Gruffalo Granny is coming to braille: register your interest today
Something very special is stomping out of the deep dark wood this September. Gruffalo Granny, the first new Gruffalo story in over twenty years from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, publishes on 10 September, and RNIB has worked with Macmillan Children's Books to create a custom braille edition that launches on the very same day as the print edition.
That same day launch matters. Too often, children with vision impairment have to wait months or even years for accessible versions of the books their friends are talking about. This time, blind and partially sighted children can meet Gruffalo Granny on day one, right alongside everyone else.
Register your interest in the braille edition of Gruffalo Granny and we will let you know as soon as it is available to order.
A braille grade to suit every reader
The braille edition is available in two formats, so you can choose the one that best suits your reader:
Grade 1 braille is uncontracted, meaning every word is spelled out letter by letter. It is ideal for children who are just starting to learn braille.
Grade 2 braille is contracted, using shortened word forms. It is the most common format for experienced braille readers.
Not sure which is right for your child? Register your interest anyway and we can help you choose.
Part of something much bigger
The braille edition is one part of a pioneering nationwide campaign. Ahead of publication, Macmillan Children's Books announced a partnership with nine literacy and disability charities, launched during the Department for Education's National Year of Reading, to make sure the new story reaches children who might otherwise miss out.
The timing is no accident. Research from the National Literacy Trust found that fewer than half of parents and carers of children aged five and under now read with them every day, a fall of around twenty percentage points since 2019. The campaign aims to help turn that around, with 140,000 gifted Gruffalo books heading to families in disadvantaged areas, including 75,000 copies of Gruffalo Granny, alongside family reading sessions designed to build lasting reading habits.
Alongside RNIB's braille edition, the accessible formats launching on publication day include an accessible PDF available through RNIB Bookshare, an audio tactile edition created with Living Paintings, and a British Sign Language translation produced with the National Deaf Children's Society. In an industry first, every one of these accessible formats arrives on the same day as the standard print edition.
Anticipation for the book has been remarkable. After Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler revealed the title on BBC Radio 4 in February, Gruffalo Granny shot to the top of the charts on pre orders alone, a full seven months before publication. The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child have sold a combined 45 million copies worldwide, so a whole new generation of readers is about to fall in love with the deep dark wood all over again.
How to register your interest
Registering takes less than a minute. Tell us a little about who will be enjoying the book, including which braille grade you are interested in and the age of the reader, and we will email you the moment the braille edition of Gruffalo Granny is available to order.
Register your interest in Gruffalo Granny in braille
Whether a child is learning braille and will read it themselves, you will be reading it aloud together, or you are buying it as a gift for a little Gruffalo fan, we would love to make sure a copy finds its way to you this September.
