I joined Worldreader earlier this year after seeing the books in our library. Getting kids in Ghana books FROM Ghana was something that I could not get behind enough. Sure it’s great to get books into the hands of kids, but it’s what’s in those books that is so monumentally important, and I should know: I used to be a 1st and 2nd grade teacher on Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota.

I was tasked with teaching reading to children who looked and sounded nothing like the children in the books provided by the school. Every day, I would look back and forth from the pages of storybooks brimming with smiling Caucasian children out to the beaming faces of my young Lakota students. These were great stories, don’t get me wrong, but that sense of joy at hearing a story that was somehow familiar, that sounded like it could really happen, was lost. After much scouring, I found a couple books featuring Lakota children and it changed their world.

I believe in the power of these books to be transformative, and I wanted to be able to share that with others, so I helped to create the Worldreader Book Club. These stories may not come from South Dakota, but they are just as powerful. They are stories I never before imagined: South African mysteries. Indian Love stories. Nigerian Sci-Fi. It is like I am learning to read for the first time all over again, relishing each page as it unfurls a world before me.

The Worldreader Book Club gives you the opportunity to connect with our work like never before. Every month, you will have access to one of the stories that Worldreader makes available to classrooms and libraries in sub-Saharan Africa, and soon India as well. Many of these books are exclusive or unavailable elsewhere!

A member of Worldreader’s staff will share their insights into the book in a video each month, and you will have access to discussion questions, a GoodReads forum to share your thoughts, and special content from the authors and publishers themselves! Most of all, you will be supporting reading in Africa and India. Your membership enables Worldreader to ensure every child and her family have the books they need to improve their lives.

I hope you will find as much joy in these stories as I do. Join today.