Gruffalo's scent to help visually impaired readers

First there was smell-o-vision where scents were pumped into cinemas to take the movie going experience to the next level.

Now, the same is being done for the much-loved children's book The Gruffalo, to make reading more inclusive for visually impaired children.

The sight-loss charity, Guide Dogs, is launching a scent kit to accompany the story.

So those of you who ever wondered what the Gruffalo smells like, now you'll be able to find out!

Bringing the Gruffalo's smell to life

We think this scent must be particularly stinky!

28,000 under 18's are recorded as visually impaired in the UK and an estimated 1,500 families will be told their child is losing their sight in 2021 alone.

So Guide Dogs is campaigning to make the world more inclusive for children with sight loss.

They've embarked on a world-first, by creating and releasing the smell of the Gruffalo and the four other characters - Snake, Fox, Owl and Mouse.

The much-loved children's book, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, is a rhyming story of a mouse and a monster. When the little mouse goes for a walk in a dangerous forest, he invents tales of a fantastical creature called the Gruffalo to scare off his enemies, until he meets the real Gruffalo.

The scent kit includes five inhalers, one for each character of The Gruffalo.

So, what do the characters smell like?!

The quick-witted mouse smells like cupcakes. The silly old fox has the scent of cut grass. The owl smells like a freshly poured cup of tea, and the sneaky, slithering snake has a smoky scent.

Then there is the Gruffalo himself, a stinky leathery smell that comes from the depths of the deep, dark wood.

Each scent was developed with the input of Guide Dogs service users to ensure they were at the heart of this.

In addition, Guide Dogs Specialist Education Support Team has developed resources to help bring books to life using touch and sound.

There is even one for the Gruffalo which all families can enjoy in bringing the characters to life using the different senses through everyday household items.