Building a Legacy of Reading in 2025
In this article, Worldreader CEO Rebecca Chandler Leege shares her thoughts on building lasting impact and a legacy of transformative change through reading, and four stories that can inspire us to make 2025 a turning point for young learners around the world.
It’s easy to forget that we’ve reached the quarter of this not-so-new century. What’s more, as we enter 2025 we’re halfway through a pivotal decade. As citizens of this world, we’ve looked at the end of this decade as a turning point for the future we want to build for our children. From education to gender, from health to climate, there’s no more pressing time than now to deepen our impact if we want to build a fair, sustainable future for all. It’s time for big changes – in the world, and in Worldreader’s strategy.
If you’re like me, the beginning of a new year is a natural time of reflection and change. For many, reflection brings what we call ‘resolutions’. We resolve to invest our time better, invest more in our health and what brings us joy. To invest in our future. Yet too often, we set goals we can’t keep – too unrealistic, too scattered, and too individualistic to achieve.
There’s no bigger impact, no greater legacy we can build than investing in the future. To me, that means investing in our youngest generations and the families who nurture and shape them. There are many ways to do that – by supporting families and their children through the work of organizations like Worldreader, who ensure all children have the resources they need to thrive; by learning about the challenges our young generations face and advocating with our peers and leaders to solve them; by building a positive legacy with our children, helping them take their first steps towards a bright and just future for all.
The adults closest to young children have the greatest influence on them and play a key role in shaping their future success. If you have a young child in your life – your kid, a niece, or maybe a grandchild – you know how important it is to build a positive legacy in their lives. We do this primarily through stories – the books, discussions, and memories they’ll carry when we’re gone.
My gift to you is an invitation. I want to share with you four books that reflect on the ways we build our legacy through the choices we make every day. And a promise that Worldreader will continue to adapt to a fast-changing world to maximize our impact on what’s been our priority since Day One – the future of the world’s children.
Happy New Year,
Rebecca
➤ Looking for the best books for children to read in 2025? Check out our 2025 book recommendations on BookSmart and start reading!
Book One, Tradition – The Island of Sea Women
The Island of Sea Women introduces readers to the memorable female divers living on the Korean island of Jeju. Author Lisa See walks us through decades of Korean history, crafting an enchanted story of female friendship that witnesses tradition evolve with the world around it but never lose its heart and relevance. It reminded me that reading with our children allows us to weave new traditions together. The stories we share during their early years stay with them, shaping the traditions they carry into adulthood.
Book Two, Transitions – The Return
2017 Pulitzer Prize winner and one of the New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, The Return explores legacy through loss. An immigrant living in Cairo, author Hisham Matar returns to Libya searching for the truth behind his father’s mysterious disappearance. This powerful yet delicate memoir had me reflect on the meaning of family and home. So many of the children we serve are displaced due to conflict, climate, epidemics, and more – stories are often the one familiar place where they can connect with their roots.
Book Three, Well-Being – The Nature Fix
It’s no secret that connecting with nature boosts mental and physical well-being. In The Nature Fix, Florence Williams takes us on an exploration around the world to investigate the science behind nature’s positive effects on the brain. I find reads like this to be crucial in our modern, ever-connected lives, and motivation to continue investing in digital technology as a tool to focus, read, and learn, rather than distract. You can read more about Worldreader’s approach to technology in our latest Impact Report – Turning Screen Time into Reading Time.
Book Four, Living Life – When Breath Becomes Air
What makes life worth living? Paul Kalanithi was a new father and up-and-coming neurosurgeon when he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. His unforgettable memoir When Breath Becomes Air sees him “possessed by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life.” His story teaches us to come to terms with our legacy and loss, and how to celebrate life in that loss. To me, this book represents an invitation to see stories as an opportunity to build resilience in our young generations.
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