Think about your favorite book from your childhood – did you read it with your family before bedtime? Or maybe at your school’s book club?

For many children in the US and around the world, accessing inspiring and unforgettable stories isn’t easy. Time and resources aren’t enough to support the foundational reading they need to reach their potential. And too often, parents and caregivers lack confidence in their own reading skills to promote reading at home.

But the good news is, reading is changing. And technology is being used to bring world-changing stories to children and families everywhere.

In a 2020  by Worldreader, a non-profit organization that provides digital reading materials to under-resourced communities, 68% of respondents in Sub-Saharan Africa said they prefer to read on mobile phones. And a 2021 survey Save the Children found that 34% of parents in low and middle-income countries read stories to their children from a phone.

Reading can now take place almost anywhere.

“It can happen anytime – in a laundromat, or sitting on a bus when you’re taking your child to school,” says Rebecca Leege, Chief Impact Officer at Worldreader.

What and when people read also looks different across cultures, too.

“It may be on a Wednesday afternoon that we see more readership happening in some countries versus a Sunday afternoon, depending on what’s culturally relevant in those communities.”

In India, people read more for news and information while in Sweden, people read for fun and pleasure. In China, science fiction and fantasy are popular with kids, while in Brazil, it’s all about adventure stories.

Read the full article about revolutionizing reading for children by Amber Cortes at Global Washington.