Children have a right both to read and to see their lives mirrored in books. In this study we explored young Papua New Guinean children’s reading preferences of 500 digital books. The books were created as part of a large project aimed at improving elementary (Preparatory to Year 2) children’s literacy skills in Papua New Guinea. Reading materials are scarce in Papua New Guinea and typically offer children windows into other contexts. This was addressed through a collaborative approach with Papua New Guinean and international writers to develop culturally relevant books. Dashboard data from the digital library showing the 25 Most Read Books were collected from 321 girls and 369 boys in 7 pilot schools. The findings indicated that the children preferred fiction books that were culturally specific. There were no statistically significant gender differences in book choice. The findings from this study can help education departments and non-government organisations in the further development of children’s books that will motivate children to read.

儿童有权阅读和看到自己的生活在书本中得到反映。在这项研究中，我们探讨了巴布亚新几内亚年轻儿童对500本书的阅读偏好。这些书籍是大型项目的一部分，旨在提高巴布亚新几内亚的基础（为二年级做准备）儿童的识字能力。在巴布亚新几内亚，阅读材料稀缺，通常为儿童提供进入其他环境的窗口。这是通过与巴布亚新几内亚和国际作家的合作方法来解决的，以开发与文化相关的书籍。来自数字图书馆的仪表盘数据显示，从7所试点学校的321名女孩和369名男孩那里收集了25本书读得最多。调查结果表明，孩子们喜欢具有特定文化特征的小说。在选书方面没有统计学上的显着性别差异。这项研究的结果可以帮助教育部门和非政府组织进一步发展儿童读物，从而激发儿童阅读的兴趣。