Worldreader has come up with a rather neat idea for last minute Christmas gifts of a rather different sort.

It works as described in this email I have just received from Worldreader, and seems to me to be a rather wonderful idea.

Here is how it works: and I quote from the email:

I’m writing to see if you guys happen to be searching for a cool last-minute gift idea for your readers because we have something both easy and amazing for folks to give to that book-worm on their list– allowing them to share their passion for reading with others in Africa.   By pointing your readers to Worldreader this holiday season, they’ll be able to give a gift (an e-card) in someone’s name so that kids can choose e-books of their choice.  This is especially interesting since we see that kids are downloading samples of titles likeTwilight, The New York Times and the newest Nicholas Spark’s novel, and when the sample finishes, they can’t read more.  A true book lover couldn’t think of anything worse!  This gift allows kids to choose the books they want to read, so they can fall in love with reading and ultimately change their futures.

Some background about Worldreader:

In just a year, we’ve seen an incredible evolution of reading in the developing world.   Last December we saw 500 kids in Ghana get excited about an e-reader gadget and begin using it in a matter of minutes.  A few months later, we were blown away by how many books they were downloading.  To date, we’ve sent overseas over 63,500 e-books, something unthinkable before e-book technology.  Then in a surprisingly short amount of time, we saw noticeable improvements in reading comprehension and fluency.   We’re only beginning to understand how e-books will impact education and literacy, but we know it is going to be transformational.

We’re working with over 20 African publishers to digitize hundreds of local stories and have signed agreements with Random House, Penguin and Puffin to bring books like Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach to kids in our program.  People are taking notice of what we’re doing: like Bill Gates and Al Jazeera– amongst others.

And we’re growing: we’ve launched in Ghana and now we’ve expanded into Kenya, and we’re about to move into Uganda.

Good isn’t it?

So, get along to the site and donate lots of lovely dollars to this idea, and help some kids in Africa become happy readers.

Link to Worldreader: Worldreader

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Any thoughts on this initiative – both the idea of these vouchers and the whole concept of Worldreader?   Do let us hear them here.