‘Feel Your Reading Book’, series of six tactile children’s books
Tom wants a bite
This is a lively story of a little boy Bas and his playful dog Tom who loves biting into things: flowers in the garden, Dad’s sock (foot and all), Tom’s ball, his jacket and even his braille book. Bas patiently corrects Tom and finally rewards him with a bowl of dog food.
The book comes with Tom as a hand puppet and also a realistic miniature 3D model of a dog. Using the hand puppet the children can act out the story, taking a bite out of everyday objects, drawing upon their own experiences. By encouraging this kind of interaction, the children will hopefully develop a deeper understanding of the words used in the story. The illustrations only show Tom’s head with each time a different object in his mouth. His head is slightly turned so that both eyes, the nose and ears can be easily located. For children who ar not so familiar with a dog the 3D model can be used to give greater understanding of what a dog (in this case a Labrador) looks like by identifying and talking about the physical characteristics.
This book has been chosen as exam material (Dutch Cito exams). In the past children were tested using stories on swell paper. Now the teachers can use a real book to test braille abilities and language develoment.
