New journal for children will foster love of reading

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GEORGE NEWS & VIDEO - As part of the Group Editor's reading programme, Ordinary Magic for Madiba, we have joined hands with the Otto Foundation in promoting its new children's journal aimed at fostering a love of reading in young ones.

Please support this all-important initiative by purchasing this wonderful book that has the potential to change lives and turn youngsters into "curious explorers of the world of words and books".

The Otto Foundation celebrated SA Library Week on Thursday 17 March with the launch of a reading journal for children, The Reading Journey: A Journal for Your Literary Adventures. This beautifully illustrated journal is designed to spark a love of reading in children - a factor that is a social justice issue.

The concept and text for the journal were developed by the Otto Foundation team, and it was illustrated by team member Xanelé Puren - a child-centred design creative. The journal is also available in Afrikaans, with poems by the renowned South African wordsmith Philip de Vos.

National Library Week is celebrated annually in March to commemorate the opening of the first public library in South Africa in March 1818.

The week is also planned to coincide with Human Rights Day on 21 March, thus acknowledging that libraries can play an important role in realising basic human rights - such as freedom of access to information and the right to education.

Launch

The launch was held at the Sunflower Learning Centre - one of the libraries established and managed by the Otto Foundation in District Six, Cape Town.

The foundation has been working in the District Six community since 2016, setting up school libraries and implementing reading programmes at Zonnebloem Boys', Zonnebloem Girls', Walmer Estate and Holy Cross RC primary schools.

"Our mission is to deepen the culture of reading in these schools and to foster a love of reading," says Otto Foundation co-founder and chairperson Zephne Ladbrook.

"Children read better when they also read for enjoyment outside of a formal classroom setting, when they have access to books that interest them, and when they see reading being recognised as an activity of value.

"This is why the Otto Foundation created a reading journal for children, encouraging them to become self-motivated, conscious and curious explorers of the world of words and books."

Interactive journal

The journal takes readers on a journey through various book-related themes with activity pages that strike a balance between instructional scaffolding, open-ended prompts, and space for creative expression - a combination that the foundation hopes will "encourage both mindful reading and joyous creativity".

The activities do not have pre-defined "correct" responses, which means that children can plot their own reading journeys, based on their own reading choices and what interests them as readers.

The concept and text for the journal were developed by the foundation's team of literacy experts.

The beautiful, quirky characters and illustrations were created by Puren, the foundation's manager of design and placemaking. The poems for the Afrikaans version of the journal, titled Reis met Woorde, were written by Philip de Vos.

Proceeds from sales of the reading journal will go towards funding the foundation's library programmes and will enable it to provide free copies of the journal to learners in under-resourced schools.

The launch was attended by representatives of literacy organisations, local publishers and booksellers, and District Six schools.

Celebrate reading

In her welcoming speech, Ladbrook emphasised that reading deserves to be celebrated, and that both reading and writing can help children to better understand themselves and the world around them.

During a Q&A with Dr Nadia Kamies, foundation team members Puren and Nonikiwe Mashologu shared the rationale for the development of the journal and the way in which they hope that children would use it as a roadmap to navigate their reading journeys.

Kamies is a writer and researcher who shares the foundation's belief in the power of stories to bring about positive change. She has close ties to the District Six Community, being an alumnus of Zonnebloem Girls' Primary School.

"The Otto Foundation hopes that The Reading Journey will help to create a new generation of readers and writers. Who knows, it may even be the catalyst for the creative journey of another young Nadia Kamies!" said Ladbrook.

Dr Nadia Kamies in conversation with Nonikiwe Mashologu and Xanele Puren of the Otto Foundation.