Why is reading so important? Kavin Selvan challenges children with the “Big Little Books Battle”

BY PAUL JUNOR

Reading as a tool to improve the literacy of kids has been recognized by educators worldwide. Many parents, caregivers, and guardians know the value placed on reading to children at a young age to ensure that they become independent readers and thinkers. The power of literacy to develop critical skills, independent thinking, and creativity is even more important in our technological world.

Undoubtedly, the past two years have been very challenging for young people, many of whom were restricted to online learning due to COVID-19, as studies have shown that their reading levels have been deeply affected. Kavin Selvan, the founder of the “Big Little Books Battle” trivia competition, is empowered to change the lives of youth through the power of reading. His non-profit organization, “Big Little Books” (BLB), started in May 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, will be hosting its first-ever book-based trivia tournament on June 12^th, 2022, for children in the Greater Toronto Area.

The purpose of the competition is to gamify reading and encourage youth to continue reading books and improve their literacy skills. This is an essential skill that will help youth to develop fully.

In my interview with Kavin, he shared his aim to make a difference in the lives of underserved youth in the Greater Toronto Area. Kavin states, “We were inspired by our youth and also our community partner from the Barrie Public Library, who helped flesh this out; the library first ran an event similar to this in Barrie over 20 years ago. We will be the first to do this in a virtual format in Toronto.”

On the Big Little Book’s website: www.biglittlebooks.ca., it states that their mission is to inspire a new generation of young Ontario readers in this current age of social media. Through friendly tournaments and thought-provoking workshops, we hope to increase youth engagement with reading by creating memorable moments with their fellow peers. Working with schools and libraries across Ontario, we hope to support underserved communities and their youth.

The motto of Big Little Book is “Empowering the youth for a brighter future, one book at a time.” This shows the commitment to changing lives through the power of reading and creating an informed, engaged, and educated citizenry. Aside from improving literacy rates among youth, the vision is to have fun, engaging, competitive team-building events and skill-based workshops.

Kavin told me that he was able to start Big Little Books after receiving a seed grant from #RisingYouth and further funding from the Temerity Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. His team has already reached out to schools in the GTA, and he anticipates that there may be 5-10 schools involved, with approximately 30 students in total. The tournament is geared to kids aged 10-13, and there will be opportunities for participants to attend events and workshops prior to the tournament.

The competition involves multiple challenges, an oral battle, and a lightning round. The registration link is on Big Little Book’s website, and any interested teachers or parents can register their children/students. Each participant will receive $25 for lunch and a certificate of participation. A certificate of achievement will be given to the first-place winner along with more than $50 in books. In addition, there will be a raffle draw where participants can place one ticket for each book they read. Books will be given to raffle winners to encourage students to continue reading.

Anyone interested in learning about BLB can follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram-com/biglittlebooks-canada.