Celebrate Young Readers at Exclusive Books this Children’s Month
Every July, Exclusive Books dedicates Children’s Month to celebrating young readers, a focused campaign bringing children’s books to the forefront of everything the retailer does. This year, that celebration carries a simple message: Raise a Reader. It’s a reminder to parents that reading with their children, even just a few minutes a day, is one of the easiest and most rewarding habits a family can build.
Exclusive Books says, Children’s Month isn’t about convincing anyone that reading matters, it’s about sharing what booksellers already know and love: that a good book, read together, is one of the simplest ways for a parent and child to connect. Beyond the story itself, reading together builds a child’s listening skills and comprehension, and the kind of quiet concentration that’s increasingly rare in a world of screens and short attention spans.
Children also learn by watching. A parent who picks up a book, even just a magazine on a weekend, shows a child that reading is something worth doing. It doesn’t need to start with a novel a night, it can start small, and grow from there.
Raising readers
It’s a habit more South African families are building. According to the National Reading Survey by the National Reading Barometer South Africa, the number of adults who read with the children in their household has grown from 35% in 2016 to 52% today, and 93% of adults agree that reading with children improves school performance.
This Children’s Month, Exclusive Books says it is bringing that love of reading to life in a few different ways. Character meet-and-greets in stores this month give children the chance to meet some of their favourite storybook characters in person, the kind of magical memory that naturally sparks a love of books and reading.
The retailer’s Hooked on Books partnership takes that excitement into the classroom, with a production based on children’s books that introduces young readers to a story and builds excitement around reading in schools around the country.
Exclusive Books also works closely with schools and libraries, offering discounts on bulk purchases of children’s titles to help education budgets go further. Through its dedicated schools division, Exclusive Books partners with schools and libraries nationwide to bring age-appropriate books into the classrooms and reading spaces where children spend much of their day.
Celebrate South African children’s authors and illustrators
Children’s Month is also a moment to celebrate South Africa’s own children’s authors and illustrators. Among them is Refiloe Moahloli, whose picture books, created with illustrator Katlego Keokgale, have been translated into several South African languages. Their Rorisang & Morena series follows twins navigating everyday family life, and is part of a growing effort to widen access to local children’s stories in the languages South African children speak at home.
Another young literary talent is Unarine ‘Una’ Phaswana, who, at age 11, became Penguin Random House South Africa’s youngest published author. Una began her literary journey as a book reviewer at the age of six and, now 12, is also a literacy activist who has led book drives for rural schools and was named one of Africa’s Top 100 Most Influential Children. Her debut book, Una’s Mzansi Bush Adventures, blends magic and conservation, taking readers on a trip to the Kruger National Park with animal friends like Rele the Rhino and Lonwabo the Lion.
Roslynne Toerien, a Durban-based children’s author, educator and philanthropist, is best known for her rhyming, wildlife-themed children’s books published by Penguin Books South Africa, which focus on conservation, friendship and the African wildlife that inspires her stories.
The selection also includes beloved local author Jaco Jacobs, who published his 300th book this year. His new titles include an interactive choose-your-own-adventure story and a magical realist tale celebrating the wonder of libraries and books.
What to read
Exclusive Books says this month’s range spans board books and picture books for babies and toddlers, illustrated readers and early chapter books for primary school children, and fiction for tweens and teens. It includes non-fiction and activity titles, graphic novels and comics, interactive and choose-your-own-adventure stories, and titles in Afrikaans and other South African languages.
International new arrivals include titles from bestselling authors such as Julia Donaldson, whose new Gruffalo title is due in September, alongside Holly Black, John Patrick Green and Nancy Springer. Also on shelves is Mum’s Busy Work, based on real conversations between former New Zealand Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern and her young daughter, and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba’s story for younger readers about ingenuity and hope.
Exclusive Books also offers ongoing multi-buy promotions that help make reading more accessible, including five picture or activity books for R200, as well as three selected adult titles for R150.
The full children’s selection, including this month’s new arrivals, is available in Exclusive Books stores nationwide and online.
