Barclay, Christopher Schweich and Perran Thomas are all tremendously enthusiastic about being consultants on books for Barrington Stoke, the only UK publisher producing books which aim to meet a range of access needs. The three nine-year-old boys, from Abingdon House School, in west London, have all acted as expert readers on two books, Dead Cooler, and Into the Storm.
The three boys, all of whom have learning difficulties, like adventure stories. Christopher describes Dead Cooler as “quite funny – I like danger in books”. Perran Thomas describes Into the Storm as “quite a cool book, I wanted to turn the page” and Ben likes the ghost in Dead Cooler, saying: “The story was really exciting.”
Their headteacher, Nick Rees, says the scheme is “amazing”. “The main idea is to give children a sense of ownership about reading. Many books are just inaccessible for children with learning difficulties.”
Barrington Stoke was started ten years ago by Patience Thomson, a headteacher who had worked with disabled children. Her vision was to design books accessible for children with visual impairments, dyslexia and other learning difficulties – and she wanted the editorial process to involve disabled children.
Barrington Stoke now has consultants throughout the UK. Katie Paice, Barrington Stoke’s editorial manager, explains that all their books are published on off-white paper, which reduces glare for children with visual impairments. ”Black print on white paper has a really strong glare and makes the letters jump around. We print on off-white or cream paper, which is a lot more expensive, but it does remove a whole layer of problems for many children.” The font, too, is designed for children with dyslexia, who often confuse “d” with “b”. And the books are accessible to teenagers who may not be able to read longer words but do want a good, powerful story.
“Stories are important,” says Paice, ”part of our shared humanity.” To that end, Barrington Stoke has signed up to the In the Picture campaign, run by Scope, to ensure that disabled children are represented in picture books and books with illustrations. Paice says: “Our readers include children who have visual or hearing impairments, so that is something we should reflect in our illustrations.”
Kathy Saunders, a disabled book consultant who is on the steering committee of In the Picture, says Barrington Stoke’s work is “commendable”, and adds: “It is a significant advance on what publishers have done in the past…they are thinking about the social situation of older children…and getting that into text at a reading level that is appropriate, with the complications that dyslexia can create, is positive.”