Nal’ibali’s Holiday Programme was in full force this year, spreading the message that reading is an enjoyable part of daily life. Our Literacy Mentors across the country set up holiday reading programmes that ran straight throughout the July school break. In keeping with the holiday spirit, each programme session was designed to get children involved with stories and storytelling in fun and unusual ways....

The Nal’ibali national reading-for-enjoyment campaign has joined forces with publisher Pan Macmillan to inspire even more children with the picture book version of Nelson Mandela’s bestselling autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. Abridged by the late award-winning author Chris van Wyk, the book brings Madiba to life for a younger generation – from his childhood days as a young village boy to his campaign for freedom across the...

With US paediatricians now prescribing reading with children as part of their essential care, Malini Mohana speaks to local experts to see how they think the power of stories can shape children’s social, cognitive and emotional wellbeing. Storytelling is the primal way in which human beings organise and compartmentalise their experiences. We’re not just narrators of things that happen around us; we’re also the narrators...

They're just words on a page, but books can take you places and open up worlds of wonder, enlightenment, and imagination for your children. This June, Gus Silber reflects on the role his own father played in shaping his future through books and stories and the power of parents to pass on this important tradition. I grew up in a house without walls, and a...