By Jennifer Baljko 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, … Continue Reading →
By Jennifer Baljko 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 … Continue Reading →
A year ago, Worldreader officially launched “Books for All” in Ghana. A few months later, we went to Kenya. Today, we’re adding another great “first” to the list. The Worldreader movement to transform reading in the developing world will be heading to Uganda! Right, Uganda! Can we get a shout-out?!? Why, you say? What’s the … Continue Reading →
By Zev Lowe You’ve heard of Poetry Slams? It’s when poets compete on stage and perform their work. They’re usually lively affairs, and everyone walks away loving the ode and speaking in iambic pentameter. Last week, teachers and students in Ghana gave this idea a Worldreader twist. We’re not quite ready for the big time … Continue Reading →
By Jennifer Baljko 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 … Continue Reading →
By Jennifer Baljko Kids, regardless of where they live or what social or cultural background they come from, have a natural ability to pick up a device, fiddle around with the drop-down menus, and figure out how to make the technology work for them. It was no different when students in Ghana and Clearwater, … Continue Reading →
By Colin McElwee I have to say when we put the finishing touches to our iREAD Vacation School I thought of it as a “best we could do but not good enough” kind of gesture to keep kids interested in reading and e-books through the summer. My visit to Ghana last week however not only … Continue Reading →
By Jennifer Baljko Author Keith Thomson fell into writing novels in a roundabout way. Before he penned his bestselling thrillers Once a Spy and Twice A Spy, Keith was a semi-pro baseball player in France, an editorial cartoonist for Newsday, a filmmaker who won the Laura Napor Award at the Sundance Film Festival, and … Continue Reading →
By Jennifer Baljko Today, April 23, is a special day for book lovers, aspiring readers, and just about anyone else who has ever felt a jolt of excitement after running their fingers down a hard-covered spine or flipping through e-reader pages of their favorite tome. It’s World Book and Copyright Day, as coined by UNESCO … Continue Reading →
By Jennifer Baljko As Elizabeth wrote earlier this week, Worldreader is developing some exciting relationships with international authors. Writers are actively engaging with our Books For All mission, and we wanted to thank them publicly for their support. We also wanted to connect them to our broader Worldreader community. So we decided to ask them … Continue Reading →