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Home / Lifestyle

'Oh my goodness': Little girl's reaction getting braille Harry Potter books for Christmas

By Stephanie Bedo
news.com.au·
31 Dec, 2020 03:23 AM3 mins to read

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Emrie was born blind and wanted to start reading the Harry Potter books herself so her aunt raised money to get them for Christmas. Photo / Supplied

Emrie was born blind and wanted to start reading the Harry Potter books herself so her aunt raised money to get them for Christmas. Photo / Supplied

Christmas was certainly a magical time for this little girl.

Emrie was born with a very rare genetic anomaly that left her blind and began learning braille when she was just four years old.

Now seven, her dad had been reading the Harry Potter books to her each night until she wanted to start reading them herself.

"They would relive the magic for days as Emrie never forgot a single detail of the wonderful world she heard her daddy read about," her aunt Kateyn Suter said.

"They have recently stopped reading them because Emrie wants to read them herself, she wants to put her finger to the paper and fly through Hogwarts too.

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The seven-year-old had no idea what the books were when she opened her present. Photo / Supplied
The seven-year-old had no idea what the books were when she opened her present. Photo / Supplied

"Unfortunately, we soon discovered that the Harry Potter books in braille are extremely expensive and not very accessible."

Mrs Suter, from Kansas City in the US, found one book alone cost as much as $360 so she started a fundraiser after followers on her Instagram page wanted to donate.

"Many libraries do not even have them as an option. This broke my heart," she said.

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"The Harry Potter books range from $100 to 400 for just one single book, this is a shame as everyone should have access to books!

"I am hoping with a little help that we can give this little girl the gift of magic for Christmas as well as possibly supply the local libraries with a set too."

Mrs Suter kept her followers updated on the arrival of the books, which unfortunately didn't make it until the day after Christmas.

With many eagerly awaiting the video of Emrie seeing her present, Mrs Suter made sure to capture the beautiful moment.

Emrie's reaction is priceless when at first she seems underwhelmed, as most children are when they open books for Christmas.

But when she realises they're Harry Potter – well, you'll just have to watch the video:

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At the end of the video she feels around for more boxes – there are 13 of them, with more than 50 still to arrive to be donated to libraries after Mrs Suter raised $4226.

Her aunt also posted a sweet thank you message from Emrie to her Instagram stories.

Mrs Suter said the donations meant the world to them and made their Christmas so special.

Little Emrie from Kansas has been reading braille since she was four. Photo / Supplied
Little Emrie from Kansas has been reading braille since she was four. Photo / Supplied

"As you can see she is beyond excited to be able to read the Harry Potter books herself," she said.

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Mrs Suter runs a cookie business and has previously shared another sweet video of Emrie reading her name on a treat.

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