Penguin and Twinkl to donate over 55,000 books by authors of colour to primary schools

Penguin Random House has partnered with Twinkl Educational Publishing to donate more than 55,000 books by authors of colour to 500 UK primary schools. 

The donation of books from Penguin, Puffin, Ladybird, Vintage and Andersen Press forms part of Penguin’s Lit in Colour campaign. 

Each participating school will receive 100 books, covering a range of titles across fiction, non-fiction and poetry by authors including Matthew A Cherry, Malala Yousafzai, Ibtihaj Muhammad and S K Ali. Each school will also receive a class set of The Good Turn (Puffin) by Sharna Jackson.

Research by Lit in Colour, carried out by Penguin Books and the Runnymede Trust in 2021, revealed that 82% of young people do not recall studying a book by a Black, Asian or minority ethnic author, while 70% agree that diversity is part of British society and should be represented in the school curriculum.

The research also found that a key barrier for primary school teachers was a lack of ready-made resources available from teaching sites that are focused on diverse texts. 

In response to this, Twinkl is producing a comprehensive set of learning resources that aim to make it as easy as possible for educators to create a full lesson around these titles and immerse learners through a selection of activity sheets to be used alongside the books and as follow-on activities.

Twinkl’s series of educational resources will cover 20 titles and consist of various worksheets and activity packs. They will be available to freely access online and can be used in connection with Penguin’s Lit in Colour book list.

Zaahida Nabagereka, Penguin Random House’s head of social impact, said: “Partnering with Twinkl on this first UK-wide Lit in Colour Primary School donation is a really significant step in addressing the barriers the Lit in Colour report identified in 2021.

“We are committed to supporting teachers to take diverse books into their classrooms with confidence, and key to that is resources. This collaboration strengthens the argument that we can achieve more when we tackle systemic issues together.”

David Angrave, Twinkl’s chief operating officer, commented: “As a global education publisher, we are delighted to work with Penguin on such a meaningful campaign. Our Lit in Colour resources aim to engage learners in a wide variety of diverse titles in the classroom.

“Through a range of voices in books, children can discover different cultures and identifiable characters. We are looking forward to continuing to collaborate with Penguin with this campaign and help build an inclusive outlook which celebrates differences and what brings us together.”