Picture Book Abundance
By Mark W.F. Condon, Unite for Literacy vice president
Picture Book Abundance. Hmmm. How could one say that?
It could be pronounced “Picture Book...Abundance,” which places the emphasis on having a lot of picture books, usually intended for children and those early in their journey of learning to read.
Another pronunciation is “Picture…Book Abundance”, meaning “Can you see in your mind what it would look like to always have ready access to a plethora of books?”
At Unite for Literacy, that phrase means both of the above and it’s our motto.
Our team chose “Picture Book Abundance” as a motto because the two different pronunciations capture our vision--to offer children around the world an ample supply of culturally relevant books. Either way you say it, Picture Book Abundance aptly captures the entirety of the work that we do.
We feel it also invites families, educators, and others to consider what it would be like to have book abundance in their homes, classrooms, and communities. For new readers, especially those who live in a book desert, it offers real hope that many books can be theirs today by visiting Unite for Literacy’s digital library that’s filled with more than 600 mostly nonfiction, picture books with simple English text and on-demand page narrations in more than 60 languages. Our library also includes a collection of books written and narrated in Spanish. Plus, in June 2023 we launched an Ukrainian language collection. No account creation, registration, or payment is required to use the library. It’s open to all users, 24/7, for free.
The role of Unite for Literacy’s library is to support parents, children, teachers, librarians, and anyone of any age who’s new to reading. And we invite you and anyone anywhere in the world to Picture Book Abundance (however you wish to say it).
Please, encourage new readers to choose one book to enjoy and then to keep choosing more, while embracing the miracle of reading filling their minds, imaginations, and hearts with experiences and ideas, while enriching their language and growing their literacy superpowers.
The time is now to experience Picture Book Abundance!