Our library is one of the first things you see when entering our building. With its glass walls, colorful murals and tantalizing promise of magic and adventure, it never fails to draw children in. Rupa, Aditi and Anita make sure they never want to leave.
With libraries rare in India, books considered a luxury and limited understanding about disabled children’s potential, the Latika Library has arrived at the perfect moment.
Children who begin reading for pleasure early in life tend to perform better at cognitive tests and have better mental health when they enter adolescence, a study of more than 10,000 young adolescents in the US has found.
One its authors, Dr Barbara Sahakian, said “We found significant evidence that reading is linked to important developmental factors in children, improving their cognition, mental health, and brain structure, all cornerstones for future learning and well-being.”
There are so many ways to turn kids on to books. This week’s method was a dramatic read-aloud, with props and a story that kept getting more fine-tuned as the week went on: 15 re-tellings to 15 different groups of wide-eyed, unnaturally quiet children.
Our approach is evidence-based, creative and so entertaining the kids can’t resist. We’re already seeing dramatic changes in behaviour and communication. The challenge (but a fun one!) will be convincing all the grownups that they, too, are born story-tellers.
