World Read Aloud Day
Twelve authors Zoomed in to the Lower School on World Read Aloud Day to honor the joy and power of reading.
Lower School Librarian Diana Rivers spearheaded the project, expressing, “I learned about World Read Aloud Day from a wonderful professional development opportunity with the California School Library Association. I was so excited to bring this event to Lower School, as the students are so enthusiastic about read-aloud.”
The visiting group was built from a list of hundreds of authors and illustrators — some selected to correspond to the classroom curriculum and some to introduce students to new authors and subject matter. “I am particularly excited for Sonja Thomas, who is presenting Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Real-Life Tales of Black Girl Magic,” said Ms. Rivers. “She's presenting to a third-grade class who created their books in second grade based on the original Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. I know it will resonate with the students!”
Along with enjoying the stories, students had the chance to ask the authors questions about the publishing process, how they work with illustrators, choose their subject matter, and why they became writers. The list of books and visiting authors is below!
- K Blue: Long Goes to Dragon School and Tofu Takes Time by Helen H. Wu
- K Red: Mushroom Rain by Laura K. Zimmermann
- K Yellow: Letters to Live By by Lisa Frenkel Riddiough and Asa Gilland
- First Grade: Moon's Ramadan by Natasha Khan Kazi, When You Have to Wait by Melanie Conklin, Happy Dreams, Little Bunny by Leah Hong
- Second Grade: Pug & Pig books by Sue Lowell Gallion and Joyce Wan, Swimming with Sharks by Heather Lang and Jordi Solano, Queen of the Track or The Leaf Detective by Heather Lang
- Third Grade: Tu Youyou's Discovery: Finding a Cure for Malaria by Songju Ma Daemicke, a selection from Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Real-Life Tales of Black Girl Magic by Lilly Workneh, Cashawn Thompson, Diana Odero, Jestine Ware, and Sonja Thomas
- Fourth Grade: Niki Nakayama: A Chef's Tale in 13 Bites by Debbi Michiko Florence and Jamie Michalak, All the Way to the Top by Annette Bay Pimentel, and Queen to the Rescue: The Story of Henrietta Szold, Founder of Hadassah by Nancy Churnin
About World Read Aloud Day® (WRAD)
LitWorld founded World Read Aloud Day® (WRAD) in 2010 to celebrate the power of reading aloud to create community and amplify new stories, and to advocate for literacy as a foundational human right. Since then, World Read Aloud Day has evolved into a global movement of millions of readers, writers, and listeners from communities all across the world coming together to honor the joy and power of reading and continue expanding the definition and scope of global literacy.