It’s that time of the year again, for One Day, One Story – Pratham Books’ annual storytelling campaign celebrating International Literacy Day on September 8th. Last year, we had over 6700+ Reading Champions conducting 5500+ sessions, reaching out to 40,000+ children all across India with the stories of Gappu and Nila. And this year, we hope to make it extra special!

Why One Day, One Story?
To help children discover the joy of stories, and fall in love with reading. On September 8th every year, Pratham Books Champions all over India use two books to conduct reading sessions for children in their communities.

What’s the story?
Typically, One Day, One Story is a volunteer-led on-ground event where Reading Champions conduct storytelling sessions with groups of children all over India and the world. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, this year is a little different, since children everywhere are still at home and on-ground storytelling sessions or book dispatches won’t be possible. So we’re taking One Day, One Story online, where we invite you to conduct virtual storytelling sessions and readalouds over the internet, to continue to spread the joy of reading far and wide!

The storybooks for One Day, One Story this year were chosen keeping in mind that children have been at home for many months now and could use a little bit of humour along with some insight on managing their emotions through these uncertain times. The two books for ODOS 2020 are Angry Akku, a Level 2 book written and illustrated by Vinayak Varma for younger kids, and The Girl Who Could Not Stop Laughing, a Level 3 book written by Meera Ganapathy and illustrated by ROSH for older kids. 

How does this work?
You could conduct a storytelling session online – through Zoom or Whatsapp with a group of children, or on Facebook or Instagram Live.

OR you could record your storytelling of either (or both!) of the books on your mobile phone and share it on social media with the hashtag #OneDayOneStory2020 and then tag a friend to do a reading of the books! (Don’t forget to tag us too!) Check out some basic tips on how to record yourself telling the story.

Whichever storybook or platform you choose, we would love for you to use it in creative ways – read, narrate, enact… so that it’s fun for children to watch and listen to.

Sounds interesting? Mark your calendar for September 8, and join thousands of other Champions sharing their love for reading with the children who need it the most!

Note: If you have any queries, please mail [email protected] before you fill in the form.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. This is the first time I am conducting an event. How should I prepare for it?
Read the book a few times. If you are reading to a younger age group, see how you can tell the story without actually reading from the book (to retain their attention). Think of activities to engage the children after the storytelling. Alternatively, read a few more stories around the same theme.

2. Can I conduct multiple storytelling sessions online?
Oh, yes, you can! The aim is to reach as many kids as possible. You can do more than one session on more than one day, on or after September 8th.

3. Will I be receiving physical copies of the books?
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing logistical difficulties, we will not be dispatching physical copies of the books and banners for One Day, One Story this year. But once you sign up, we’ll be happy to share e-copies of the books in multiple languages. You could read the story aloud from a digital device, like an iPad or a mobile phone, or you could print out the book and hold it up while you read.

4. Should I document the event?
Yes please! You can send us the storytelling video you make, a write-up and tag us on social media when you share your video – just share with us the “real impact” you’ve helped make.

5. I really want to conduct a session but I am not free on September 8? What should I do?
The aim of One Day, One Story is to spread the joy of stories. In case you are unable to, you can still conduct it on a day close to the chosen date. Because children getting to listen to a fun story is much more important than a date, right? This year, we are running One Day, One Story all through September 2020.

6. How do I do a virtual storytelling session?
Once you sign up for One Day, One Story, check out these tips on how to take a video of yourself reading out the story using a mobile phone. If you are conducting a live storytelling session with a group of children on Zoom, Whatsapp or Instagram/Facebook Live, you would need to keep in mind all the things you would normally do when doing a storytelling session in-person – the only difference this year is that it’s online!

Check out some online readaloud videos that others have done with our stories over the past few months here!

Sounds like something you would like to do?
Hop on board! Individuals sign up here and organisations can sign up here.

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Illustrations by Vinayak Varma and ROSH

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