“If you give a child a book, he is going to start reading.

If a child starts reading, he is going to start thinking.

If a child starts thinking, he’s going to learn to imagine.

And if a child experiences the beauty of imagination, there is no telling how high he can soar.

This year, when you give your child a book, you can give a book to a Tanzanian child as well.

And then they can soar together.”

Village Reading Corner books are now available at The Children’s Book Shop in Brookline Village, or you can order them by sending a check to NTC.  Each book costs $10: Your purchase automcally provides a book to your child and a child in Kwala and gives your child a membership card to access the Village Reading Corner Book Club web site.
 
To order books, please make your check out to “NTC,” attach a note specifying which books you would like to purchase along with your mailing address, and mail it to:

NTC

11 Wenham Rd

Newton, MA 02461

Please see below for a full listing of Village Reading Corner books.

For a sneak preview of the Village Reading Corner Book Club website, click here!

PROJECT OVERVIEW

NTC has partnered with Mkuki na Nyota Publishing Company in Tanzania to pilot a program that offers children’s books written by Tanzanian authors at a “buy one, give one free” rate in the United States so that each child in the community of Kwala, Tanzania will own his or her own book. Most children in Tanzania are not given the opportunity to enjoy reading as a leisure activity because they do not own books. Instead of shipping culturally irrelevant children’s books from the USA to Kwala, NTC is allowing Americans to learn about Tanzanian culture while giving the gift of reading to children in Kwala, one child at a time. To promote the concept of reading as a leisure activity, participants in NTC’s at-risk girls scholarship program at Kwala Secondary School will present the book to a primary school student and read it with them.

From L to R: Athuman Msangi, Lisa Walker, Ross Lohr, Walter Bgoya, Tapiwa Muchechemera at Mkuki na Nyota Publishing Company in Dar es Salaam

NTC’s International Children’s Literacy Project also aims to link classrooms in the United States and Tanzania in cultural exchange projects involving the use of the same book. If you are in an American classroom and are interested in implementing a classroom exchange using children’s books from Tanzania, please contact us.

We are currently featuring seven books for the ICLP. All of these books can be purchased for 10 Dollars as part of the “get a book, give a book” project. However, only five titles are available for classroom cultural exchanges because those books are available in both English and Swahili. Books unavailable for classroom exchanges are marked as such.

	The Story of Katope- Hadithi ya Katope as narrated by Walter BgoyaKatope is created from dark brown earth by an old couple who had no children. But Katope must never be caught in the rain. Read how he avoids rain and what happens when he is too late to escape.
	The Chameleon Who Could Not Change Her Color – Kinyonga Mdogo Ambaye Hakuweza Kubadili Rangi Yake by Walter BgoyaMother and Father Chameleon give birth to forty baby chameleons. But one cannot change her color as all the others can! While she is ostracized by her family at first, it is the chameleon who cannot change her color that ends up saving her family in the end.
	The Mountain that Loved a Bird by Alice McLerranThis book is not available for classroom exchanges.A gentle, loving tale of friendship, devotion and hope. A desolate stone mountain lives alone in the middle of a desert: nothing grows or lives on it. When Joy, a small bird, stops to rest on one of the mountain’s ledges, the mountain is overwhelmed by the softness of the bird’s body and begs her to stay. Explaining that the mountain can provide neither food nor drink, she flies on, but promises to return each spring for a few hours. Knowing that mountains live forever and birds do not, she also promises to name a daughter Joy, who in turn will name a daughter Joy and so on, so that the mountain will always have a friend.
	The Pond That Lies in My Village – by Sauda S. Kilumanga This book is not available for classroom exchanges. A gem of a story told in rhyming verse, using repetitions to construct lengthening stanzas around a single idea. It is ideal for developing children’s reading skills or reading out-loud and the story is firmly rooted in a rural African setting
	The Mystery Door – Lango la Ajabu by Deogratias M. SimbaAn old mtemi (king) realizes that he has become too old to lead his people. One of his two songs, with contrasting behaviors, has to succeed the throne. The successor has to pass a test imposed by customs and traditions of the Wabende People. It is a struggle that has to be won. Who will come up a winner? Read on…
	The Story of the Crow and the Frog- Hadithi ya Kunguru na Chura by Walter BgoyaEveryone knows a crow is faster than a frog. Find out how the frog outsmarted the crow and won the race!
	The Story of the Crow and the Crab- Hadithi ya Kunguru na Kaa by Walter BgoyaThe crab got out of its hole on the sandy beach, as it does every day. Only today, he is met by a crow and must avoid being snatched for dinner. Find out how the crab tricks and avoids the crow.