Fife sight-loss charity helps make Christmas book accessible for all

Glenrothes-based charity Seescape, formerly Fife Society for the Blind, has worked with Eve Nairn-Magnante on her book Santa Steals Christmas! Eve, who is now 14 years old, wrote the book when she was six years old.

Eve, who is from Edinburgh, wanted to ensure that the book could be read by children and families with visual impairments. She said that she felt it was unfair that books were written in a way that some people can’t read and wanted to ensure no one missed out.

She added: “Books are important for imagination and creativity, and no one should miss out on that”.

Two of its staff members from Seescape with visual impairments, Lindsey McDonald and Caroline Penman, read Santa Steals Christmas! and gave tips on how to improve its accessibility.

Eve wrote the book with her father, Mark. He typed the original story into a book as a Christmas present for her before they discussed publishing it to donate the book to primary schools in different accessible formats. He said the aim was to ensure it was “a truly inclusive experience”.

He added: “Our greatest wish is that the accessibility-first approach we adopted will serve as a benchmark to set a new standard for how all children's books should be published for years to come”.

And he paid tribute to Eve’s teachers.

He said: “I’m really grateful to Eve’s P7 teacher at school who helped nurture her writing talent and let me know about the stories she was writing at school. It inspired us to try to bring Santa Steals Christmas! to children everywhere.”

The book, illustrated by Nicholas Child, is available as a dyslexia-friendly paperback edition; an enhanced audio description; a British Sign Language version; and four different types of Braille.

Eve said: “I particularly enjoyed working with Nicholas Child on the illustrations and helping him make the world I imagined come to life on the page”.

Although Eve said while she enjoyed writing the book and hopes to continue writing, her future may lie on the big screen. She said: “I feel like writing is one of the only things I am good at. I have had hobbies, but I haven’t stuck with them. For me, writing is more of a hobby. I think I might write books, but I really want to be an actor.”

Lesley Carcary, chief executive of Seescape, said: “Seescape was delighted to work with Eve to make sure that children with visual impairments and their families could enjoy this wonderful book that captures the magic of Christmas for all children. Santa Steals Christmas! is a book that families and friends can enjoy together and brings joy to everyone – and our staff and clients are looking forward to reading it with their families.”

Free copies are also being sent to schools and libraries, charities and hospitals, and a portion of the book’s sale will be donated to each of the charities which helped develop it.