As a TVI (Teacher of the Visually Impaired) who also happens to have low vision and a young child, I’m always on the lookout for awesome books that we can share together without too much strain on my eyes. When my son was a young toddler, I encountered the Baby’s First Library series in a discount department store. I immediately fell in love with them, and so did my son! In my work, I have shared these books with many families I encounter because they are very accessible to young children with low vision. These books have many appealing visual characteristics to meet the needs of our youngest learners.
The books have:
- content that is relevant to young children and can be used to teach concepts
- thick pages that are easy to turn
- illustrations that lack visual clutter
- brightly colored, high contrast illustrations
- simple, bold text
The Baby’s First Library series has many books to pick from on different topics, and I have even seen some that correspond with various holidays. I noticed in the newer versions that some pages have discussion questions that parents can use to engage their students in shared reading. My personal favorites are the Animals and Numbers books.
For non-visual learners whose families are looking for opportunities to engage their children in shared reading, consider the following adaptations to this series:
- add real objects to create a book bag or story box
- add tactile symbols or tactile markings to the illustrations
- add braille to each page
Happy Reading!
Link to books and available used too.
