12 Books You Should Read This International Literacy Day

This International Literacy Day is a particularly special one for us at Worldreader. And here’s why: the theme is ‘Literacy and Multilingualism.’ Put simply, this year UNESCO is highlighting how crucial local language content is when it comes to getting the world to read.

This is something that we at Worldreader care about deeply. 

The reality is this: we’re never going to get the whole world to read unless we can give people access to books in a language they can understand.

Unfortunately, 40% of the global population does not have access to education in a language they speak or understand, according to UNESCO. This is, in part, due to a lack of books in the required language. 

We’re working hard to change this. It’s the reason why we focus so much effort on curating a library of locally relevant content for our readers. And we’re proud to say that thanks to our partnerships with local and international publishers, our library currently offers 52 languages to our readers – from Hindi, to Arabic, to French, to Xhosa.

To celebrate multilingualism with you, we’ve selected 12 books in our library that we think you’ll enjoy. 

Friendly note: 

• The books can only be accessed by clicking on the links.
• The links will only work if they are accessed via a mobile phone or tablet.

1. El Secreto de la Selva
Author: Andrea Ruy Sánchez
Language: Spanish
Genre: Adventure

2. Cinco Poemas
Author: José Martí
Language: Spanish
Genre: Poetry

3. Skin we are in
Author: Sindiwe Magona, Nina G. Jablonski
Language: English
Genre: Children’s

4. Making the team
Author: Erick Livumbazi Ngoda
Language: English
Genre: Girl power

5. Vitendo Vya Jamila
Author: Hezron Mogambi
Language: Swahili
Genre: Girl power

6. Kumebe Nimetekwa Nyara
Author: Lolani Kalu
Language: Swahili
Genre: Poetry

7. ياسمين والوحش
Author: عبير الطاهر
Language: Arabic
Genre: Children’s

8. الديناصور؟ أين اختبأ
Author: جنان حشاش
Language: Arabic
Genre: Children’s

9. Sona Badi Sayyani
Author: Vinita Krishna
Language: Hindi
Genre: Folklore

10. I can help!
Author: Mini Shrinivasan
Language: Hindi
Genre: Children’s

11. La Belle et la Bête
Author: Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont
Language: French
Genre: Young adult

12. Le Sourire de Sizwe
Author: Vianne Venter, Genevieve Terblanche & Lauren Rycroft
Language: French
Genre: Children’s

Learn more about the Worldreader library here. Happy reading!

P.S. With your help we could reach thousands more children with digital books by the end of the year. Will you join us this holiday season? Give now and change a child’s life.