Typhlo and Tactus was set up in 1999 and, until now, the activities of the group have been supported by grants from the EU. This funding has, to a large extent, restricted the reach of the group to a limited number of European countries. The money has enabled the group to hold an annual European tactile book competition with winning entries mass-produced by hand at the Les Doigts Qui Rêvent¹ workshop in Dijon, France.

 

Since 2000, the EU has funded production of 7,689 tactile books, all of which have been sold within the EU at a heavily-subsidised price. In addition, the T&T group has led workshops, presented at conferences and exhibited at large exhibitions and book fairs. This activity has raised awareness of the importance of tactile books and stimulated interest in design and production. In 2009 the group produced a compendium of articles on tactile books and related topics. The Typhlo & Tactus Guide to Children’s Books with Tactile Illustrations can be ordered from the publisher, Philippe Claudet, Les Doigts Qui Rêvent (see contact details below); a shorter version is available on the T&T website (www.tactus.org) .

 

The EU project has come to an end, and with it the funding for book production - at least for a while. But the Typhlo & Tactus organisation lives on and is planning a tactile book competition in 2011. This T&T competition will, for the first time, be open to creative people all over the world.

 

The T&T group is now seeking appropriate organisations worldwide willing to act as the national contact. This will involve promoting the competition, receiving all the entries from their country, carrying out a pre-selection involving blind children and adults, and sending the five best books to the T&T competition organisers. The most appropriate organisation to fulfil this role is likely to be a library for the blind or an organisation already involved in tactile book production, promotion or use. Each country will have just one T&T national contact organisation and the latest will have to sign a contract with the legal T&T representative (Philippe Claudet).

 

For more information on the activities of the Typhlo & Tactus group and the 2011 competition please contact Philippe Claudet (in French or English) at philippe.claudet@wanadoo.fr

 

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¹ Ldqr : Les Doigts Qui Rêvent (= Dreaming Fingers)

 Charity since 1994

 11bis rue de Novalles, BP 93 ; F-21240 Talant (Dijon)

 France - T : 0033 3 80 59 22 88 – www.Ldqr.org

The basic requirements for tactile books are related to the age of the children, their disability, their development level and their relevant experience.

 

In tactile books for the early years it is important to strictly follow certain rules; as the child grows and his or her experience increases it is more permissible to ‘break the rules’ in some circumstances. 

 

-          it must be robust;

-          it must have stiff pages (cardboard or fabric) with rounded corners;

-          it must have a binding that allows it to open out flat for tactile exploration of each page and to close properly afterwards

-     the text must be in both large print (eg 24pt Ariel) and Braille

-     the text should always be on the same side of the book (ie left or right hand page) and so should the illustrations;  

-     the dimensions of the pages vary according to the age of the child; a child could     start with a book 15 x 15 cms and progress (20 x 20, 25 x 25, 21 x 29.7) as the            child grows and his/her exploratory skills develop. 

-          the number of pages is also related to age; you can start with just a few pages (5 – 6), and gradually increase the number;

-          mark the bottom of each page to help the child with the orientation of the book.

 

 

-          it must be safe: avoid sharp objects, toxic materials, small objects which could fall off or break and cause choking, long ribbons, etc which could strangle a child. Use robust and safe materials, firmly attached to the page. 

-          for first books use one small object per page, or several objects of the same sort.

-          for first books use real objects fixed on the page and progress gradually to representations of objects and then to stories and situations.

-          in the early stages it can be useful to attach the objects with Velcro so as to allow the child to feel the object in the book, but also to pull it off, explore it and recognize it as a real object (this facilitates the passage from a real object to a representation in a book)

-          illustrations should be relevant, clear and simple;

-          the story should be simple enough to follow with ease. At the beginning, images and stories should be connected with daily living and reality, then you can introduce imaginary and abstract ideas later.

