International Literacy Day reflections

By Christabel Pinto
Vice President
Room to Read's Literacy Portfolio

I have read "Escape from Prison Island," a LEGO City children’s book, more times than I can remember and, frankly, it does not impress me. But my opinion of the book does not matter. What matters is that my 33-month-old chose it from the library and finds it captivating, even though he does not know what a "prison" is (he might have figured it out by now). With each repeated read-aloud, my inner dialogue is increasingly incredulous: Why does he like this book so much? While we have our own opinions about what constitutes quality children’s literature, ultimately, "a good book" is one that a child is eager to read.

On International Literacy Day and throughout September, let us celebrate the Room to Read teams and partners around the world who are committed to ensuring that all children have access to a diverse collection of books from which they can choose a book that they love and can read successfully.




As curriculum and content specialists, Room to Read addresses a critical need for quality materials to inspire and engage young learners: from books to serve children in new contexts, like Palestine and Nigeria, to developing a literacy instruction scope and sequence in Urdu and Modern Standard Arabic. Over the last year, as part of our annual global book collection, every Room to Read country team developed a book about leadership to inspire future generations of leaders.

We continue to expand the ways in which we work with educators, including the creation of an AI-coaching app and further developing pre-service initiatives that engage aspiring teachers. Educators go beyond trained professionals, so our support includes nonprofessional educators such as youth Reading Champions in South Africa and communities everywhere through newly developed family engagement materials.

Finally, we meet children wherever they are, beyond the formal school system. Whether displaced by war, orphaned or simply best reached through a nonformal education setting, Room to Read endeavors to bring the best of our Literacy Portfolio to where it is needed most.

Working together, we are making a much-needed shift to inner dialogues all around the world from "why doesn’t this child like to read?" to "why does he like this book so much?"