Illustrations in storybooks not only provide a source of interest for children but also support language development and literacy skills. A better understanding of how to communicate stories through tactile illustrations is a central issue for practitioners and researchers who work with visually impaired children. Recognizing tactile illustrations implies precisely perceiving the shapes and being able to associate meaning with these representations. This study focused on the way tactile pictures were haptically explored by visually impaired children during joint book reading. The aim was to determine how the task and the type of illustrations promoted haptic exploration. Children seemed to be more active and used more often a procedure that relied on following the contours of the shapes, when they have to find the meaning of the pictures than when the meaning was given to them through reading. The 3D illustrations led to the use of a wider variety of exploratory procedures than the 2D illustrations. The adult guidance also influenced the way the children explored tactile illustrations.
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