Accessible book written by six-year-old donated to Fife school libraries

The book was written by Eve when she was just six years old. She’s now 14.

The teenager produced the book in partnership with leading charities to ensure the design and format are accessible to children and families with neurodiverse conditions including dyslexia and autism.

Eve, who is autistic, worked very closely with illustrator Nicholas Child to help visualise the story, including characters of different abilities.

The books are available as a dyslexia-friendly paperback edition; an enhanced audio description; a British Sign Language version and soon four different types of braille.

Copies of the book, which tells the story of Santa and his band of helpers seeking to unmask an imposter who has stolen the world’s Christmas presents, have been donated to local primary schools, libraries, charities and hospitals.

A set of books for schools in Fife were handed in to Burntisland Primary in the run up to Christmas by Eve’s dad Mark.

He explained that ,when she came up with the original story, Eve imagined a world in which all children would feel seen and included. "With that wish in mind, she and I worked together to develop the original story even further with input from Dyslexia Scotland, Scottish Autism, Deaf Action and sight charity Seescape in Fife. Our aim was to ensure the story was available in multiple formats for everyone to access and enjoy – a truly inclusive experience."

Councillor Julie MacDougall contacted Mark after reading about Eve’s amazing story and asked if Fife could be considered for a donation. She was there to collect the books at Burntisland Primary School with Councillor Lesley Backhouse and the school’s headteacher Julie Anderson.