I accompanied Mary Jo Amani, the executive director, and Carlos Gil, our training director, to a series of schools in a three-day whirlwind work plan. We observed teachers reading to children, the sustained silent reading that followed, visited principals, presented some new books to expand libraries, even presented 150 books to a small town library. Carlos and I told some stories, and I sang and answered questions in every school. To say that the work Libros Para Ni os doing is moving and profound would be an understatement. In most Latin American countries the whole notion of reading to children simply does not exist.
Public libraries are rare.
Books are not owned in homes. I saw children of all ages rapt in awe at the readings and lost in concentration during the silent reading. The discussions after the reading were animated and all-inclusive. It was an exciting and overwhelming three days. We rounded out our stay with visits with old friends, some patron saint festival in various towns and a get away to Ometepe, a beautiful island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua.