Owning books can change the path of a child’s life.
Books spark and support the responsive, warm, playful caregiver interactions that young children need to grow and thrive.
When children have books at home from a very young age, they develop better vocabulary, early literacy and social skills – and this early advantage becomes more powerful as they grow.
Yet in South Africa, two-thirds of homes with young children do not have a single picture book. Millions of children around the world are in the same boat, missing out on all the proven benefits of owning books.
At Book Dash, we work to turn that around. Through a unique model, and partnerships with creative professionals and community-based organisations, we are realising the vision that every child should own a hundred books by the age of five.
Book Dash is a social impact publisher of open, African picture books for very young children.
We tackle the complex systems that make owning books inaccessible to most children. Using a unique, replicable model, we create, translate, print and distribute high-quality books to preschool children and their families to own. This enriches the home learning environment and is shown to boost child developmental outcomes.
Help change the world
1 Read and share our books
You can freely read, download, adapt and even print and distribute our books. If you have children in your life, read to them every day from our free library. If you’re an organisation based in South Africa and our books could add value to your work, apply to be a distribution partner, or email us to see what books we have in stock. If you’re not in South Africa, check out our guidelines for printing the books in your own country!
2 Fund our work
Funding enables us to do what we do best: boost literacy and early development by creating and distributing books to the youngest children. Our funders also help us promote our radically reimagined publishing model, which shakes up systems that aren’t designed to get books into under-served communities. As we get stronger, we’re transforming the early literacy ecosystem, by developing the people and channels that can ensure we get books in all children’s hands and homes.
3 Help us create more books
Writers, illustrators and designers in South Africa can apply to one of our ‘Book Dash’ events to experience the 12-hour model in action!
Outside South Africa? Learn how to run your own book-making event with our Book Dash Manual and support from our team, or translate our stories into your language.
Early book ownership is a lever for change
Why focus on early book ownership? Investing in early childhood development is a best practice when looking for high-impact change. It’s the window of most rapid development for a child, and the path of their life depends on these early foundations. Extensive research from varied contexts points to a common phenomenon: when children own books at home, they experience significant developmental gains.
That’s why we see giving children books during that window of early development as a key lever for social and economic change. As one of our partners describes it: “Books are the yeast”: all efforts to improve young children’s lives are strengthened when we add books into the mix.
However, the way book publishing and distribution has traditionally been done excludes the majority, especially children living in poverty. We needed to imagine better, fairer ways to get books to children, and fast.
We need new ways to publish
The Book Dash model drastically reduces the time and cost to create, print and distribute beautiful, diverse books.
Creatives volunteer their time and talent. We source funds for the print costs. Partners in literacy, early learning and healthcare get books to children and support their use. We’ve published hundreds of titles, and distributed millions of copies. Our open-licensed books are used in early development and parenting programmes around the world. We’ve documented the model so that anyone can use, adapt or learn from it to get books to the children and families who can benefit most.
Partners
What our partners say
“Initially we questioned giving books away. However, an open mind, expert opinion, and first-hand experience soon convinced us of the enormous value of giving books ‘for-keeps’. The benefits are enormous. Reading and sharing stories helps build strong bonds, which allows for open conversations; stimulates thinking and language; and creates opportunities to discuss feelings and outcomes. Books are prized possessions. Valued and loved. Their very own.”
Thobani Ndlovu, Khanyisela Projects
“Linking health to education resources is new for Bethesda, but our Occupational Therapy team found amazing teaching opportunities with babies, toddlers and young children, both in the ward and during clinic visits. They used the books to teach and engage: body awareness, visual perceptual skills, language development. The books are ideal to link the hospital-based interventions to home learning and take-home tasks.”
Jessica Ronaasen, Bethesda Hospital
“Chosi-Chosi Book Club is for grades 2 to 7, but children as young as ages 0 to 5 received the books, and this made them believe now they are eligible to attend the book club. A week later, I arrived to a full class of toddlers with their books in hand. It was such a beautiful and funny sight to see because they looked so determined to be part of the book club, ready to read and learn. When you’re handing out the books you pray that they reach one or two kids and change their lives. But when it transforms the whole neighbourhood then your efforts are rewarded with children who stop you at every corner, asking for more books to share with their friends at school and the whole of Philippi.”
Sindeka Mandoyi, Chosi-Chosi Book Club
“We’ve seen how families creatively integrate reading into their routines. In some homes, siblings take turns reading aloud to each other, while in others, children are excited to retell the stories they’ve read in playgroups or schools to their families, reinforcing their comprehension and storytelling skills. [Parents commonly report that] these books have made reading a more accessible and enjoyable activity at home.”
Astrid Gifford, LETCEE (Little Elephant Training Centre for Early Education)
“Book Dash’s accomplishments in a mere 10 years are astounding. It seems impossible that such work has been executed by only five full-time people, the last person just recently added. When you consider their value-add to children across the world versus the overhead and staff, the ratio of benefit to donor dollar is unparalleled.”
Alisha Berger, Publishing consultant, World Bank Read@Home programme
“Partners who received the Book Dash books are showing real evidence of progress as they deepen their literacy work. In fact, it’s youngsters’ ownership of books that they express greatest delight about – they believe that this may be the real clincher in getting kids hooked on books early on.”
The Solon Foundation
“Crèche organisations are almost never in a position to buy reading materials for their children – and if they are, they would normally only buy one teacher copy which the children might not even touch. To be able to give out these books is such an essential part of the child’s educational development and we are so grateful to be involved.”
Alison Zikala, Green Sparks Education
“Shhhh! is at the perfect level for the little ones I see: there is a dog that barks, a phone that rings, a truck that brmmms, a ball that bounces! It’s helping me both with children learning language and increasing vocabulary, and with my non-verbal ACC users (augmentative and alternative communicators) who are using pictures to communicate – I can match their own picture of a ball to the ball in the story… Excellent language stimulation opportunities all round!”
Jamie Sareli, Speech therapist, Red Cross cerebral palsy unit
“When I was trying to find a good source for reading, I barely found any for a beginner…then I found your app. [Reading the books] not only improved [my daughter’s] reading skills, but also her confidence. That’s when we thought we could share it with other kids by reading aloud.”
Ruth’s Kidventure
“We love Book Dash books! They are an amazing tool to help focus our educational interventions more clearly to meet our desired outcomes. We use the books in a variety of ways – from knowing colour and shapes to spelling and maths – while also developing comprehension, reading skills and a love of reading.”
Tshepong Children’s Project
The impact of owning books: Q&A
2023/2024 Book Dash Annual Report
Our latest event
Book Dash 23: Johannesburg, 17 August 2024
Book Dash celebrates its largest print run ever
Book Dash publishes white paper on early years bookgifting
Tata comes home
Book Dash celebrates 3 million books
My Little Book Dash Library
Book Dash wins prestigious innovation in early education scale-up award!
Support Book Dash with MySchool!
