Book Dash, a social-impact South African publisher, is celebrating 10 years of dedication to their goal of ensuring every child owns at least 100 books by the age of five!

Recognizing the significant benefits of early childhood literacy, Book Dash solicits create professionals who volunteer to create high-quality, open-access African picture books which are then distributed to preschool children and their families in South Africa and other regions with the help of local partners. The Book Dash model has the potential of transforming local content creation and book accessibility in South Africa and other underprivileged regions. By demonstrating that high-quality books in multiple languages can be produced and distributed affordably, Book Dash aims to revolutionize the publishing industry.

Founded in 2014, Book Dash emerged from a collaborative vision among friends who sought to leverage their publishing expertise to enrich the South African literary landscape. The inaugural Book Dash events in Cape Town showcased the initiative’s potential to produce high-quality, accessible African storybooks. Inspired by the positive response, co-founders Arthur Attwell, Michelle Matthews, and Tarryn-Anne Anderson established Book Dash as a non-profit organization dedicated to creating, printing, and distributing more books to children.

The organization bases their work on a theory of change that connects early childhood book ownership to an overall reduction in economic inequality. Book Dash cites extensive research that suggests “owning books from a young age can change the trajectory of a child’s life.” Having books at home supports family literacy practices and responsive, playful relationships by enabling more reading and book sharing in the home. Children with more books at home also tend to have better early learning skills, executive functioning and early numeracy, which, in the long term, translates into more years of schooling and better jobs. All of these factors combine to make children happier and healthier, and eventually more successful.

By 2021, Book Dash had already distributed over one million books! That same year, Book Dash won the Nedbank Private Wealth Innovation Award for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown by not only continuing their mission of distributing books to children but for also providing food and educational items to families in need. Since then, they have received much well-deserved worldwide recognition for their continued work.

Over the past 10 years, Book Dash has successfully printed more than 4 million storybooks and worked with 200 NGOs around South Africa to give books to children, many of whom would otherwise not have access to any. The organization has a vast online library of children’s books in English and a variety of African languages including siNdebele, Setswana, and Xitsonga. The books are freely available to read online, download, and print with the appropriate credit. Some are even available as audiobooks! The Book Dash website also has a variety of other resources including multilingual tips on reading with young children.

Congratulations to Book Dash on an incredible decade of helping children read more books!

Learn more about their inspiring work, as well as how to support it, on their website.

Check out the video of Book Dash celebrating their 10 year anniversary below: