Pinocchio Tactile Story Book

In Turkey we have been looking at ways to use tactile books to optimize the performance of the part of the brain that processes tactile data. One challenge faced by a person who is visually impaired is to imagine how a 3D object will look on a 2D surface. It is necessary to provide opportunities for children with visual impairments to learn tactile discrimination techniques. This ability allows a person who is visually impaired to convert a 3D object to 2D or vice versa with early instruction and support. As a result, the opportunity to benefit from education and succeed in careers will increase in many ways.

This example of a tactile book uses braille, as well as tactile illustrations made with different textures, patterns, and colors. For example, Pinocchio’s hair and hat are each different textures. This approach encourages children who are visually impaired to read their favorite stories and develop their imagination.

braille text in the book — *Braille book with tactile illustration*

close up of Pinocchio's head showing the different textures used — *Close-up of Pinocchio’s head showing the different textures used*

Materials

Suede
Artificial leather
Plastic
Artificial grass
Cardboard
Glue
Scissors
Eva

buckets with colorful supplies such as foam and paper — *Tubs of materials that can be used to create tactile books*

using a glue gun to glue the textured papers on to a page — *Using a glue gun to create a tactile book*

Procedure

Invite the child to open the book and explore the page.
Read the story together and discuss the characters, where the story takes place, events and features of the story.
Provide information about the objects on the tactile pages to assist the child to identify the various illustrations.
Ask the child to retell the story by examining each page prepared with different materials.