Scent kit brings The Gruffalo to life for visually impaired Swanage girl
A charity is using smell-o-vision to help young readers who are partially sighted.
A four-year-old girl from Swanage is one of only 150 others across the UK to receive a special edition of The Gruffalo.
Everley Collins has a visual impairment and is now learning all about the classic tale through scent kits given to her by Macmillan Children’s Books and Guide Dogs.
The much-loved children’s book, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, is a rhyming story of a mouse and a monster. When the little mouse goes for a walk in a dangerous forest, he invents tales of a fantastical creature called the Gruffalo to scare off his enemies, until he meets the real Gruffalo.
The scent kit includes five inhalers, one for each character of The Gruffalo. A quick-witted mouse that smells like cupcakes, a silly old fox with the scent of cut grass.
An owl which smells like a freshly poured cup of tea, or a sneaky, slithering snake with a smoky scent.
Then there is the Gruffalo himself, a stinky leathery barnyard smell that permeates from the depths of the deep, dark wood. Each scent was developed with the input of Guide Dogs service users to ensure they were at the heart of this.
Hannah Attride, Everley’s mum, said:
“We were given a test kit about a month ago, she’s made me do it every single night since.
“She’s taken it into school, she’s talked to them about it, and I think for us it’s actually been really special to see her enjoy something that other kids would aswell.
“Every child knows the story, but actually by adding in the scents and making it more immersive for those kids who do struggle to read or follow the story through words it’s made a real difference.”
Hannah says the kits have given Everley even more to talk about and share with other children at school.
Kerry Kernan, Guide Dogs Children and Young People National Service Operations Manager:
“Discovering a child has a vision impairment can be a worrying and confusing time for families, and we have a range of services to help. We hope that the universal appeal of The Gruffalo will help shine a light on how important it is to make things as inclusive as possible. Small adaptations and innovations can really help support families with a vision impaired child.
“Every year we help hundreds of families build their knowledge and confidence and provide tools that are right for each family’s specific needs – whether that’s through enabling more moments like inclusive reading, or by providing services like habilitation support, education support or grants for parents and children to access new technology.
"We hope that this scent kit encourages more parents across the UK to reach out to us for help – and for more people to recognise and support the work we do with children and young people."