So, why ONLY children books?

A child who loves books, will become a Person who craves knowledge.

Not only in The Gambia, but all over the world, children benefit from just being surrounded by books. Even more so, if those books are colourful, and contain illustrations that captivates their attention. The child will pick up the book, even when they don't know how to read.

Children's books are a way of investing in future generations. Is the start line to a life of knowledge, to a life of opportunities. There is a vast amount of research that proves that a love for reading, significantly improves academic success and many other areas of life.

People may ask, why not just books in general? Well, good habits are best to be created during childhood. Once we grow up to adulthood, habits are harder to develop as well as to break. Reading is a habit that needs to be developed when we are little, and that is why this project focuses on children books only. If we put adult books in a home where reading is not an interest, those books, most likely, will remain unopened. Those books will be better off at a library, community centers or other places where people actively seek them. Children books, on the other hand, need to be inside their homes. Picture books are no use when small children depend on their parents or other adults to bring them to places where books are available. We cannot wait for children to be taken into libraries, we need to bring the libraries to them.

Children books are like toys! Their illustrations, wonderful colors, and appealing covers, attract a child's attention and lures them into opening them. Once they open a book, the magic starts. That child, even without reading it, will know that a book has a story inside, that a book will tell him something, that he will learn, and that a book will provoke feelings.

In countries with limited access to technology, either due to financial resources or physical access, is where children books can take over. Children will not be distracted by screens and will be tempted to pick up a book if we put them around them. According to the World Internet Stats website, (https://www.internetworldstats.com), in 2020, The Gambia, only has 18.3% of internet users, compared to 89% in the US and 94% in the UK. Children in The Gambia still play outside most of the day and screen times are very limited, this gives us an opportunity to introduce children to picture books without the competition of the internet. By the time these children grow up and have access to the world wide web, books will already be a significant part of their childhood.