Learning Media - Te Pou Taki Kõrero

Dragonflies is our literacy programme, comprising 60 engaging nonfiction titles that focus on the United States and Canadian curriculums for emergent, early, and fluent readers at grades K–2.

The brief

To produce 60 nonfiction titles, closely aligned with the United States curriculum, for emergent, early, and fluent readers at grades K–2, with accompanying audio CDs and teachers’ guides, and to adapt and translate the Dragonflies series into French for Canadian company Chenelière Éducation for use in the North American market.

Our solution

We developed the Dragonflies titles based on four unifying themes, or “anchors”: citizenship, the environment, health, and science. The series had to provide for differentiated instruction within a clear developmental sequence, so part of our challenge was to think creatively inside a set framework.

We worked in partnership with Nelson Education, our US distribution partner, to ensure that Dragonflies Nonfiction met many requirements – to focus on the United States curriculum, to reflect the experiences of a young American audience, and to present fresh, engaging material.

Our writers, designers, editors, project managers, and literacy advisors produced a bright, bold array of titles. The books foster enjoyment of reading as the text introduces and reinforces the reading strategies that young learners need. The series is accompanied by audio CDs and teachers’ guides on CD-ROM.

In mid-2010, Learning Media signed an agreement with Canadian company Chenelière Éducation for the adaptation and translation of Dragonflies Nonfiction into French. Chenelière Éducation is the largest French education publisher in North America, covering early childhood to university level educational resources.

In 2009, Dragonflies Nonfiction was one of four finalists in the curriculum category of the Golden Lamp Awards, granted by the US-based Association of Educational Publishers. The Golden Lamp Awards are the educational publishing industry’s equivalent of Best Picture at the Oscars. Winners and finalists are acknowledged as “the best of the best” – they have high-quality content and design and successfully fulfil their educational purpose.

“We believe that, in the fields of literacy and numeracy, New Zealand has the best educators and educational resources in the world. That’s why we are very proud to have secured the French translation rights to Learning Media’s excellent products.”

Michel de la Chenelière, the founder and Chairman of Chenelière Éducation