Are you a bookworm, and a supporter of children's rights?

Now you can do both at the same time by shopping at the Big Bad Wolf (BBW) book fair, which runs from today until Dec 18 at the Mines International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC). 

Through the "Read Readerhood" initiative, BBW aims to collect 10,000 books to be donated to child rights NGO Yayasan Chow Kit.

Visitors are encouraged to buy children's books from a curated collection and drop them off at the Red Readerhood booth. To kickstart the campaign, BBW organiser BookXcess has contributed 1,000 books.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, Yayasan Chow Kit founder Hartini Zainudin (photo) said BBW has curated a range of children's books tailored to meet the needs of the foundation's marginalised children.

“The books are curated to try and meet the expectations (of the children), to stir their imagination and to inspire children who are in very difficult situations.

“The books are mostly in English, this will help the children communicate better in English.

“They need that fighting chance and that leg up when trying to compete with other children in Malaysia. So it’s very important that they read in English and imagine in English,” she said.

The curated books include educational picture books, tactile pop-up books, Enid Blyton storybooks and young adult novels. Prices range from RM5 to RM20.

Hartini admitted that 10,000 books were “too much” for one organisation, and her NGO, will thus, share the books her NGO receives with two other child rights NGOs - Yayasan Kemajuan Insan (Yakin) in Sarawak and Etania Schools in Sabah.

She also plans to start an online “book club” that would link up children from all three organisations.

“Even though the kids of Chow Kit are marginalised and vulnerable, there are even more vulnerable and marginalised children (in East Malaysia).

“The whole point is for us to share what we have with kids who have lesser than us.

“Based on what we get, we hope the children will be able to read the same books (and discuss them together). This will be able to promote the whole idea of literacy and (spark their) imagination,” explained Hartini of her book club plan.

Headquartered in Jalan Chow Kit in Kuala Lumpur, Yayasan Chow Kit presently serves 220 Malaysian, stateless and refugee children daily.

It operates two drop-in centres, a safe house, a homeschooling programme, a soup kitchen, a hostel as well as health and counselling programmes for the children.

BookXcess founder and managing director Andrew Yap said book fair volunteers will go through every one of the 10,000 books donated to ensure their compatibility with what Yayasan Chow Kit needs.

“If they are not suitable, we will exchange them for suitable ones.

“We have to, because (the children) are already underprivileged so they need to have the best books. That is the least we can give,” he said in the same interview.

Red Readerhood has been BBW’s annual corporate social responsibility initiative since 2011.

Past beneficiaries include Astro Kasih, The Budimas Charitable Foundation and SOLS 24/7.