Spreading Joy Through Books

Book Dash was started with a vision that “Every child should own a hundred books by the age of five”. Books for Bright Futures forms one of the ways we work with partners to see this vision become a reality.

How we do it:

Making the books Our unique 12-hour publishing model vastly reduces the time and costs associated with creating relevant, quality books. We gather creative professionals who volunteer to create beautiful new, African storybooks in just one day!

Sharing the books online Then, we share them with the world so that anyone anywhere can then freely translate, print and distribute high-quality books to children.

Distributing the physical books into children’s hands We work with partners to provide physical copies in abundance to hundreds of thousands of children and families to own. And now, YOU, by starting a Book Dash early-years book-gifting programme, can ensure another way of distributing Book Dash books into the homes of children and families.

Evidence A large body of research shows that owning books is a key factor in holistic early development and lifelong academic and economic success. A 2019 study published in the Journal of Global Health found that “Having at least one children’s book at home almost doubled the likelihood of the child being on track in literacy and numeracy… Making children’s books available to children is a cheap and feasible intervention that could change home dynamics to improve the future economic fortunes of children especially in the poorest countries. A new study published by Book Trust in March 2023, also indicates that children who read are more likely to overcome disadvantages caused by inequalities, be healthier and happier with better mental wellbeing and self-esteem, do better at school and develop creativity and empathy. By increasing the number of books in very young children’s homes, we could effectively disrupt a cycle of inequality, for good.