Many children and their parents will already know about Story Box Library. And for those who don't... well, imagine the best stories being read aloud to you by your favourite storytellers - that's it in a nutshell! Story Box Library gets kids excited about reading, inspires their imaginations and lets them have fun with stories, improving their language and literacy skills along the way.
For World Sight Day 2020, Story Box Library has taken the time to raise public awareness of blindness, and the impact vision impairment and wearing glasses can have on children at home or in the classroom. One of their recent releases (and free preview story until October 9 2020) The Boy in the Big Blue Glasses is a story to generate such awareness, with a focus on self-acceptance, empowerment and inclusivity.
The Boy in the Big Blue Glasses, created by Susanne Gervay and Marjorie Crosby Fairall, is a story of a boy, Sammy, learning to be himself. Read by Alice Zaslavsky, with a magnificent array of glasses to match every personality, this story will have young readers racing to find frames in their unique style.
With corresponding Activity Time instructions to encourage kids to think about the importance of sight and why it’s important for children like Sammy to wear glasses, the team behind this project is hopeful that the story will start conversations about glasses and vision—at home and in the classroom.
In an interview with Booktopia, author Susanne Gervay says that kids "need to feel good about wearing glasses and other children need to accept the difference." At a time where children are "developing their sense of self, glasses or any difference needs to empower a child, as it’s part of who they are."
In celebration of World Sight Day, people can watch a free preview story of The Boy in the Big Blue Glasses here until 9 October. And, with an ever-growing library, suitable for preschool and primary aged children, it really can be storytime, anytime!
