CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) – University of Illinois students created a platform to connect children with books.
“Red Clover Reader” is an online service that promotes children’s books. The two students responsible for setting it up say they hope kids will read about diverse characters and relationships, then connect to people from different backgrounds as a result.
The website says culturally diverse books help kids develop empathy, boost their overall development and strengthen their emotional resilience.
“We would like to get into schools (and) work with curriculum,” said business co-founder Melanie Keil. “Right now, we’re just hoping to get more people with kids to get on the platform and tell us what they think. But our overall goal is to create more engagement with reading.”
The website’s description says one major goal is to help improve “poor quality screen time” that children sometimes experience.
The service includes more than 30 authors with potentially more to come. Parents and their children can access a library of digital books to read if they sign up.
