This week, we celebrate Children’s Book Week, “the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country.” This year marks the event’s 101st anniversary and, with the kind of year 2020 has been, one week just wasn’t enough. Families and schools also celebrated during the week of May 4-10, quarantine-style. Every Child a Reader has provided wonderful resources for librarians, teachers, and parents to help kids in their community recognize the importance of books during this time.
Our company’s story actually began with someone else’s story - a children’s book called All the World. In the book’s main characters, co-founders Jordan Bookey and Felix Lloyd saw their own family’s image and began a book subscription service to help families discover books based on non-traditional genres and interests, like having an interracial family. We have since evolved into an EdTech and LibraryTech company, providing libraries, schools, and businesses solutions to encourage a culture of reading. The heart of our work lies in the knowledge that reading changes lives starting with our children.
Our future leaders will cultivate their value systems and knowledge of the world around them from a very early age. We have the opportunity to shape their experiences through storytelling, and therefore change the trajectory of society for years to come. What our children read is just as important as what food they eat, or how much exercise they get - it all nourishes their bodies and minds.
Zoobean was founded on this very idea - that reading is to the mind as exercise is to the body. Reading can instill a sense of empathy and opens our minds up to new ways of thinking. We encourage you to use this as an opportunity to reconnect with your community and see the world the way our children do: full of possibility, wonder, and usually a bit of magic.
Check out these resources for books well-worth a read:
- The Most Anticipated Children’s Books of 2020
- ALSC’s Notable Children’s Books - 2020
- At Home Resources for Teachers, Librarians, Booksellers, and Families
How are you celebrating this week? We’d love to know! Drop us a line on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and share your ideas. #keepreading.