ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the complexities of promoting reading in socially marginalised communities in Latin America, focusing on a project in Chile that aimed to foster literacy through non-formal educational spaces in informal settlements (campamentos). The chapter examines the role of literary mediation in these initiatives, particularly how books are used to engage children and meet emotional needs. Through an ethnographic lens, the chapter reflects on the challenges of such programmes, including the tension between the idealised role of books in promoting social justice and the realities of the communities’ more urgent needs. The chapter calls for a reevaluation of reading-promotion strategies to better address the complex entanglements of marginalisation and education.
