By Michael Smith I was at the London Book Fair last week where I met so many great publishers. In sharing our story about bringing exciting e-books to children in Africa, one publisher “believed” they could make a difference. Without hesitation, we set a goal to celebrate World Book Day (April 23) together by forging … Continue Reading →

Capture Minds Growing Take Pictures of People Reading Instagram Them With #booksforall   Minds grow when people read books. This week, we have the perfect chance to celebrate our great unspoken hero: THE BOOK. From April 17 to April 23 (World Book Day), we want to see your pictures of the world reading. Take a … Continue Reading →

By Michael Smith and Tina Tam Once again we’re seeing the e-book trend soaring to new highs. The Association of American Publishers (AAP) recently released a snapshot of the industry’s total January 2012 books sales, which is based on a compilation of monthly sales results from the organization’s 1,200 reporting publishers. Although overall sales have … Continue Reading →

Worldreader values collaboration and partnership. So, when Elizabeth Wood, our director of digital publishing, asked me to talk with author Leslie Bulion and illustrator Nicole Tadgell for this column, it made perfect sense to feature them together. At the suggestion of their publisher, Moon Mountain Publishing, they broke tradition and worked together to create Fatuma’s … Continue Reading →

“Sawa sawa. Okay, good. Are you getting it?” asks teacher Victor during English Class 4 at the Menara Primary School in Mnara, Kenya. The class, packed with some 55 students, is studying celebrations. Victor stops for a moment. He sees a vocabulary word he wants the students to learn. He picks up his e-reader, hits the … Continue Reading →

We started this series last spring to spotlight authors who believed in the same thing we do: Reading has the power to transform lives. Since then, we’ve been engaging with many authors and are happily surprised by their generosity and support. It’s great to see our author community expand, but often, too, we like to … Continue Reading →

As a lean, nonprofit social enterprise, much of what we do is powered by the enthusiasm of our volunteers. Now and again, Worldreader shines a light on their initiative, shares their on-the-ground experience with our broader community, and gives them a big public hug. You may remember, Sara Rhyne, for instance. She won our video … Continue Reading →

Worldreader recently spoke with Chika Unigwe, a Nigerian-born author now living in Belgium. We talked about the books she read as a child, writers who influenced her life, her early attempts at getting published, and the gift reading gives all of us. Here are excerpts of our Skype chat. WR: What book made you fall in … Continue Reading →

There are things we take as a given. Things we know because we live them every day. We know, for instance, there are not enough printed books for every student in Ghana or anywhere else in the developing world. A teacher told us that he has only eight textbooks for his 50 students, and in … Continue Reading →

Sometimes, the book that sticks with you isn’t the happy book with a storied ending of love and laughter conquering all. Sometimes, the toughest stories make you fall in love with the power of the written word. It happened that way for Ellen Banda-Aaku, author of children’s book Wandi’s Little Voice and a new novel … Continue Reading →