KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri, woman’s mission to locate a Braille version of the “Harry Potter” series for her niece has helped raise awareness of the scarcity of such books.
Kately Suter created a GoFundMe campaign to purchase the novels for 7-year-old Emrie after learning that one book in the series cost roughly $240.
“This made me very sad and very upset that it was this inaccessible,” Suter told 41 Action News. “ I reached out to people to try to find these books. Every library I contacted, they weren't available to rent, let alone own. They seemed virtually impossible to get my hands on or only available on audiobook. They are very expensive to print, and I understand that, but it just broke my heart.”
Emrie’s father has been reading the series to her, but they hit a standstill while on "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."
“Emrie really enjoys reading herself and wanted to read books that she could read in Braille,” Suter said.
The campaign was intended to raise enough money to purchase the series for Emrie and donate another. Within 24 hours, Suter had the funding to buy five sets – one for Emrie and four to donate to schools and libraries in the Kansas City metro.
“The outpouring of love and support has been amazing, but the greatest thing it has done is raise awareness for Braille books and the accessibility/ price of them,” Suter said. “Everyone deserves to be able to read and have accessibility to books no matter the cost or size to print them.”
