Are you ready for World Read Aloud Day? It’s an annual celebration of sharing stories from the amazing folks at LitWorld and Scholastic. This year’s World Read Aloud Day will be February 7, 2024!
If you’re new to this page, I’m Kate Messner, author of more than sixty books for kids. I’m also a former middle school teacher and a forever reader. Each winter, I help out with LitWorld’s World Read Aloud Day by pulling together a list of author & illustrator volunteers who would like to spend part of the day doing quick virtual read-aloud visits with classrooms around the world to share the joy of stories.
Because I have a new series launching in 2024, I’ll be offering THREE special virtual author visit opportunities coming up. Here’s the first one – an author read-aloud to share with your kiddos this week!
World Read Aloud Day sneak preview from EMMA MCKENNA, FULL OUT, the first book in our new multi-author series THE KIDS IN MRS. Z’S CLASS (coming in April!)
More Virtual Author Visit Opportunities
EMMA MCKENNA, FULL OUT is the first book in a brand new multi-author series called THE KIDS IN MRS. Z’S CLASS. It’s an exciting new premise for a chapter book series:
One third grade class.
18 kids.
18 secrets.
18 stories, each written by a different beloved author.
The first two books, EMMA MCKENNA, FULL OUT by me and ROHAN MURTHY HAS A PLAN by Rajani LaRocca, come out May 28th. I’ll be posting a special sneak-preview read-aloud of the first two chapters of Emma’s book right here for World Read Aloud Day! So bookmark this page and be sure to circle back to share the video with your kids on February 7th!
Rajani and I are also offering a FREE two-part virtual author visit this spring and fall, for classes, libraries, and homeschool families that pre-order the first two books in the new series from my local bookseller, The Bookstore Plus!
Here’s how it works…
Part 1… When your order your books, we’ll use the email you provide to the bookstore to send you a note in early May, with a link to a 20-minute recorded virtual author visit with Kate and Rajani. They’ll share the inspiration behind this multi-author series, along with photos of their writer’s notebooks and brainstorming pages. They’ll also offer a short writing workshop, walking kids through the process of creating a character, using the same worksheet that series authors used to develop all of the kids in Mrs. Z’s Class. Your early-May email will also include a link to download the series teaching and discussion guide, which includes a reproducible version of the character building worksheet to use with students!
Part 2… Once you’re back to school in the fall, you’ll get another email from us with an invitation to participate in a LIVE author visit webinar with Kate and Rajani in October. This will be a 30-minute Q&A session so readers can discuss the first two books with Kate and Rajani after they’ve had a chance to read them. It’s going to be so much fun! A recording of the Q&A session will be made available for classes that are unable to attend live.
And of course, there’s also an AMAZING list of authors and illustrators who have volunteered to Zoom into classrooms for World Read Aloud Day!
WORLD READ ALOUD DAY IS FEBRUARY 7, 2024!
The authors & illustrators listed have volunteered their time to read aloud to classrooms and libraries all over the world. These aren’t long, fancy presentations; a typical one might go like this:
- 1-2 minutes: Author introduces himself or herself and talks a little about his or her books.
- 3-5 minutes: Author reads aloud a short picture book, or a short excerpt from a chapter book/novel
- 5-10 minutes: Author answers a few questions from students about reading/writing
- 1-2 minutes: Author book-talks a couple books he or she loves (but didn’t write!) as recommendations for the kids
If you’re a teacher or librarian and you’d like to have an author Zoom with your classroom or library on World Read Aloud Day, here’s how to do it:
- Check out this list of volunteering authors and illustrators, and visit their websites to see which ones might be a good fit for your students. Note that this is a list of traditionally published book creators. This year, the wonderful Judy Campbell-Smith, author of AJ’S NEIGHBORHOOD, is also coordinating a list of self-published authors offering WRAD visits, and you can check out that list here. For both lists, you’ll want to check out the authors’ books ahead of time to make sure they’re a good fit for your readers.
- Contact the author directly by using the email provided or clicking on the link to his or her website and finding the contact form. Please be sure to provide the following information in your request:
- Your name and what grade(s) you work with
- Your city and time zone (this is important for scheduling!)
- Possible times to connect on February 7th. Please note authors’ availability and time zones. Adjust accordingly if yours is different!
- Your preferred platform (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.)
- A phone number where you can be reached on that day in case of technical issues
- Please understand that authors are people, too, and have schedules and personal lives, just like you, so not all authors will be available at all times. It may take a few tries before you find someone whose books and schedule fit with yours!
If you’re a traditionally published author or illustrator who would like to be added to the list, you can fill out this form to sign up. The wonderful Judy Campbell-Smith is also coordinating a list of self-published and ebook authors – if that’s you and you’d like to volunteer, please fill out her form here.
Authors: Once your schedule is full, please send an email via my website contact form, and I’ll remove your name from the list. Please note that due to deadlines and other obligations, it may take up to a week for me to update.