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Reading Is Fundamental Wins Three Gold Anthem Awards for Skybrary App

By Jodi Esposito

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) has earned three Gold Anthem Awards and a Community Voice Award at the 6th Annual Anthem Awards, for Skybrary, RIF's reading app for kids 3–9. 

The Anthem Awards, from the creators of the Webby Awards, recognize mission-driven work by nonprofits, companies and individuals. This year's honors recognize RIF's 60-year literacy mission, and how RIF is innovating to reach today's children. 

RIF's 2026 Anthem honors 

  • Gold: Product Innovation or Service, App Excellence 
  • Gold: Product Innovation or Service, Education or Literacy Platform 
  • Gold: Content & Media, Education or Literacy Program or Platform 
  • Community Voice Award: App Excellence, chosen by public vote 

A 60-year mission, built for today's kids 

Since 1966, RIF has worked to make sure every child has books of their own. That work has reached 237 million children. 

What hasn't changed is the belief behind it: children read more when they get to choose what they read, and when reading feels like joy rather than a chore. What has changed is where children find stories. Today, many  children may encounter books on a screen early in their reading journey. 

Skybrary embodies RIF’s approach, ensuring that this experience is designed with a child in mind, offering a safe digital reading experience intentionally designed to further children’s reading development.   The app has been named App of the Day in 18 countries, and now has three Gold Anthem Awards and one community voice award. 

"RIF has spent 60 years ensuring all children have access to books. Skybrary is a critical innovation to enable RIF to put books into the hands and homes of every child across the country.  As we seek to build a nation of lifelong readers, we know that kids read more when they have access and can choose what they read." — Alicia Levi, CEO, Reading Is Fundamental 

About Skybrary 

Skybrary is RIF's trusted reading app for children ages 3–9. It's built on the same foundations RIF has operated on for 60 years : kids read more when they get to choose their own stories, and when reading feels like an adventure. 

  • A digital library kids can explore on their own. More than 1,000 eBooks across subjects and reading levels, so every child can find stories they want to read and share with their families and caregivers. 
  • Virtual field trips. More than 150 video field trips, hosted by beloved storyteller LeVar Burton, take kids from the library to the world around them, turning a favorite book into a deeper journey into science, nature, history and more. 
  • Coaching for grown-ups. A video series from reading specialist Spencer Russell of Toddlers Can Read gives parents and caregivers practical ways to support a young reader at home. 
  • Designed for young readers. A safe, ad-free, and kid-friendly app that children ages 3–9 can navigate themselves to find books to read and share with their families, available on the phones and tablets families already have. 

Families can start reading free, with no credit card needed. 

Thank you 

Thank you to the Anthem Awards, to everyone who voted for Skybrary, and to the partners, funders and team members whose work made this recognition possible.  

Partner with RIF 

RIF works with corporate and foundation partners to bring books, including ebooks via Skybrary, to more children. 

We invite you to join us to put Skybrary into the hands of even more children. 

Families can explore Skybrary free with 100 eBooks and 50 educational videos.