"Who said that colored books are always prettier than ones in black and white?
La Strada di Casa disproves this point.
What is striking about this book is the stark contrast between black and white, useful not only to make the illustrations well readable by visually impaired children, but also to enhance the landscape of a story set in the whiteness of the arctic.

It is in this setting that we learn about the rough path that a baby seal must follow in order to go back to the warmth of his home. The black route is clearly discernible on the snowy white page and it is filled with obstacles and setbacks, some literal (the fresh snow of the heavy rain, for example), some abstract (“if everything changes” or “if life isn’t going smoothly”). This allows the reader to immediately identify with the character:
He or she must physically guide the seal along the way, since it is on the black path that the Braille text is located, horizontally spread along every page.
Reading with your fingers thus becomes traveling, advancing, adventuring.

But the thing that really amazes when witnessing La Strada di Casa is the ability that a simple, neutral page – it is just white paper after all – can be worked with in order to become something new every time, allowing the obstacles in the story to become real and touchable.
Tears, cuts, different thicknesses and grooves, plus some thoughtfully selected new materials, perfectly represent the encounters, the surprises and the weather conditions the little seal comes across.

The result is a clean, captivating and minimalist narration, in both the illustrations and the text, which is able to engage especially the less experienced readers.”

Elena Corniglia graduated in Italian Literature, Philology and Linguistics and specialized in Children’s Literature. She is the head of Vietato Non Sfogliare, center for the research on accessibile books for children, part of the association Area onlus di Torino. Since 2013 she has been collaborating with LiBeR, a magazine on children’s books, writing articles about the relation between disabilities and children’s literature.

"Since birth, I can see. Sometimes, as hard as I can, I close my eyes and I try to comprehend what a life without sight would be like. Without seeing people’s faces, the shape of buildings, without seeing the world around you, without reading. People who can’t see have to learn to see in another way, with other senses and through other skills.

The design process of La Strada di Casa, by Valentina Lungo and Enrico Delmastro is particularly valuable because the combination of pages and Braille, of textures and reliefs, of silhouettes and grooves, allows everyone to explore the stories through touching and hearing, You can see the seal, feel the ice, look at the water.

Knowing how to design for the blind, combining languages, techniques and materials to allow everyone to read is an art and a gift to an inclusive community. It is very nice that there are people like Valentina and Enrico who make a job out of this gift.”

Giulia Natale has a degree in Law. She has been studying and investigating digital languages for children for years, she is a teacher for Progetto Riconnessioni at Compagnia di San Paolo. She trains librarians, teachers and parents on digital tools for children and she publishes articles on specialized magazines.

"The never-changing left page and its well-marked road induce the reader to make new discoveries. The children loved it and browsed the paths multiple times."

"Some pages are better appreciated with your fingers rather than your eyes (the hole, the rain). It is very interesting."

"This simple path is such an adventure! From a tactile standpoint, it is beautiful. Everything is delightful to touch. The hole in the ice is superb."