In the face of educational disruptions following the pandemic and the mounting book banning crisis, Penguin Random House announced an unprecedented book donation to long-standing partner Save the Children to help spread the joy of reading to kids everywhere. The historic donation is the largest global book donation in Save the Children’s history and will provide more than one million books to children across the globe over three years.
According to UNESCO, 244 million children did not attend school in 2022—and by 2030, the organization predicts that 20% of young people and 30% of adults will be unable to read. Penguin Random House’s partnership with Save the Children helps combat this global education crisis by providing age-appropriate books that support kids’ literacy skill development and ensure they have opportunities to learn both inside their schools and within their communities.
From accelerated learning for out-of-school children to school-based reading clubs run by trained volunteers, Save the Children programs that have been or will be supported by Penguin Random House’s book donation so far include:
- ‘Early Steps to School Success’, which provides early childhood development services to children ages 0-5 and their families in under-resourced communities, and Head Start programs across rural America
- Indigenous-led literacy initiatives in communities across Canada
- Safe spaces where children and families participate in educational activities, play games and receive support for physical or mental health concerns in Jiangna Township, China
- Elementary schools in four regions of Germany, including Berlin and Brandenburg
- Inclusive learning environments in India, including, but not limited to, school libraries, district education and training facilities, mobile learning centers and evening education support centers for young adults
- Early childhood centers in Mexico City
- Early childhood development centers in a South African province damaged by severe flooding in 2022
- Primary schools within low income-communities across the U.K., including England and Wales, as well as in partnership with a local book project in rural Scotland
To learn more about the partnership, click here.
For “Freedom of Expression Week” in May 2022 in Germany, we released a widely-shared video online featuring statements from our authors regarding the importance of freedom of expression. Authors Aslı Erdoğan, Hadija Haruna-Oelker, Wladimir Kaminer, Ute Krause, Salman Rushdie, and Michail Schischkin also shared their perspectives on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
To celebrate International Literacy Day, we teamed up again with our longstanding partner, Worldreader, to help promote literacy and the joy of reading around the world. With every book purchased on our website, we donated $1 to Worldreader, up to $10K.
Reading is the foundation of all learning, yet millions of children around the world lack basic literacy skills – and their communities lack the support they need to help them. The pandemic has only exacerbated disparities when it comes to access to reading materials and resources.
Worldreader works to champion digital reading in under-resourced communities. Working with partners globally, the nonprofit provides the tools, training, and resources communities need to help children experience the love of reading anytime, anywhere while developing foundational literacy and life skills. Since 2010, Worldreader has reached over 20 million readers in more than 100 countries.
Over the years, we have donated hundreds of thousands of e-books to Worldreader to help millions of children read around the world. We are committed to advancing literacy, especially in communities where there are not many books and resources available. Together, Penguin Random House and Worldreader help create a world where everyone is a reader.
In these pictures, children and their families bond over reading in Peru and Kenya, learning and growing together while they explore the Worldreader library at their fingertips.
In Canada, we are proud to take part in Turn the Page, a multi-day event run in partnership with First Book Canada and Jays Care, the charitable arm of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team. In December 2021, volunteers, including PRH Canada staff, put over 100,000 new books in the hands of over 400 educators for their students.
To celebrate World Book Day in Spain on April 23, 2021, we donated more than 8,000 books for adults and children at 52 hospitals and 15 prisons throughout the country. More than 230 authors from around the world participated in the initiative by transferring the rights to their work so the large-scale donation was possible.
In December 2021, we donated 5,200 books to kids in need in South Africa through the campaign #beyondthemillion from the organization Exclusive Books. For the campaign’s holiday Santa Shoebox initiative, each child received a personalized shoebox with embroidered face masks, clothing, monogrammed lunch boxes and water bottles, books, and a personal letter from their donors.
In 2021, DK supported Family Friendly Spaces, an initiative from their longtime partner ICTI’s Ethical Toy Program. Family Friendly Spaces reunites domestic migrant workers in China with their children in the summer months, creating factory-based facilities which allow children to play in a safe and stimulating environment throughout the day while their parents work. There are many domestic migrant workers within DK’s supply chain in China, and the publisher has donated a Chinese-language book to every child participating in the program.
To show support for authors, illustrators, students, parents, librarians, and teachers, PRH and School Library Journal partnered with PEN America, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the National Council of Teachers of English, FReadom, and Library Journal to create a poster that emphasizes the importance of free expression as book bans and challenges spread across the country. The poster was included in the May 2022 issue of School Library Journal and amplified by a social media campaign.
Titled “Open Books, Open Doors,” original artwork for the poster was created by award-winning artist Rafael López, illustrator of Just Ask by Justice Sonia Sotomayor and several other children’s books published by Penguin Random House. The vivid, colorful illustration features a child stepping into a larger-than-life book as they’re transported into a beautiful new world. The back of the poster outlines a call-to-action to visit the Penguin Random House Banned Books Resource Hub, which provides tools, materials, and organizations that educators, librarians, parents, students, authors, and illustrators can turn to in the face of book bans and challenges.
In addition to distribution in School Library Journal, a limited run of printed poster copies is available to educators, librarians, and parents at select industry events and retail locations throughout the summer. The 18×24 poster and social media assets are available for direct digital download at slj.com/readfree.
PRH Authors Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, joined NYC Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter on a visit to P.S. 123, a community school in Harlem that provides wraparound services to students through their partnership with Graham Windham, a nonprofit in New York City that provides youth and family service programs.
The Duke and Duchess donated two garden boxes filled with vegetables and herbs to help support a growing need in the community for easy access to fresh and healthy food. Their impact-driven nonprofit, the Archewell Foundation, worked with partner Proctor & Gamble to stock P.S. 123’s pantry with free-of-cost products to help families take care of their personal health and hygiene and create clean and healthy homes. The Duchess of Sussex donated reading nooks to many Graham Windham locations in New York City, to support families’ access to books and facilitate bonding opportunities for parents and children.
This past October, we began partnering with Harlem Grown , a remarkable organization serving the children of Harlem by offering resources, inspiration, and a safe place where they can just be kids. In partnership with Grandma’s Place and supported by Humans of New York’s fundraising efforts, Harlem Grown is now building twelve libraries on their urban farms across the community. To support this community-based organization, we are curating and stocking these libraries with a commitment of more than 10,000 books a year. It’s imperative that children have access to stories that uplift, empower and inspire them to dream big.
The organization aims to help young people, especially those that live in community homeless shelters, lead healthy and ambitious lives through mentorship education in urban farming, sustainability, and nutrition.
