Room to Read Blog

Our Own Top 10: Top 10 Books Published by Room to Read in 2010

It's that time of year when everyone is looking back and making their Top 10 lists so we decided to make one of our own -- Top 10 children's books that Room to Read created and published in 2010!

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 10. The Snake Who Wants to Buy a Shoe (Cambodia) This charming picture book tells the story of a little snake who asks the crab, the spider, the cricket, the frog, and a little girl to figure out how much he should spend if he only needs to buy one shoe. Skillfully weaving collage and paper folding in its illustrations, this delightful story introduces everyday math concepts to children. A product of our writers workshop, this book is the Room to Read debut of Mr. Sun Try, a senior student of Khmer Literature and Mr. Yuom Kosal, a young artist and book designer with exceptional skill, attention to detail and an aesthetic vision that sets the illustrations in this book apart. Kosal’s participation in the Room to Read  illustrators’ workshop prompted his first experiments in collage.

9. Who Makes the Best Papaya Salad? (Laos) The animals in the forest take pride in their own -- often secret -- recipes. But in order to make the most delicious papaya salad, a traditional dish in Laos, the animals need to learn to work together. A product of our writers and illustrators’ workshops, this is the first book written by Miss Manivanh Siphonesay working in collaboration with Mr. Nivong Sengsakoun, an award-winning local artist.

8. Thili’s Journey (South Africa) Thili’s middle finger tickled and itched, but she didn’t dare scratch it because she believed the superstition heard from her elders that this would chase away her chance for future money and luck. She was also superstitious of lizards and frogs, bees and crabs, rats and locusts, butterflies, and even chameleons. Because of all her fears, Thili never made the journey through the lush, green valley to visit Grandma vho-Nyawa...until now. Thili’s Journey is a story about a little girl’s adventures with fantastical superstition, folk and mythical beliefs that she has to conquer during her visit to her grandmother. The story, originally written in the Tshivenda language, is by poet and fictionist Gudani Ramikosi and illustrated by Jonas Mailula.

7. Traditional Riddles (Vietnam) This book promises to engage and delight countless Vietnamese children in riddle-solving. A compilation of humorous folk riddles passed on for generations, this book was put together by Miss Le Phuong Lien, who has written over 250 titles in teaching and learning for primary schoolchildren in Vietnam, in collaboration with artist Do Bien Thuy.

6. Mini’s Rainbow (Bangladesh) Mini the Kitten wakes up one morning and sadly sees that the rainbow had lost its colors. To bring the rainbow back to life, Mini seeks the help of the blue sky, the rooster, the kingfisher, the mustard field and the orange tree. One of the first Room to Read titles in the Bangla language, Mini's Rainbow is written by Shaheen Aziz, a local long-time author of children’s books, and illustrated by Sabyasachi Hazra, Bangladesh’s most prolific artists with over two thousand book cover designs in his portfolio.

5. The Power of Friendship (India) The Power of Friendship is a story about a group of numbers: Number One is new to the neighborhood and is having a hard time making friends; the other numbers think of him as unequal. Along the way, Number One meets Zero who, similarly, has no friends. In the end, they realize the added “value” of their friendship as the two digits stand right next to each other to form the Number Ten. This early reader book was written by Govind Sharma, India’s award-winning children’s book author and was illustrated by a young artist, Mehul Navodit, who was recently highlighted by CBS News about his contributions to Room to Read's Local Language Publishing program.

 

4. On the Road to Visit Grandpa (Bangladesh) Join Dragonfly aboard her leaf car on a magical, rhyming adventure to see Grandpa. Along the way Dragonfly encounters different characters, each with something to offer that Dragonfly picks up for her grandfather. This book was written by the Room to Read Bangladesh Literacy Team and illustrated by Sabyasachi Hazra.

 

 

3. The Red Flower (Nepal) A rabbit froze in the cold weather. Nearby, a fox and a vulture argue about who will take the rabbit away. Will the rabbit manage to escape? You'll have to read it to find out what happens in this tale with a strong traditional feel. Illustrated by Bhisma K. C. and written by young author Mr. Yashu Shrestha, The Red Flower was developed during a Room to Read writers' workshop held in collaboration with the Danish Writers Association and the Nepal Society for Children’s Literature.

2. Unjani (How Are You?) (South Africa) Unjani is a foundation phase book containing photos and illustrations depicting various facial emotions of children in South Africa with accompanying text in simple and predictable language to define each emotion. Originally written in English and the Xhosa language, and translated into five other languages (Afrikaans, Sepedi, Siswati, Xitsonga, and Tshivenda), the book is written by local author/illustrator Hillary Atkinson who worked with students in Khayelitsa through an organization that promotes skills training.

1. Baby Fish Goes to School, 2nd ed. (Sri Lanka) Originally published in 2006, Baby Fish Goes to School is the story of a baby fish who wants to go to school but discovers he can’t because he lives in water. Written by a 15-year old girl, the story won a creative writing competition organized by Room to Read and was illustrated by a 17-year old student who had won national art awards. In 2006, it was the first children’s book these girls had published. The first-edition book was written for advanced readers and thus, it was text-heavy and included three languages within one book. This new 2010 edition has been updated by the same writer and artist and is now being published with separate Sinhala- and Tamil-language versions. In addition, the story is now geared toward beginning readers so language has been simplified with less text and more basic vocabulary. It also includes an illustrated learning activity to teach about other animals that live in water.

In many developing countries, finding children’s books that are relevant to the local context and written in the local language is difficult. Our Local Language Publishing program develops materials from the ground up by tapping emerging and established local writers and illustrators. Room to Read now publishes in 23 languages across Asia and Africa. The titles above are just 10 out of 120 titles that Room to Read published in 2010. Learn more about our Local Language Publishing program.

Twas the Night Before Christmas...Room to Read Style

Twas the night before Christmas, and in library nooks,
Were millions of children reading Room to Read books.
The bookshelves were stocked by the librarian with care,
In the hopes that more kids would discover them and share.

These children had never seen so many choices,
Of books in their own language read by their teacher in playful voices.
And even after these children had read books and heard stories,
They found puzzles, toys and games -– these kids were truly in their glory.

With a focus on literacy and keeping girls in their classes,
In 10 years Room to Read’s education movement has reached out to the masses.
There are now libraries, books, reading lessons and schools.
And girls learning academics and life-coping tools!

Now Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Cambodia,
Sri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam, Zambia and South Africa,
Can celebrate literacy and help kids by the million,
Because World Change Starts with Educated Children.

 

Please don't forget:

Unwrap world change through our Holiday Gift Catalog. All gifts made online through the end of December will be matched 100% up to $500,000.

Education is a Priceless Gift: A Holiday Message from a Room to Read Donor

Gift-giving can take many forms -- from the simple to the elaborate -- but each gift carries a similar message of appreciation and affection from the giver to the recipient. Bonnie Campbell Hill, a long-time supporter of Room to Read from Washington state, shares her holiday gift tradition which continues to build bright futures for children in developing communities.  

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I’ve been in education as a teacher, a college professor, a consultant, and as an author of professional books. I’m also an avid traveler, growing up in Turkey, and working with international schools around the world as an educational consultant. I truly believe that the path toward peace and change in the world is through education.

Several years ago, my family and I decided that rather than giving holiday gifts to our long list of friends and family, we would take the opportunity to share some of the resources we’ve been blessed with and make donations to various charities. In searching for a nonprofit organization in which to invest that focused on international education, I happened upon John Wood’s book, "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World," and also had the chance to hear him speak. In Room to Read, I knew I had found an organization that not only embraced my belief in the power of literacy and education, but it is also making a significant impact for future generations in nine countries around the world. 

For the past five years through Room to Read, our family has supported girls’ education, local language children’s books, schools, and libraries in Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Nepal. Two years ago, we were even fortunate enough to visit one of the libraries we had sponsored in Nepal. It’s one thing to see photographs in a slide show or on a website, but it is an entirely different experience to actually visit a library and see the dramatic impact on the lives of so many children!

