Braille Tales Arrives in Puerto Rico

APH is a firm believer that early exposure to reading develops crucial braille awareness skills and promotes enthusiasm for literacy. In partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, APH’s Braille Tales provides the opportunity for families to receive a free print/braille book every other month until their child reaches their 6th birthday. Currently spanning across the United States, Braille Tales is excited to announce its expansion to Puerto Rico, where they will now offer bilingual braille books! Beginning in March 2025, this supplemental program will allow participants to receive Spanish English, bilingual versions of Braille Tales books.

After meeting with APH’s Outreach team and some of the EOTs and administrators from Puerto Rico, it was clear that more braille infrastructure was needed there. Braille Tales wanted to help get more braille to the island and support the education of the blind and low vision kids living there. An integral part of this supplemental program’s success is the fact that bilingual versions of the Braille Tales books are offered.

Christine Genovely, one of the coordinators from Braille Tales, emphasized “Readily accessible braille is integral to support a child’s braille literacy and encourage further education. When we started talking about providing Braille Tales books to Puerto Rico, we knew we would need to provide braille in Spanish so that the blind and low vision kids there are able to jump into braille without worrying about a language barrier. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library offers bilingual English/Spanish books, so we chose those books for the Puerto Rico program and braille them in Spanish”.  

The program launch in Puerto Rico is just the beginning. It is the hope that once the program in Puerto Rico is underway plans can be put into place so that bilingual braille book options will be available to anyone signing up for Braille Tales, no matter where they live. If you are interested in supporting the mission of Braille Tales, donate to APH today. 

How to Enroll: 

Families in Puerto Rico can apply for Braille Tales online. After registering, families with children birth to six will receive a book every other month (six books per year). These books will have English/Spanish print and will be brailed in Spanish. Once the child turns six, they will automatically graduate from the program.