As author-illustrator Chris Riddell says, “Children’s books are engines for empathy. They allow us to see through the eyes of others. By transporting us to other worlds they help us to understand our own.”
We are looking to grow students as readers through a mix of methods that are responsive, empathetic, qualitative, and data-based. The reading sessions at the Neev libraries are aimed at developing students’ information literacy and critical thinking skills, alongside encouraging them to read widely and deeply. We make reading exciting with conversations that bring books alive, as well as with events such as the R K Narayan Reading Growth Awards, the Neev Literature Festival (NLF), and the NLF Reading Challenge. Readers get to experience the magic of books themselves, and share it with their friends, teachers, and librarians.
—
Karthika has worked with schools across south India to help students develop a love for reading in her position as a project manager with Multistory Learning. She has curated book lists, created content to use in the classroom, conducted storytelling, and teacher training sessions. Karthika has also written and edited children’s books for Ms Moochie Books, Pratham Books’ Storyweaver, and Pattam, an imprint that publishes high-quality children’s books in Tamil.
Prior to this, she worked as a journalist with The Times of India and The New Indian Express in Chennai.