Beautiful children’s books for all

“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,
children’s book expert and publishing consultant for the World Bank Read@Home program

“Visits to partners who received the Book Dash books last year are showing real evidence of progress as they deepen their literacy work and, of course, youngsters’ ownership of books. In fact it’s the latter aspect which the partners express greatest delight about and they believe – as do we all – that this may be the real clincher in getting kids hooked on books early on… parents also report excitement at having books at home to read with their children.

“We had no idea of the impact this work would have when we started working together in 2015. I think it is some of the best work we have supported and we both feel hugely gratified and humbled at the way partners have taken this work into so many new educational channels and into so many young hearts.”

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 at Red Cross Cerebral Palsy Unit 

“When I was trying to get a good source of reading I barely found any for a beginner…then I found your app. [Reading the books] not only improved her reading skills, but also her confidence and that’s when we thought we could share it with kids by reading aloud.”

Ruth’s KidAdventure

“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