According to a 2012 Cooperative Children’s Book Center study, there is a lack of culturally diverse reading material.

 

Poor cultural context is a key factor that inhibits reading initiation and maintenance. Simply put, children may not engage in reading if the characters they read about do not share in their cultural or ethnic experience. This lack of engagement and interest in reading in childhood is normally reinforced through adulthood and passed on to future generations, creating a cycle of poor reading habits in families and, ultimately, in communities.

 

Considering this lifecourse approach, a child’s reading behavior has significant consequences later on in life as reading proficiency is directly correlated to increased graduation rates, improved health outcomes, and higher earning potential. In general, proficiency in reading creates the floor for lifelong learning and success.

 

NubiTales was born in direct response to the dearth of culturally diverse reading material. Every book in The Heritage Collection celebrates diversity, and exposes children and parents to geographies, diets, customs, images, artifacts, and behaviors of various ethnic and cultural groups.