Last week at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Worldreader announced exciting news for our children in Africa! The Estate of Roald Dahl and Puffin Books have donated the use of four classics to our program: Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Dahl’s wicked sense of humor has delighted children—and adults—in the developed world for more than 50 years. Now, children in the developing world will have the opportunity to enjoy Dahl’s beloved stories.
The partnership with Puffin Books drives home one of the ways e-reader technology is truly transformational. It enables forward-thinking publishers and authors to be on the front line of charitable giving for the first time– in a simple and ultra lost-cost way. And, as you can see in the video above, e-readers offer a viable solution to the shortage of books, which until recently, our kids only had a distant hope of finding. Needless to say, we´re thrilled with Amazon´s recent announcement of a $79 Kindle. As we’ve said before, the decreasing cost of e-reader technology combined with the increasing amount of content available means that the developing world will have tools to change their lives.
While Dahl´s books open a window to the broader world, we know, too, that regional stories have an equally profound effect on our children´s lives. In that vein, we´re working closely with African publishers so that students have access to hundreds of local stories. Just this past week, our co-founders, David Risher and Colin McElwee were in Ghana and were amazed at how much reading is happening: they spoke to children who have read 50, 70, and even 90 books since they first got their e-readers. Furthermore, they witnessed classes of Ghanaian children enjoying one of our books from Kenya: Treasure of the Trees from the book Beneath the Rainbow (from Jacaranda Publishers). So, whether it be a Dahl classic or a Kenyan favorite, kids are becoming avid readers now that they have access to great books.
You can help. As little $5 gives a child the ability to download the e-book of her choice. Join us in bringing «Books for All»!
