Celebrating 15 years of spreading the joy of reading

"The simplest way to make sure that we raise literate children is to teach them to read, and to show them that reading is a pleasurable activity. And that means, at its simplest, finding books that they enjoy, giving them access to those books, and letting them read them." Neil Gaiman

Pratham Books came into being 15 years ago around a single idea: ‘a book in every child’s hand,’ so that every child could discover the joys of reading. Our journey since, is best described as one of constantly seeking newer, better ways to make that idea a reality.

From publishing delightful, engaging storybooks in almost all of India’s regional languages and making them affordable

and accessible; to creating a volunteer-led campaign that takes storytelling to children across India and the world with our annual campaign, One Day, One Story; from throwing open the doors to one of the world’s largest digital libraries for children with StoryWeaver; to crowdfunding libraries in the remotest of regions through our platform, Donate-a-Book, we have leveraged technology, collaboration, and innovation to help children become readers and learners. It’s been a journey of joy, of discovery, and of innovation.

Deepak Raj, a Class 4 student from Sengadur village, Tamil Nadu, participated in a reading programme by Communities Rising that featured our books. “Before this, big words were difficult to read. One day, the teacher put a few words up and I read

Our books cover such important topics as human health, we try to tell children about drugs and medicine in an interesting and understandable way.

them, using phonetics and everyone clapped for me. Now I can read on my own,” said Deepak.

Ruchi Dhona, who crowdfunded libraries for 15 schools in Spiti Valley and Gurgaon on Donate-a-Book, described the joy of children coming face to face with a library of their own. “The kids kept asking whether a library was really going to be set up in their schools. When we said Yes! their eyes widened and we could catch the sparkle dancing in their eyes,” said Ruchi.

A volunteer at a StoryWeaver translation workshop, Sanju Mandvi, talked about the joy of children having storybooks in their mother tongue, Gondi, for the very first time. “When we were kids, there was no poetry or story texts in Gondi. Now, when

we get married and have kids, we will be able to gift them Gondi books,” he said.

audio-visual books, and Readalongs with subtitles. For children who found mathematics and science challenging, there were hundreds of fascinating storybooks in print and digital formats for them to understand the world of STEM in a different, fun way.

Today, we are at the heart of a thriving ecosystem of authors, illustrators, translators, educators, and other non-profits. All focused on getting children to read. Like-minded publishers from different parts of the world are open licensing their books on StoryWeaver to provide more children with great books to read, while on-ground partners are helping take those books to the children who need them the most – in languages they use and understand.

Pratham Books is now publishing more books than ever before – in more languages, exploring new subjects, and finding newer, more creative expressions. Whether in classrooms the world over, or on award shortlists and longlists, our books are finding recognition and encouragement at every turn.

We cannot wait to see the stories that lie ahead.

Ms. Suzanne Singh, Chairperson
Mr. R. Sriram, Managing Trustee