Walt Disney once said, “There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” How right the American entrepreneur, animator and film producer was! Books don’t just educate and entertain but are the best companion one can have.
And it is this treasure that Scholastic India, in its global commitment to get kids to read and help them grow into empathetic and enlightened citizens, has been trying to reach out to them over the last 12 years through One Nation Reading Together (ONRT) campaign.
Today, at its 13th edition, children from over 2,000 schools across India will spend 20 minutes reading and engaging in other activities that celebrate reading as an enjoyable and enriching experience.
The programme will begin with students reading a pledge written by renowned author Sampurna Chattarji, and for the next 20 minutes after that, they will read from a book of their choice. Each student will also be asked to make a bookmark or design a book cover.
In some schools, these sessions will be conducted by Scholastic authors.
What’s more, for each participating school, Scholastic India will donate a book to an NGO for underprivileged children.
‘‘We have been running this initiative for the last 13 years in India and it gives us immense pleasure to see millions of children enjoying the books. Such initiatives take us a step closer to our mission of ‘Raising Readers’ in the country,” says Neeraj Jain, MD, Scholastic India.
Appreciating the efforts put in by Scholastic India towards developing reading habits among kids, Meenakshi M Bhakuni, Principal, GD Goenka Public School, Vasant Kunj, says, “A book is the best friend one can have. A book opens a whole new world before its reader. I strongly feel youngsters need to fall in love with books if they want to discover their own inner worlds.”
Agrees Dalbir Kaur, Reading Specialist, One Up Library. “It is very important that both parents and teachers work towards developing reading habit among children. Celebrating one day by bringing all the stakeholders together to spread this message across is great, but at the same time everyone should indulge in reading not just on one day but every single day of the year,” she says.
Kaur adds that both parents and teachers, as also everyone associated with children, must understand that reading is a priority and it is non-negotiable. “We must ensure that every day is a Read Aloud day, every school is a Read Aloud school and that every child celebrates his/her identity as a reader,” she rationalises.
“Books are our lifelong companions, and they open a whole new world before you. Some writers are so good that they make a reader a part of the story they are writing,” says Nirmal Chhibber, who teaches social science at Kendriya Vidyalaya. “My day is not complete if I don’t read. And this is one habit I have passed on to both my sons,” she adds.
In the last 12 years, over six million students from over 4,200 schools have participated in this nationwide event. Authors like Ruskin Bond, Sudha Murty, Gulzar, Paro Anand have participated in previous ONRT sessions.