The wonderful independent publisher Barrington Stoke, who produce dyslexia friendly children’s books for struggling and reluctant readers, have launched a new collection under the imprint Red Squirrel. The new series is designed for adults who want to read to children but struggle with dyslexia or reading issues. Often, the layout of many picture books can make it hard for struggling adults to follow as the pages can be too ‘busy’ with images and text not necessarily following a logical sequence.

Red Squirrel Books use a number of measures to increase accessibility for individuals with dyslexia or reading issues. These include:

• • A unique dyslexia-friendly font

  • A gently tinted, detail-free background behind the text to reduce glare and stress on the eye

  • Slightly increased character spacing to make letters easier to read

  • Clean syntax to minimise potential obstacles to comprehension

  • Standard left-to-right and top-to-bottom layout for text to aid with following the story in sequence.

There are 4 titles so far by the well known authors Michael Morpurgo, Eleanor Updale, Michael Rosen and Charlie Higson. The Curriculum Centre currently has one of these – All I Said Was by Michael Morpurgo.

Photo Credit: John Morgan via Compfight