For children to develop reading comprehension skills and build a habit and love of reading, they need access to reading materials that are culturally and linguistically relevant. These materials should be aligned with national curricula and supportive of children’s sense of belonging. For the production of such materials to be both responsive and sustainable, it needs to be market-driven, recognizing that publishing is essentially an entrepreneurial activity, one where the publisher is the architect of the book, responsible for a process that starts with research and financing and ends with selling the finished product so the cycle can begin anew. That’s the approach behind CODE’s support for the Children’s Book Organization (CBO) of Tanzania, an NGO established in 1990 in order to work with the local publishing industry to increase the availability of, and access to, high-quality children’s books in Kiswahili in service to the achievement of Foundational Literacy.
Scott Walter Deputy Chair of the GBA and Executive Director of CODE, traveled to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and asked Tanzanian publishers, writers, editors, and authors two important questions: why are books published in Tanzania important for Tanzanian children? and what makes a great book?
Why are books published in Tanzania important for Tanzanian children?
Elieshi lema
E&D Vision Publishing
“It is extremely important because if children know how to read books that are culturally relevant, that have the language they understand, it means we are creating readers of the future. And not only that, we are creating literacy. So that is extremely important to have children reading at a young age, reading books that are made in the country they live in, that enables them to recognize people, that enables them to read the language they know and therefore they can develop that language to express themselves. It is important.” - Elieshi Lema, E&D Vision Publishing
Esther Elias Mhoja
Longhorn Publishers Tanzania
“In my opinion, it is very important for Tanzanian children to have books published in Tanzania because this will help them have books that are aligned to their culture. They'll have books that relate to them and what they know.” - Esther Elias Mhoja, Longhorn Publishers Tanzania
Hermes Damian
African Proper Education Network and Elite Book Store
“It's quite important that Tanzanian children get books that are published in Tanzania.For one part, we can't separate culture and education. If we do separate it, the challenge may be getting education that is not relevant. So Tanzanian children need books that are in their language, that inspire them using their vocabulary, and the environment that is common to them.” - Hermes Damian, African Proper Education Network and Elite Book Store
Nahida Esmail
Tanzanian writer and Deputy Chair of the Children’s Book Organization
“I totally believe that it's important for Tanzanian children to have access to books written by Tanzanians, and published by Tanzanians and I say that because growing up I read a lot of books that were from England specifically. So I would read a lot about the Famous Five, The Secret Seven, etc. and I loved them, but I could not relate to everything that they did. So I feel it's really important because we want the Tanzanian children to be able to relate to even the characters that they read on. The characters that they come across should be characters that they're able to relate to - the food, the environment, everything. I think books that children can relate to, make it more fun, and if there are any lessons in the book, they're also more relatable.” - Nahida Esmail, Tanzanian writer and Deputy Chair of the Children’s Book Organization
Mariam Hamis
Editor, Mkuki na Nyota Publishing House
“We have to build a reading culture. Most people don't read and it is so hard to tell a grown-up to read, maybe when he's 30 or 40. I think it is so much easier for children to start reading at a young age.” - Mariam Hamis, Editor, Mkuki na Nyota Publishing House
Mirriam Simbeye
Editor, Mkuki na Nyota Publishing House
“I think it's important for kids here to see representation in the books. I think that unfortunately, we don't get a lot of that going up here. So for Tanzanian authors or books published in Tanzania, it will represent a way for kids to see themselves in different characters and different contextual storytelling. I think that not only increases one's creativity and imagination, it also helps develop someone's personality. And I think that's very big for a child's growth.” - Mirriam Simbeye, Editor, Mkuki na Nyota Publishing House
What makes a book great?
Elias Mutani
Right to Read Initiative
There could be several factors, but a quick one is a book that a child will hold, and stick to it until its end and maybe want to read it again. So, while creating books, publishers need to consider having materials that children will be interested in, and that children will fall in love with. - Elias Mutani, Right to Read Initiative
Watch the full video to hear more from Tanzanian publishers, authors, and illustrators: