The Village of Stones

Do you remember our post from a few days ago, in which Trixie Peters added Braille to picture books for her daughter?
Today, I have a book for you where that’s not necessary at all.
Braille 200 thanks Lawrence Schimel for an extraordinary piece in our puzzle!

The German braille release and the standard version of the Spanish book The village of stones (Das Dorf der Steine/Hablan las Piedras) by Lawrence Schimel and Lena Studer. The books are both closed and are placed on a wooden floor. The cover of the standard release of the book in the bottom half of the picture shows a drawing of a girl hugging a gravestone. She is smiling and has her eyes closed. She wears a thick blue coat, a red scarf, and a green hat. In the background there are autumn leaves, a squirrel and a bird, some flowers, and a bush in front of a fence. The cover of the braille version in the top half made of a translucent plastic sheet that reveals a shape made out of braille dots on the first page underneath. The shape is partially covered though by a braille sticker and a sticker with roman letters both reading the title of the book. The braille version is a ring binding book.

The picture book The Village of Stones by Lawrence Schimel, illustrated by Lena Studer, tells the story of a blind girl who learns to read with the help of the cemetery caretaker. She traces the letters engraved on the tombstones, starting with the inscription on her uncle’s grave. Little by little, she also discovers the stories of the other people buried there.

The first pages of both versions of the book. The standard version in the bottom half of the picture shows random capital letters as big 3d shapes on both opening pages with a drawing of the girl from the cover integrated into each letter in different ways. The braille version on the top half of the picture also shows big capital letters on the first page both as tactile roman letters and as braille. The second page is a standard title page with the title of the book and the names of the authors.

The Swiss Library for the Blind, Visually Impaired, and Print Disabled (SBS) has published a special edition of the book. This version not only includes the text in Braille but also provides a tactile representation of the stick letters featured in the book. Instead of being engraved, the letters are raised, allowing blind readers to feel them – just like the girl in the story.

More information about the Braille edition can be found here:
Booklink

This edition makes the story accessible to blind and visually impaired people in a special way and invites them to explore the book with their hands.

The last pages of both versions of the book. The last pages of the standard version in the bottom half of the picture are identical to the first two pages, showing random capital letters whereas the braille version again only shows the letters on the last page. The pre last page is a normal braille book page with the last bit of text.

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