Recently I found out that I have a rare form of cancer for which I am currently receiving chemotherapy and scheduled for surgery. This sobering news made me pause and really think about the work I’ve done with literacy and how I could come up with a way to have an even larger impact on the lives of children. 

To do this, my family and I have decided to start a personal giving campaign with Room to Read to reach an ambitious fundraising goal of $400,000 to support literacy programs in India. Having spent much time working and traveling in India, I know how critical education is to ending the cycle of poverty in this area of the world.

The money we raise in our campaign, affectionately called "Bonnie's Big Idea," will be used to provide much-needed educational resources to children in four regions of India, including Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttarkhand and Maharashtra. Children in these areas currently have little or nothing, but could, with education, change the path of their lives from poverty to opportunity.

I'm very proud that already several of our friends and family members have committed to helping grow our small idea into a big idea affecting the lives of thousands of boys and girls -- today and for generations to come.   

 

Please don't forget:

For ideas about how you can give holiday gifts that will have lasting effects on the lives of children, please visit our Holiday Gift Catalog. All gifts made online through the end of December will be matched 100% up to $500,000. You can also set up your own personal giving campaign on our website.

 

Guest Blog from Board Director: Room to Read's Numbers Tell the Story

Craig Bruya, former CFO of Microsoft Business Solutions and audit manager with Arthur Andersen & Co, and now a professional philanthropist, has been actively involved with Room to Read since 2002 and joined the Board of Directors in 2008. From the perspective of both an investor and a board member, Craig shares his thoughts as to why numbers matter, how Room to Read is getting it right -- and how the world seems to be finding out about it.

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In 2002, when I was first approached by John Wood, a former colleague at Microsoft, to get involved with helping to develop a financial model for Room to Read, I did what every self-professed number-cruncher does: I reviewed their financial statements, budgets and five-year plan.  Eight years later, I find myself happily ensconced on the board of an organization that has grown exponentially, both in revenue and results.

As the head of the Audit Committee, I work closely with Room to Read CFO, Joanne Chou, and her skilled staff of finance and accounting experts, and with pencils sharpened, we continue to refine and improve procedures to keep our efficiency level extremely high. Apparently it’s working, and word is getting out.

Last week, Barron’s, a publication targeted for a financially-sophisticated audience, included Room to Read in their second annual “25 Top Givers” list. This list calls out individuals and organizations that get big results from their donation dollars and this year, includes the standard heavy hitters of philanthropy with Bill Gates, Jr. at #1, Bill Clinton at #8 and Oprah Winfrey at #21. And, I am proud that among that list is John Wood/Room to Read at #9, up two positions from last year -- and one of the only on the list that didn’t start out as a billionaire or celebrity-led endeavor.

We also learned last week that we had qualified for membership in a very elite group in having been awarded Charity Navigator’s four-star (the highest) rating for sound fiscal management for a fifth consecutive year.  Only 6% of their rated charities can claim this five-year streak. Charity Navigator is the recognized report card for U.S. charities, and each year, 5,500 nonprofits are evaluated on various criteria, including levels of overhead, direct program spending and program results.

So what exactly do these honors mean? Simply put, they mean that Room to Read has developed a formula for growth and efficiency that is rarely seen in the nonprofit (or even for-profit) world. That formula, which includes innovative thinking, transparency, diversified funding and planned growth, attracts investments from business giants such as Credit Suisse and Barclays Capital and Goldman Sachs, as well as individuals looking for a philanthropic partner who can take their dollars and turn them into a tool to change the lives of children. Investors know they can trust Room to Read -– which is why, in an economy that is challenging at best, Room to Read managed to grow its revenue by over 20% last year and is on target to do the same in 2010!  As an accountant, I love to see great revenue growth, but as an investor I take greater comfort knowing that we are helping many more children gain the lifelong gift of literacy.

What’s Room to Read’s secret? That’s just it –- we don’t have secrets. One of our core beliefs is transparency, which means that all the books are on the table –- data about donation totals, project expenses and program results are updated regularly and made available to all of our key stake holders, including staff, board, volunteers, donors and potential donors.

