Read Street: International Literacy Day - A blog for a community of readers, in Baltimore and beyond.

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September 8, 2009

International Literacy Day

Today is International Literacy Day -- the perfect time to recall some of the books that hooked you as a reader -- the ones that opened new worlds or new ways of expression. For me, the Laura Ingalls Wilder books such as Little House on the Prairie fed my love of adventure, and gave me a sense of the big world outside suburban Connecticut. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle did the same, while adding new dimensions in space. And to satisfy my baseball Jones, there was The Kid Who Batted 1.000 by Bob Allison.

Meanwhile, it's sobering to note the range in literacy rates around the world. Among the problem areas are poor countries such as Bangladesh (72% literacy rate), Chad (44%), Sierra Leone (54%) and Papua New Guinea (64%), according to the United Nations.

If you'd like to help improve literacy closer to home, consider such programs as Baltimore Reads, or the adult literacy and ESOL initiatives at the Greater Homewood Community Corp.

Cartoon courtesy of Ham

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Comments

wat? d literacy rate of india......
where does dis nation stand......

Posted by: rashid | September 8, 2009 3:23 AM

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About the bloggers

While she always preferred The Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew, Nancy Knight grew up reading nearly everything she could get her hands on, including a probably unhealthy amount of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike, with the obligatory Jane Austen thrown in. She'll still read just about anything you put in front of her, especially the funny or weird. She lives in the city with her books, cat and drum set.

Dave Rosenthal came to The Baltimore Sun as a business reporter in 1987 and now is an assistant managing editor and Sunday editor. He reads a wide range of books (but never as many as he'd like), usually alternating between non-fiction and fiction. Some all-time favorites: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole; Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery; and anything by Calvin Trillin or John McPhee. He belongs to a book club with a Jewish theme.

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