From libraries to living rooms, how reading habits take root in underserved S'pore kids

Straits Times

26-07-2025

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Non-profit Heartland Literature held its first reading mentorship programme in 2024, where volunteers read with youth from Boys Town to help cultivate a love for reading.
SINGAPORE - When Mr Gareth Ki, a volunteer, first sat down to read with a restless young boy, he braced himself for a challenge.
But after a few sessions - and excerpts of a Percy Jackson book - the boy became more cheerful and sociable.
His transformation reflects the impact of a new reading mentorship programme by non-profit Heartland Literature, part of a growing effort to expand access to books for underserved communities.
The National Library Board (NLB) has also expanded its outreach.
In August 2024, it launched kidsREAD@Home, where volunteers visit children aged four to eight in public rental flats to read to children. Each child receives two books a year, and try their hand at Steam (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) activities.
So far, 44 children have joined the programme, with NLB aiming for 100 by the end of 2025.
This builds on kidsREAD, a nationwide initiative that began in 2004 and has since benefited nearly 80,000 children . It operates at pre-schools, primary schools, and community spaces.
Over 20 years, nearly 80,000 children have benefitted from kidsREAD, a nationwide reading programme by the National Library Board.
PHOTO: NATIONAL LIBRARY BOARD
Seven-year-old Ernest Lim, a regular at kidsREAD, now devours up to 10 books a day and creates his own comics.
'He reads a lot more,' said his father, Mr Lim Wen Jun, 42. 'When he's supposed to do other activities, he chooses to read instead, but it's good news.'
Ernest has three shelves of books at home, his favourite being the Young Scientist series.
Nationwide initiative kidsREAD, which began in 2004, operates at pre-schools, primary schools, and community spaces.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Despite his love for books, many children do not have that access . A recent study in 2025 by NLB and the National Institute of Education found that most low-income families own fewer than 20 English books .
Of the 37 families surveyed, 43 per cent never visit public libraries, citing time constraints, fears of damaging books, or unfamiliarity with borrowing rules.
Associate Professor Loh Chin Ee, principal investigator of the study, said: 'A lack of familiarity with library procedures and resources were another potential gap.'
To close this gap,
NLB's mobile library, Molly, is visiting more primary schools with children on financial aid, and well as nursing homes.
Mr Ki, 18, a student at SJI International, was a volunteer in Heartland Literature's reading initiative, which ran its first four-session cycle in 2024.
This first run, which was done together with youth shelter Boys' Town, involved 13 participants .
Volunteers guided the youth through reading excerpts of Percy Jackson in small groups.
Non-profit Heartland Literature held its first reading mentorship programme in 2024, a four-session programme where volunteers read with youth from Boys Town to help cultivate a love for reading.
PHOTO: HEARTLAND LITERATURE
One boy was initially uninterested and hesitant to read aloud, often glossing over difficult words, said Mr Ki. By the end of the programme, with help from Mr Ki, the boy's confidence had grown, and he could read complex sentences on his own.
'We are not only providing these kids with a space to freely express and enjoy, but we are also providing them tools to make their voices heard,' he said.
The programme has since expanded into a public run at Bishan Public Library, which starts on August 10, said founder David Ezra.
Thirty children will be matched with reading mentors to read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
Participants include children from non-profit New Life Stories, family service centres, and Ministry of Social and Family Development-appointed children's homes, said Mr Ezra. He hopes to bring the initiative to more public libraries and eventually serve 80 to 100 children.
He recalls a child saying: 'I don't like reading, but I like reading with my reading mentor.'
'This showed how reading also became about forming and building relationships, and was not just an academic task,' Mr Ezra said, adding that many children went on to read books on their own.