Story Boxes

Story Boxes are an interactive way to enjoy books with your whole family!

Story boxes provide tactile representations of and sensory enhancements to parts of a story. Think about your favorite picture book. Consider sounds, smells, and different items that would represent the story. Assemble the sensory items and the book to create a personalized story box!

A few tips for creating story boxes:

• It is best to avoid plastic representations of items. A plastic dog doesn’t feel much like a dog!
• Consider part of the whole as another way to represent an item. Rather than using a cow figurine, use a small fabric swatch of “fur” to represent the cow.
• Candles or oils can represent a smell from the story such as the aroma of cookies or the smell of wood.
• Many books include a variety of sounds you could record or find previously recorded. What would a busy city sound like or the forest at night?
• Don’t forget to be creative and use what you have around your home!

Story Boxes are a great way to include other family members or friends. Have others make story boxes with their favorite childhood story. This is a perfect gift idea for holidays and birthdays. What an amazing gift that your child can use over and over while being exposed to a variety of stories.

Additional Story Box ideas can be found at Paths to Literacy. You will find a variety of picture books, tips to making your own book for a child with CVI, and tips to using sign language with your story box.