Free books for preschool children in Africa, with Book Dash
About
Context
When children have books at home from a very young age, they develop better vocabulary, early literacy and social skills. Yet in South Africa and other African countries, books are often too expensive to buy from traditional publishers. In South Africa, two-thirds of homes with young children do not have a single picture book.
Approach
Book Dash – one of the winners of the second cohort of the Theirworld Education Innovation Awards – condenses the traditional publishing model into just 12 hours to make new books for preschool children and their families. They collaborate with creative writers, illustrators and designers who volunteer their talent and time.
The Book Dash team then works with partners to translate, print, distribute and make them available to as many children as possible from a young age. There are also free online versions.