Of course, it helps when you have good data to report, which, in general, we do. Thanks to our “cheap and cheerful” mantra, more than 80 cents of every dollar is funneled directly into our program work. That being said, we don’t believe in being penny-wise but pound-foolish. Room to Read invests in the necessary infrastructure that allows our worldwide team to excel at their work. It costs money to build accounting systems and donor management systems and to monitor and evaluate our programs to make sure that they are cost effective and getting the desired results. We work hard to strike a careful balance between donation efficiency and infrastructure investment.

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Bangladesh, India, Zambia and South Africa to see our programs at work. It is one thing to be impressed with our numbers and to be happy that we are a well-managed organization, but it is a very different thing to see donor dollars in action. The children are thrilled to be learning -- and they are sharing their new-found knowledge with their families. The experience was life-changing, and my commitment to the organization has never been greater. I know of no investment with greater return than that of educating a child.

Read more about Room to Read's recent honors on our website. And, consider giving a unique gift this season through our Room to Read’s Holiday Gift Catalog where your gift can help share education with children in Asia and Africa. Plus, through the end of December, all online donations will be matched 100% up to $500,000. 

 

Room to Read Volunteers: Rolling Up Their Sleeves to Support Literacy

Volunteers are the lifeblood of most non-profit organizations, and Room to Read is proud to claim a worldwide network of individuals who have committed their time and efforts to help us continue our work in education. They are officially named our Chapters, but we regularly call them our heroes, ambassadors and superstars.

December 5 is International Volunteer Day, as established by the United Nations in 1985, and though we appreciate our chapter volunteers every minute, we take this special opportunity to take our hats off and express our warm thanks for countless hours of work that have produced outstanding results in fundraising and awareness-raising for Room to Read.

Who are these individuals who willingly give up their evenings and weekends to coordinate and attend fundraising events and meetings, stuff envelopes, make phone calls and spread the word about the work we’re doing?  At our annual chapter leadership training, the hankies come out as we hear the moving stories of why each individual decided to commit their time and energy to Room to Read. For some, it’s having experienced economic challenges as a child, for others, it’s having traveled to areas where we work and wanting to make a difference.

Jennifer Mathy, the driving force behind the new chapter in Ridgefield, Connecticut (scheduled to officially launch in 2011), was drawn to Room to Read looking for a way to turn tragedy into world change. She recently returned to Connecticut after spending two years in Singapore with her family. While in Singapore, she got involved with a charity that builds schools in Cambodia and provides student scholarships in the Philippines.

She explains, “The first school I helped to rebuild had collapsed 11 years before, during the Khmer Rouge regime, a time when an entire generation of educated adults were massacred, leaving an entire generation of kids without access to an education. More than 1,000 children in the area had never been to school, had never learned to read or write, had never seen a book. Visiting that school, meeting those villagers, changed my life.”

This wasn’t the first event that had a profound effect on Jennifer’s life. On September 11, 2001, she was heading to work in Tower Two in New York. "I had just walked through the door to my office building when the first plane hit that morning," she recalls. "My experiences that day, the horrible things I witnessed and the amazing people I met, will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

Last summer, Jennifer read about a local initiative to build a memorial to commemorate the victims of 9/11. “When I read the article about the Ridgefield memorial, I asked myself, ‘Why does a memorial have to be a physical structure?’ A memorial like that is important to a community, to remind us of the people we lost and of those who stepped up and said, ‘Yes, I’ll help another human being.’ But why can’t a memorial be a living, breathing thing? Why can’t I be a memorial to those 7,600 people? That’s when I contacted Room to Read.”

Room to Read’s goal is to help 10 million children by the year 2015. Jennifer has personally committed to helping 7,600 of those people, one for every person who lost their lives or their spouses or parents in the Twin Towers. She has already recruited 15 people to join the new chapter and she is planning to hold an informational meeting about Room to Read for the entire Ridgefield community, not only to recruit chapter members, but also to raise awareness of the organization.  She notes, “We have a lot of talent in Ridgefield, and I want to be sure we get the word out about the amazing work Room to Read is doing.”

