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Excellent essay. I hadn’t taken it seriously until I had my own but it’s crazy how variable kids books can be. The stats at the end about access for the poores

Excellent essay. I hadn’t taken it seriously until I had my own but it’s crazy how variable kids books can be. The stats at the end about access for the poorest are heart breaking. My son loves his books and it’s so nice to see.

piltdownman 2y ago
This is why when people talk about Humanitarians, I always rep Dolly Parton as one of the great and humble. Dolly's 'Imagination Library' is a children's book-gifting program that mails free high-quality, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five, no matter the family's income. They gifted 1 million books in its first 8 years. By 2018 they had gifted 100 million. As of 2024, at least 1 in 7 children in the U.S. were receiving books the Imagination Library; which sends roughly 3 million books to children around the world every month. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollywood_Foundation#Dolly_Parton's_Imagination_Library https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollywood_Foundation#Dolly_Par...
WillAdams 2y ago
There is always the library. When my children were young, we went so often that once, a friend's child when a trip to the library was scheduled, stated that he was looking forward to seeing my daughter there. When it was gently explained that they couldn't be certain of that, announced, "Of course we'll see her, <daughter's name> _lives_ at the library!", having arrived at that conclusion because for the better part of a year, both families had had similar schedules of library visits and so the children had always seen each other there.
alt227 2y ago
I dont know about other coutries, but here in the UK reading is a serious thing for kids. There are libraries in every village and town, and there are regular drives and events to get kids interested in reading. They give stickers to the kids every time they go, give them free books to keep, and allow things like dropping your books back to any other library ino the area, and renewing them online. I had previously thought that libraries in the UK were dying, but since having kids I have come to realise that they are still an incredibly useful resource, and are still alive and well. Also, the schools get really involved. In the last school term my kids primary has had 2 kids book authors visit to do talks and read their books to the kids. Regularly the kids come home with new free books provided by some council/government funded initiative or other. The UK feels to me to really be on top of this issue. Hopefully other countries can see how important these resources are and not let them die anywhere.
- bombcar 2y ago
  At least where we are in the USA there’s a similar story - in fact, the problem becomes finding space for all the free books kids get! We even get a kids book with every dr visit.

piltdownman 2y ago

This is why when people talk about Humanitarians, I always rep Dolly Parton as one of the great and humble. Dolly's 'Imagination Library' is a children's book-gifting program that mails free high-quality, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five, no matter the family's income. They gifted 1 million books in its first 8 years. By 2018 they had gifted 100 million. As of 2024, at least 1 in 7 children in the U.S. were receiving books the Imagination Library; which sends roughly 3 million books to children around the world every month. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollywood_Foundation#Dolly_Parton's_Imagination_Library https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollywood_Foundation#Dolly_Par...

WillAdams 2y ago

There is always the library. When my children were young, we went so often that once, a friend's child when a trip to the library was scheduled, stated that he was looking forward to seeing my daughter there. When it was gently explained that they couldn't be certain of that, announced, "Of course we'll see her, <daughter's name> _lives_ at the library!", having arrived at that conclusion because for the better part of a year, both families had had similar schedules of library visits and so the children had always seen each other there.

alt227 2y ago

I dont know about other coutries, but here in the UK reading is a serious thing for kids. There are libraries in every village and town, and there are regular drives and events to get kids interested in reading. They give stickers to the kids every time they go, give them free books to keep, and allow things like dropping your books back to any other library ino the area, and renewing them online. I had previously thought that libraries in the UK were dying, but since having kids I have come to realise that they are still an incredibly useful resource, and are still alive and well. Also, the schools get really involved. In the last school term my kids primary has had 2 kids book authors visit to do talks and read their books to the kids. Regularly the kids come home with new free books provided by some council/government funded initiative or other. The UK feels to me to really be on top of this issue. Hopefully other countries can see how important these resources are and not let them die anywhere.

bombcar 2y ago
At least where we are in the USA there’s a similar story - in fact, the problem becomes finding space for all the free books kids get! We even get a kids book with every dr visit.