Come and read aloud on World Read Aloud Day

Nal’ibali, a national reading-for-enjoyment campaign, is again calling on all South Africans to read aloud to the children in their lives on World Read Aloud Day (WRAD), Wednesday 1 February.

The campaign has provided a free, special story for children to celebrate the day for more than a decade – and 2023 is no different. For some, the day may be the first, important step to habitual reading while for others it will be a continuation of their reading journey. This WRAD, Nal’ibali aims to reach their goal of reading aloud to 3 million children.

This year’s custom-written story is by well-known children’s author Tumisang Shongwe, and is called “Every day’s a story”. It is available on the Nal’ibali website and is free to download in all 11 official South African languages as well as in braille.

Explained Ben Rycroft, head of communications and content at Nal’ibali: “While this year’s WRAD campaign will again focus nationally on encouraging families to pledge to read aloud, there will be a strong community outreach component, brought to life by our community projects that have a strong home visit focus. As always, this will be a collaborative effort with the Department of Basic Education, the National Education Collaboration Trust and other key partners.

“To add to the excitement, this WRAD event is going to be truly global. Nal’ibali has been invited by LitWorld, an international non-profit that strengthens children and communities through the power of stories, and Scholastic, the children’s publisher and the free Storyvoice app, to participate in a worldwide WRAD-a-thon. Shongwe will join international award winning authors and reading advocates between 08:00 and 08:30 to host a series of live interactive read-aloud shows.”

Why reading aloud?

“There are so many benefits to reading aloud to young children – and babies – and reading a story aloud together,” Rycroft pointed out. “Most importantly, parents and caregivers need to understand the connection between reading and storytelling and a child’s future success. Young children who are read to in languages they understand, perform better in school, develop better memories, stronger vocabularies and comprehension skills.”

When you enjoy a story with your children every day, it:

• shows them that you value books and understand the importance of reading;

• shows them that reading is an enjoyable and rewarding activity;

• shows them how books work;

• gives you things to talk about as a family;

• builds a strong bond between you; and

• allows them to enjoy stories they can’t yet read on their own.

The importance of reading cannot be stressed enough. After all, “reading is the gateway for children that makes all other learning possible”.

Impact of stories at home, school and in the community

Reading underpins all school learning; a child who can read with confidence is able to perform better in all school subjects. Understanding the questions in a science exam or instructions for a maths project is only possible when a child can read for meaning.

The beauty of stories is that they can be shared anytime, anywhere. Building a story routine in the home helps children adopt the habit of reading – and it’s fun!

So, wherever children and caregivers find themselves on 1 February, Nal’ibali is encouraging them to start or keep going with their reading routine, using the special story.

Supporting a continued literacy journey

Those who pledge to read the WRAD story as a family can sign up for Nal’ibali’s ongoing family reading journey. This means they’ll receive regular stories, news and literacy tips throughout the year, making it easy to keep up the habit of reading.

Story cards of “Every day’s a story” are available on the Nal’ibali website in all 11 official languages. To ensure children benefit from the simple power of stories and join in the nationwide celebration, there is a short guide for caregivers on how to share the official WRAD story with young children. The guide is also available on the website in seven official languages.

Besides the pledges, story cards, regional activities and events, Nal’ibali will also issue a 16-page edition of its bilingual reading-for-enjoyment newspaper supplement, which will contain the special story.