Mother Tongue Books
Books written by children for children & translated from one mother tongue to another.
Many children around the world do not acquire functional literacy skills even if they have had a K-3 education because they are not learning to read in their mother tongue. It is illogical to think that a child can read for meaning in a language for which he or she does not have a rich oral vocabulary. By sharing books across borders and translating them into a local mother tongue children are contributing to each other’s education and helping one another become literate. This social justice project brings joy to all who are reading, writing, and exchanging books, and promotes the creation of Mother Tongue school libraries.
The first book exchanges were with the Fayerweather Street School in Cambridge, MA, USA. Mother Tongue Books are now published as trilingual books in Creole, French, and English.
The Mother Tongue Books project was created by the Matènwa Community Learning Center since the center's inception in 1996. Books written by children for children are translated from one mother tongue into the mother tongue of the children receiving the books.
Our Online Library
Developed by A Connected Planet (ACP) Foundation for use in Haiti in ACP's Tablet Implementation Program. Virtually no applications exist in Haitian Creole. So ACP started building its own applications. For more books click here.
Join the Cause:
We welcome children to get involved by writing a Mother Tongue Book. Contact us at MotherTongueBooks@gmail.com for more information.