Sara Mai a Cwis Mawr y Plant CD – free for children in Wales

Thousands of children across Wales will have the opportunity to hear a story on a CD specially written for the blind.

The story, Sara Mai a Cwis Mawr y Plant, has been specially recorded by the North Wales Society of the Blind (NWSB) to celebrate 10 years of recording Welsh audio books for children and young people.

A CD of the story will be sent FREE of charge to the 1,200 primary schools in Wales - thanks to the generosity of the Society and the kindness of the Post Office.

The story begins with one special day in Sara's history when her teacher, Mr Parry, announces to the school that the Cwis Mawr y Plant (Big Children's Quiz) TV programme is coming to film there - and that the subject in question will be animals.

Of course, Sara will be chosen to represent the school, but will she be the star of the show, or will Rhodri, the other competitor take the prize?

The story is written by Casia Wiliam - who also reads it on the CD.

Casia said: “It was a great pleasure to give Sara and her friends another adventure, and this time in a special story commissioned by the North Wales Society of the Blind.

"In this adventure, Sara becomes friends with a boy named Rhodri who has a visual impairment, and as they become more friendly, Sara goes on to think about ways to make Halibalw Zoo a more friendly place for those with a visual impairment.

NWSB chief executive Steven Thomas said: “This lovely story by Casia Wiliam has been specially commissioned by our Gwrando Service to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Society producing audio books for children and young people.

“The Gwrando service publishes 24 audio books each year - half for young people.

“We are extremely grateful to Casia for writing and voicing this great story and look forward to receiving further feedback from schools.

“This book is not available in print but only in the form of an audio book.

“The Society is very keen to work with primary schools across Wales to provide more audio books for children.

“Not only does the story benefit children with a visual impairment but we see more children who find it difficult to read print or parents who want to learn Welsh to talk to their children.

“The Society has been working very closely with book publishers for many years. We are very grateful to them for giving us contracts to produce their titles.

“The Sara Mai series is extremely popular and is part of a wider range of books available to buy from the North Wales Society of the Blind’s Gwrando service.

"Check out our catalogue or visit our website to find out more."

For more information, please contact: Patsy West, North Wales Society of the Blind, 325 High Street, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 1YB 01248 353604 or gwrando@nwsb.org.uk

Photo: Author Casia Wiliam, who also voices the story of Sara Mai a Cwis Mawr y Plant
Video link: Casia Wiliam talks about Sara Mai's story and the big quiz of the children