-          avoid too many details on the page;

-          the illustrations should encourage manipulation, be interesting and allow interaction;

-          the illustrations should relate to an essential part of the story, and complement the text;

-          use multi-sensory materials that stimulate not only touch, but also hearing, smell, and low vision if appropriate;

-          consider good colour contrast between objects and also between the object and the background. Reflective material can be useful but some partially-sighted children are adversely affected by dazzle.

-          aim to provide a high contrast in the tactile sensations provided by different materials; 

-          use different materials to represent the different parts of an object;

-          make sure that the details can be easily identifiable;

-          leave plenty of space between different items on the page;

-          avoid occlusion (items which pass in front of other items and partially hide them);

-          respect proportions and avoid the effects of perspective;

-          human shapes are best represented from the front, while animal shapes are best shown sideways (with four legs);

-          if a character appears more than once in the story, it should keep the same characteristics;

-          the thickness of materials glued to the page should be at least 1 mm.

 

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The competition is open to entrants from any country where a contact organisation (school for Blind, Blind organisation,..) has an agreement with the T&T organisation.

Le concours est ouvert à tout pays dans lequel une institution agréée par les organisateurs a organisé la présélection. 

 

A pre-selection will be organised by each organisation in each country. Only 5 entries will be forwarded to the final international selection process.

Une présélection sera organisée par chaque organisation contact de Typhlo & Tactus dans chaque pays. Seules, cinq maquettes seront envoyées à la sélection finale.

 

Books entered in the competition should be suitable for visually-impaired children (blind or partially-sighted) between the ages of 0 and 12.

One winning book will be chosen in 2011, and there will be an award for the winning book.

Les maquettes au concours doivent être adaptées aux enfants déficients visuels (malvoyants et aveugles) entre 0 et 12 ans.

 

All books entered should be finished products rather than works in progress. Binding, text and illustrations should all be completed. The following points should be noted:

Toutes les maquettes doivent être abouties. Reliure, texte et illustrations devront être bien faîtes et les points suivants doivent être respectés :

 

-Tactile illustrations: cut and paste, thermoform, embossing, sewn fabric, etc. are all acceptable.

Illustrations tactiles: collage de matières, thermoform, gaufrage, textiles sont acceptés.

 

-The text: if any, should be in a legible font (at least 16pt) AND in contracted or uncontracted Braille.

Le texte: s’il y a du texte, la police doit être lisible (au moins en corps 16) ET en Braille intégral ou abrégé.

 

-The binding: should allow the book to open out flat to facilitate Braille reading.

La reliure: doit permettre d’ouvrir la maquette de manière complètement horizontale pour faciliter la lecture du Braille.

 

-Colours and contrasts: should stimulate children with low vision.

Couleurs et contrastes: doivent stimuler les basses visions.

 

-Language: the text should show a good use of language.

 

-Translation: the judges may be reading your book in translation; books which do not easily translate, e.g Alphabet books may not appeal to them.

 

-Text books: should not be entered in this competition.

 

Each book should be accompanied by a completed entry form and a translation in English for books written in other languages.

Chaque maquette doit être accompagnée d’une fiche d’inscription et d’une traduction en anglais.

 

Books entered in Tactus competitions in previous years cannot be entered again .

Les maquettes ayant concouru les années passées ne peuvent se représenter.

 

 

The results will be sent to each national contact organisation, with numbers of votes, within fifteen days. The authors of the ten short listed entries will receive detailed feedback from the judges.

Les résultats seront envoyés aux pays contacts, avec le nombre de voix, dans un délai de 15 jours. Les auteurs des dix maquettes finalistes recevront un avis détaillé du jury.

 

All entries will be posted back to the national contact organisations within 30 days of the results being announced.

Toutes les maquettes seront ré-acheminées par la Poste aux pays contacts dans un délai de 30 jours après l’annonce des résultats.

 

The organisers can take no responsibility for damage done to fragile books during the selection process, or for loss or damage while the books are in transit.

Les organisateurs ne seront pas tenus responsables pour tout dommage survenu aux maquettes pendant le processus de sélection, ni pour toute perte par la Poste.

  

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