From now on, everyone will be able to immerse into the world of fantasy of «The Legends of Magic Forest» – a book by Ukrainian author Viktor Andriienko. For blind and partially sighted children, the book is published in Braille at the Resource Center for Educational Information Technology for Persons with Disabilities, Lviv Polytechnic National University.
– The book will be in 4 parts, in 4 volumes. One secret that we have discovered is that each book will be supplemented by 11 relief drawings. That is as many as 11 drawings! As a rule, we insert 1–2 drawings into the book. Because drawings, frankly speaking, are very difficult to perceive by touch, – explains Kateryna Ivashutina, a specialist at the Resource Center.
Visually, relief drawings are no different than usual. You can only read it by touch. Such images are printed on a special thermal printer. A description is added to the illustration to make it easier for the children to understand what the hero is and what he looks like.
– We do not just insert pictures, because they are quite difficult to perceive by touch. We make a special description, where we describe what he looks like, what the hero is dressed in, how he stands, what he holds in his hands, and so on, – says Kateryna Ivashutina.
Printing a book in Braille is not a cheap thing. Special paper, on which relief drawings and font are printed, costs a lot. Thus, the printing of 120 copies of this book will cost about 80 thousand hryvnias.
– The Braille book is actually very expensive. Not everyone knows, but the paper itself (it’s a little bit thicker), the cover, and the wirebound that sews the paper on which the pictures are printed – they are very expensive. Accordingly, the cost of the book can reach from 300 to 1000, – explains the representative of the Resource Center.
When «The Legends of Magic Forest» is published, they will be sent to specialized libraries, where blind children can read them.
– We send all the books we publish to special boarding schools for blind children, to special libraries, and not only to special ones, but also to ordinary ones, – says Kateryna Ivashutina.
Fantasy «The Legends of Magic Forest» is planned to be published by mid-January.