About Us
Bhabook, in Bengali, often used in its adjective form, means someone capable of or given to thinking or imagining; someone capable of forming original concepts. It is also sometimes used in a verb form, to exhort someone to think. In calling ourselves Bhabook, we hope to bring in a similar ethos of thinking and imagining among children, teachers, and other stakeholders we work with in the space of children's literature and libraries. With the pun on the word Bhab-Book, we also hope that books (in our case, children's literature) becomes a means of imagining and thinking about the world (inner and outer) in ways that create a better future for the universe.
A group of library enthusiasts conceptualized a library programme under the banner of Towards Future in 2020. The group named itself Bhabook, as it aspired children to think and express freely in library spaces anchoring on their experiences of reading books. The group started its journey by partnering with like minded organizations and collaborating to design library programmes. In 2023 Bhabook registered as a library-based stand-alone entity that focuses work at libraries in schools and communities. In calling ourselves Bhabook, we hope to bring in a similar ethos of thinking and imagining among children, teachers, and other stakeholders we work with in the space of children's literature and libraries. With the pun on the word Bhab-Book, we also hope that books (in our case, children's literature) becomes a means of imagining and thinking about the world (inner and outer) in ways that create a better future for the universe.
What We Offer
Our Work So Far
Who We Work With
Children
From diverse background (with special focus on children from marginalized communities) in school and community setting to create opportunities to interact with books in library spaces.
What we do for children:- Conduct regular interactive reading sessions to encourage learning.
- Enable independent and group reading, discussions, and debates on stories.
- Introduce children to literary elements, genres, and children’s literature.
- Facilitate fun activities like book talks, reading melas, guided drawing, and treasure hunts to boost book engagement.
- Offer browsing and book lending to improve reading habits.
- Pilot a foundational reading program to address reading gaps.
What we do for educators:- Hand hold and provide onsite support to the library educator in running the programme.
- Conduct training sessions for library educators to build perspective around core library practices (read aloud, display, curating a collection etc.) and strengthen requisite skill set through practice.
- Conduct structured sessions, workshops and training for teachers on practices around storybooks which can aid learning in the classroom (read aloud, visual literacy, fostering 21st century learning skills, social emotional learning etc.).
- Provide training on integrating art and stories in classroom learning.
What we do for communties and schools:- Set up a welcoming library space.
- Curate a contextual contemporary collection keeping the children at the centre.
- Devise a well-planned library curriculum embedding the academic and socio-emotional needs of the children.
- Integrate stories as a pedagogical tool in the classroom learning (establishing classroom libraries).
- Provide support in establishing an administrative system to manage the library from diverse background access the libraries.
Communities and Schools
Educators
Who are practitioner at libraries, language and subject teachers who integrate library practices in classroom teaching learning process.
Private, Government, run by NGO’s and community learning centres where children Developing a vision for the library programme.
Design Library Programmes in partnership with NGO’s, schools and communities to enable sustenance of an active and engaging library space
Set up Libraries as a vibrant and inviting space with material elements to invite the children to explore, engage and express
Build collection of contemporary contextual books on diverse themes, topics and languages
Practice Core Library Activities as Read Aloud, Storytelling, Book Talks, Displays, Games to open up the world of literature and encourage children to read
Develop Reading Programmes to enable children read fluently, comprehend and appreciate age appropriate literature
Build capacity of Educators to strengthen library practices and create a synergy between the library and the classroom learning
Organize workshops for children and adults to introduce the world of children’s literature and diverse library-based practices
Content Creation and translation in Bengali in partnership with established publishers
