#ThankfulTuesday: What 'Read A Book Day' means to Carol Ofori and her family
The importance of reading to your kids and encouraging reading time is unmatched...
In a time where everything is evolving, we tend to migrate toward the familiar. That part of society that we feel connected to. In this case, that familiarity lies in the stories that live within books.
For the longest time, before radio, television, and the like came about, it was reading that was the main source of entertainment, knowledge, and general information.
And as we celebrate National Read A Book Day, we wanted to share a special tribute to the sanctity of reading.
Carol Ofori has long been a woman who celebrates her heritage. She firmly believes that educating her children about their most amazing continent is an integral part of the future.
In a sense, allowing this generation to be exposed to the richness of history, culture, and the art of storytelling from our beloved South Africa (and Africa) is enriching them with the knowledge to keep the torch burning.
Reading is not an underrated activity, but there was a time where finding a book that fully represented the African heritage was rare. It seemed that as much as the medium was alive, it was being monopolised by mainstream content.
And so when building up her kids' book collection, Carol found that she wanted to pair her love for Africa with her love for reading and created The African Adventures of Sena and Katlego.
Read more: INTERVIEW: "I wrote this for every African child who lives on African soil!" - Carol Ofori
Some of their favourite books include:
My Coily Crowny Hair by Zulaikha Patel
Wonderfully Made by Tshwanelo Serumola
Coco The Money Bunny by Nicolette Mashile
My Zulu ABC Book by Fundamentals
Sulwe by Lupita Nyongo, Mangwe
The Space Boy by Thabani Mazibuko, and
A book collection by Kunda Kids.
Carol believes that there is something special about reading to your child, and more than that, something special in them being able to read by themselves.
And encouraging reading time with them, allows them to build confidence in wanting to read on their own. It is through reading that the imagination grows, the vocabulary enlarges, and the mind expands.
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Reading to your kids is such a special bonding act. Something that not only soothes your child and readies them for bedtime, but it also helps with their cognitive development.
Some other benefits include improved language skills, helps with social and literacy skills, prepares them for academia, harnesses on their creativity and imagination.
WATCH a book review done by the young Unarine Phaswana on The African Adventures of Sena and Katlego. Courtesy of Instagram.
To get some inspiration and a great collection of children's books, you can visit Carol Ofori at Book Circle Capital this Saturday, the 10th of September 2022.
You can get the books at Exclusive Books, Bargain Books, Makro Online, Takealot, Book Capitol, Lingua Franca Publishers, Ethni Kids and Nifty Kids.
Image Courtesy of Carol Ofori