It’s almost time for another amazing World Read Aloud Day! It’s an annual celebration of sharing stories from the amazing folks at LitWorld. This year’s World Read Aloud Day will be Wednesday, February 4, 2025!
If you’re new to this page, I’m Kate Messner, author of more than seventy books for kids. I’m also a former middle school teacher and a forever reader. Each winter, I help out with World Read Aloud Day by pulling together a list of author & illustrator volunteers who have volunteered to spend part of the day doing quick virtual read-aloud visits with classrooms around the world to share the joy of stories.
This February, I’ll be on book tour for my new graphic novel CAMP MONSTER, illustrated by Falynn Koch, so I won’t be available for live Zoom visits, but I hope you’ll have fun reading this one aloud to your classes. (Have fun with all the monster voices!) The first in a planned trilogy, it’s about what happens when a family-run summer camp for Yetis opens its door to ALL different kinds of monsters, with hilarious and chaotic results. You can pre-order a copy for your classroom or library now!
I’ll also be gearing up for the release of two new picture books! THE WHALE’S TALE AND THE OTTER’S SIDE OF THE STORY: A BOOK TO READ FROM FRONT TO BACK AND BACK TO FRONT is illustrated by Brian Biggs and comes out in April. (And yes, it makes sense both ways! From front to back, it’s the whale’s point of view, and from back to front, it’s the otter’s!) This one’s also available for pre-order now, and will make a great spring read-aloud for your kids!
And AXOLOTL-ELLA (cover reveal coming soon!) is a reimagining of the Cinderella fairy tale…but with axolotls. Illustrated by Lian Cho, I promise you, it’s just as delightfully weird as it sounds. Pre-order this one to read aloud this spring – it just may inspire some fractured fairy tale writing, too!
VIDEOS FOR WORLD READ ALOUD DAY
Even though I’ll be traveling for this year’s World Read Aloud Day, I’ll still be celebrating ! I’m offering virtual read-alouds from several of my new & upcoming books! These will be available through the school year, so feel free to save them for World Read Aloud Day or use them as a First Chapter Friday any time!
For readers of all ages:
A read-aloud of OVER AND UNDER THE CORAL REEF, the newest title in our acclaimed Over and Under series of nature picture books, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal.
A first-chapters read-aloud of WILDLIFE RESCUE: HOW TO SAVE AN OTTER, illustrated by Jen Bricking. Perfect for readers who LOVE animals,this is the first in our new early chapter book series about Ivy and Ezra, who work with their family to rescue injured and abandoned wildlife.
For readers in grades 4-8
A first chapters read-aloud from THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES, about a seventh grader who vandalizes a cemetery and finds himself sentenced to high all 46 Adirondack High Peaks in a single summer, with the world’s drooliest, smelliest Bernese mountain dog at his side.
A first chapter read-aloud of HISTORY SMASHERS: SALEM WITCH TRIALS, which smashes the myths and unravels the real story of what happened in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692.
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 this year!
AUTHOR VOLUNTEERS FOR WORLD READ ALOUD DAY
WORLD READ ALOUD DAY IS FEBRUARY 4, 2026!
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 learn more 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 4th. Please note authors’ availability and time zones. Adjust accordingly if yours is different!
- 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 lucky enough to book an author to visit for World Read Aloud Day, please honor that commitment. In years past, unfortunately, we’ve had some educators and librarians cancel when they found a different author, and that’s awfully demoralizing for folks who are volunteering their time. Please only schedule visit dates that you’re excited about keeping!
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 a quick 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.