The basic requirements for tactile books are related to the age of the children, their disability, their development level and their relevant experience.
In tactile books for the early years it is important to strictly follow certain rules; as the child grows and his or her experience increases it is more permissible to ‘break the rules’ in some circumstances. 

Features of the book :
-    it must be robust;

-    it must have stiff pages (cardboard or fabric) with rounded corners;

-    it must have a binding that allows it to open out flat for tactile exploration of each page and to close properly afterwards

-    the text must be in both large print (eg 24pt Ariel) and braille

-    the text should always be on the same side of the book (ie left or right hand page) and so should the illustrations; 

-    the dimensions of the pages vary according to the age of the child; a child could start with a book 15 x 15 cms and progress (20 x 20, 25 x 25, 21 x 29.7) as the child grows and his/her exploratory skills develop. 

-    the number of pages is also related to age; you can start with just a few pages (5 – 6), and gradually increase the number;

-    mark the bottom of each page to help the child with the orientation of the book.


Contents :

-   it must be safe :  avoid sharp objects, toxic materials, small objects which could fall off or break and cause choking, long ribbons, etc which could strangle a child.  Use robust and safe materials, firmly attached to the page.

-    for first books use one small object per page, or several objects of the same sort.

-    for first books use real objects fixed on the page and progress gradually to representations of objects and then to stories and situations.
    
-    in the early stages it can be useful to attach the objects with Velcro so as to allow the child  to feel the object in the book, but also to pull it off, explore it and recognise it as a real object (this facilitates the passage from a real object to a representation in a book)

-    illustrations should be relevant, clear and simple;

-    the story should be simple enough to follow with ease. At the beginning, images and stories should be connected with daily living and reality, then you can introduce imaginary and abstract ideas later.

-    avoid too many details on the page;

-    the illustrations should encourage manipulation, be interesting and allow interaction;

-    the illustrations should relate to an essential part of the story, and  complement the text;

-    use multi-sensory materials that stimulate not only  touch, but also hearing, smell, and low vision if appropriate;

-  consider good colour contrast between objects and also between the object and the background.  Reflective material can be useful but some partially-sighted children are adversely affected by dazzle.

-    aim to provide a high contrast in the tactile sensations provided by different materials; 

-    use different materials to represent the different parts of an object;

-    make sure that the details can be easily identifiable;

-    leave plenty of space between different items on the page;

-    avoid occlusion (items which pass in front of other items and partially hide them);

-    respect proportions and avoid the effects of perspective;

-    human shapes are best represented from the front, while animal shapes are best shown sideways (with four legs);

-    if a character appears more than once in the story, it should keep the same characteristics;

-    the thickness of materials glued to the page should be at least 1 mm.