Sending Kids in Africa Back to School With Great New Books

It’s that time of year: Back to School. Like all parents, I love preparing my daughters backpacks with all the tools they’ll need to learn about the world. Yet, often I can’t help but think about the children I’ve met in Africa and how going back to school for them usually means walking into a classroom with no books. It’s hard for me to stomach.

This year, for Worldreader kids, this has changed. We’re thrilled to share with you the news that we’ve tripled the size of our digital library thanks to the leadership of many international publishers such as Simon and Schuster, Penguin Young Readers and Harper Collins.

We now have over 900 e-books in our programs, up from fewer than 300 one year ago. These include 425 U.S., U.K. and other international donated e-book titles, and more than 500 African digital textbooks and storybooks.

Our new partners have donated some of the most popular and best-loved titles in Western literature including Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse, Ben Bova’s Mars and books from the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series. Our kids are going to love these books!

It’s a Back to School that I’m sure they won’t forget. But our work isn’t close to done and we need you to help us get more great content to more children.

Please donate now so kids can get their hands on the tools they need to become what they dream of.

BTW, I’m also thrilled to share that the press loves this news, too!  Last week, our work with publishers got picked up by The New York Times. Personally, I love this quote from Mary Pope Osborne, author of The Magic Tree House series, “I think what they’re doing is beyond words, really.”