There are more than 5,000 Room to Read volunteers around the world like Jennifer Mathy.  Almost from day one, Room to Read established a unique chapter model to utilize volunteers in major cities around the world and these volunteers make long-term commitments to help promote the organization within their own personal networks and communities. This year, our fundraising chapters in over 50 cities worldwide have raised more than US$10 million, which is one-third of our annual budget.

Room to Read’s continued success in fundraising translates directly into more books, more schools, better teaching and expanded access to quality education. We salute our family of volunteers around the globe who have helped us reach over five million children.

For more information about how to get involved with a chapter near you or for other volunteer opportunities, please visit our website.

 

In Observance of World AIDS Day: Introducing An Unlikely Heroine for Children in South Africa

World AIDS Day was established by the World Health Organization in 1988 to raise awareness of a disease that has devastated generations worldwide. Every December 1, as we observe this solemn day, it’s hard not to be completely overwhelmed by the staggering statistics: 1.8 million deaths from AIDS in 2009; 2.5 million children worldwide infected with AIDS, and 30 child deaths from AIDS every hour. Of those infected by the disease, nine of every 10 live in Sub-Saharan Africa.

And while the numbers are daunting, one little hero is making a big difference to children in South Africa whose lives have been shattered by this ravaging epidemic. Her name is Thandi, and though she doesn’t have the notoriety or spell-casting powers of Harry Potter, her story is very powerful and has brought hope and comfort to some of the millions children who are ill or have lost one or both parents to AIDS.

Thandi is the heroine of a series of books produced by Catherine Groenewald and Room to Read’s Local Language Publishing program in South Africa. Thandi made her debut in I Could be Anywhere, written by Groenewald in 2004 after working with her friend, Sarah Oosthuizen, to establish a women’s sewing collective for an impoverished community in South Africa.  The local women learned sewing skills by making ragdolls, named Nosipho dolls, from scraps of material. It was here Groenewald and Oosthuizen met Gogo, a grandmother who was the sole bread winner for a large family in a community ravaged by HIV/AIDS, TB, poverty, illiteracy, teenage pregnancies and alcohol abuse. Groenewald remembers, “Forming a friendship with her, and seeing her daily life, the children around her and her personal struggles, made me want to tell her story.” 

In I Could Be Anywhere, Thandi, an orphan who has lost both of her parents to AIDS, moves in with her grandmother, Gogo, and together they make a doll named Nosipho from the scraps of Thandi’s deceased parents’ clothing. Through Nosipho, Thandi finds comfort and healing, and the two become inseparable. The second Thandi book, Nosipho Comes to Stay, written by Oosthuizen and illustrated by Groenewald, was published by Room to Read in 2007, translated into 11 South African languages, and distributed to Room to Read libraries throughout South Africa. 

Groenewald later produced three more books in the Nosipho series, two of which are Room to Read publications: Jingle-jingle in My Pocket, published in 2009, and The Big Secret, to be published by the end of 2010.
In addition to having the books about Thandi in our libraries, Room to Read South Africa partnered with two local non-profit organizations, ABC Stories and Siphosenkosi, to have the books and handmade dolls distributed to orphanages and children’s clinics throughout the country. Groenewald notes, “While speaking to a doctor, who works for Kidz Positive, an HIV/AIDS Clinic in Kayalitsha, Cape Town, I was struck by the huge burden HIV-positive children bear. They feel they must keep their status secret for fear of family scorn, reprisals and rejection by a sometimes uncompassionate community. The Clinic Sisters and counselors comfort and counsel these children - hopefully with the doll (as a tangible comfort) and book (gentle education about the truth) these children feel heard and less burdened.”

We all anxiously await the day we can close the book on the tragedy of AIDS, but until that day, we’re honored to be part of an effort bringing some comfort to children coping with extreme loss and sadness.  

Meet Thandi personally by reading Jingle-jingle in my Pocket via Scibd (and also check out Scribd's Read for a Cause promotion benefitting Room to Read).

Visit our website to learn more about our Local Language Publishing program.