When we speak about literacy in South Africa, we often focus on declining reading scores, curriculum reform or teacher training. These are important conversations. But they can also distract us from a far more fundamental question:
Who has the right to own a book?
At Little Zebra Books, we believe that every child has the right to develop a love of reading, to hear stories in the language they understand best, and to grow up surrounded by books that affirm their identity, culture and potential. Yet for millions of South African children, this right remains out of reach.
South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies in the world, and nowhere is this more evident than in children’s access to books. The legacy of apartheid continues to shape educational opportunity. Children growing up in under-resourced communities are significantly less likely to own books at home. Many parents want to read with their children but simply cannot afford books. Even when they can, finding quality children’s books in African languages remains remarkably difficult.
National surveys paint a sobering picture. Around 65% of households with young children own no picture books, and only about one-third of parents report that their oldest child owned even a single book by the age of five. At the same time, the recent Funda Uphumele National Survey found that around 70% of South African children in Grades 1 to 3 are not yet reading for meaning in their home language.
These statistics are often presented as evidence of a reading crisis. But they are also evidence of an access crisis. Children cannot become readers if they do not have books.
Public and school libraries play a vital role in every reading ecosystem. They introduce children to stories, support schools and create valuable community spaces. But libraries are built around temporary access. Book ownership is fundamentally different. A child who owns a book can return to it repeatedly, share it with siblings, read it whenever curiosity strikes and build a lifelong relationship with reading.
Ownership also transforms homes. When books become part of everyday family life, reading shifts from being a school activity to becoming part of a family’s identity and culture. This is why book ownership matters so profoundly.
Justice is not only about whether children have books. It is also about whether those books are written in the language children know best. Children learn to read most effectively in their mother tongue. They experience greater confidence, stronger comprehension and a deeper emotional connection to stories told in the language of home.
Yet African language publishing remains dramatically under-resourced. Commercial publishing often overlooks these markets because they are perceived as financially unviable, leaving many children with little or nothing available in the language they speak every day.
If we believe every child has equal worth, then every child deserves stories in their own language.
This conviction lies at the heart of Little Zebra Books. We exist to inspire children across Africa to grow in their love of reading by making high-quality, affordable books available in the languages they speak at home.
Our innovative folding-book format allows books to be produced at a fraction of the cost of traditional publishing, making ownership possible for families who could never afford commercially produced books.
Through our Masifunde Sidlala programme, we partner with community organisations in under-resourced communities to place books directly into children’s hands. Rather than simply creating opportunities to read, we are helping children build their own home libraries, one book at a time.
Every month, children receive a new book to keep. Over time, those individual books become something much bigger: a growing collection that belongs to the child and their family, creating a lasting culture of reading within the home.
Alongside book distribution, we equip caregivers, teachers and community facilitators to read with children, encourage storytelling and nurture joyful reading habits that extend far beyond the classroom.
Access to books should be viewed as an investment in justice. Justice means recognising that where a child is born should not determine whether they become a reader. It means acknowledging that language matters, that ownership matters and that every child deserves the opportunity to develop a lifelong relationship with books.
The right to read begins with the right to own a book.