LitWorld
Highlights from WRAD’s 15th Birthday Party: ...

Nothing captures the essence of World Read Aloud Day better than our international partners and friends who have brought the spirit of this day to their corners of the globe!

We are so grateful to our international partners not only for bringing WRAD to their local communities, but for continuing to extend the joy of reading and the advocacy for literacy all year long by providing programs where young people can have a space to read, learn, and share stories together.

We also want to extend our gratitude to LitWorld friends around the world who organized beautiful celebrations! We love to see all the different ways in which each community chose to bring WRAD to life.

Highlights from WRAD’s 15th Birthday Party: Celebrations Around the World!
LitWorld
Behind the Scenes: 15 Years with Illustrator ...

For 15 years, Lindsey Manwell has been at the heart of World Read Aloud Day™ with her vibrant illustrations. As we celebrate the 15th anniversary of WRAD, we’re thrilled to feature an exclusive interview with Lindsey, exploring her creative purpose, favorite illustrations from the past 15 years, and the enduring power of art in encouraging a love for reading.

Behind the Scenes: 15 Years with Illustrator Lindsey Manwell
LitWorld
Calling Runners in NYC: Run for LitWorld!

Dear LitWorld Friend,

We are honored to have been invited to participate as a charity partner in this year’s United Airlines NYC Half, an annual race that attracts more than 24,000 runners, and is hosted by New York Road Runners.

At LitWorld, our mission is to strengthen kids and communities through the power of stories, a mission that aligns with New York Road Runners' vision to build healthier lives and stronger communities through the transformative power of running.

Are YOU interested in supporting LitWorld’s mission while meeting that New Year’s resolution? Let us help! We have 5 bibs available for serious runners ready to participate in the marathon and peer-to-peer fundraising on behalf of LitWorld.

Calling Runners in NYC: Run for LitWorld!
LitWorld
50 Days 'Til Our Favorite Holiday: World Read ...

It may be the holiday season, but here at LitWorld, we have our sights set on our favorite holiday of the year: World Read Aloud Day!

Mark your calendars for February 5th, 2025, and get ready to join thousands of people around the world as we collectively celebrate the power of stories.

50 Days 'Til Our Favorite Holiday: World Read Aloud Day!
LitWorld
At LitWorld, We Believe:
At LitWorld, We Believe:

The Brooklyn Friends School Book Donation!

LitWorld would like to thank the Brooklyn Friends School for their amazing book donation!  After celebrating World Read Aloud Day in March, the Brooklyn Friends School community decided to take it a step further and organize a book drive in an effort to support LitWorld’s mission.  Led by Amanda Welch, a kindergarten teacher at Brooklyn Friends, bright posters were hung around the lower school and book collecting stations were set up, as well as adding an ad in the school’s weekly e-newsletter. 

 

With donations from students, families, faculty members, the lower school curriculum coordinator, and the kindergarten Library, the grand total came to almost 450 books!  The LitWorld team was amazed to see that the Brooklyn Friends community even carefully bundled the books into colorful bags organized by genre and reading level, and even personalized them with thoughtful notes on each made by the Kindergarten classes and their teachers.

A few weeks ago, several bags of these books were taken to LitWorld’s Family Story Power Project celebration at the Harlem Children’s Zone. Each child who participated in the program proudly picked a bag of their choice to bring home, full of books to read with their families. 

 

The connection formed between the students of Brooklyn and Harlem through this access to materials is truly an amazing one, and illustrates the pure joy that literacy can provide!

LitWorld's New Friend: The First Grader, Coming to a Theater Near You

LitWorld is proud to announce a new partnership with the extraordinary film: The First Grader, coming May 13 to a theater near you!

We are thrilled to collaborate with the creators of this powerful film to spread a message we share:  Access for all to education.

In a small, remote, primary school in the Kenyan bush, hundreds of children are jostling for a chance for the free education newly promised by the Kenyan government. Kimani Maruge causes astonishment when he knocks on the door of the school. He is 84 years old and he is desperate to learn to read. Full of vitality and humor, The First Grader explores the remarkable relationships Maruge builds with classmates some 80 years his junior.

The story is a triumphant testimony to the transforming force of education and the ability of a dedicated teacher to shape lives.

Visit thefirstgrader-movie.com for more info.

Let Fly the Global Poem for Change

Starting NOW, Midnight April First, and throughout the WHOLE MONTH OF APRIL, let's create a Global Poem for Change, starting with this line:

I send my words out into the air, listening for yours from everywhere.
- Naomi Shihab Nye

What words do you send out into the air?

What words do you listen for?

Celebrate Poetry Month and create a Global Poem for Change with LitWorld!

What comes next?

Submit a line of your own at litworld.org/poem and make our Poem GROW.

We need Your Words to Change Worlds.

Share our announcement and help our poem soar around the world...

Millions of Minutes, Thousands of Stories

Over 200,000 people in at least 58 countries around the globe brought their voices together on World Read Aloud Day as representatives of the Global Literacy Movement and the power of Words to Change Worlds.

Participants shared stories between continents through video chats and blogs, held 24-Hour Read-Aloud Marathons, read together in schools, hospitals, libraries, and homes.

Please share your World Read Aloud Day Story and Reading Minutes at litworld.org/wrad!

View highlights from Around the World and Times Square in our Facebook Albums!

We have tallied 10 million minutes so far towards our goal of 774 million minutes. This is a Call to Action to keep reading in honor of the 774 million people worldwide who cannot read. We must continue growing the Movement every day until we achieve Global Literacy.

World Read Aloud Day Has Begun in Some Parts of the World, and is Simmering on Times Square...

From Manila, Philippines.  To Nairobi, Kenya.  To Dagestan, Russia.  And beyond...

Times Square, New York City, USA:

Please join us any time midnight to midnight March 9 to read and listen!

Visit with Clifford, The Big Red Dog at 8am or 10am.

Look for LitWorld's poem exclusively in the New York Daily News.

Tune in to Good Morning America on ABC to see LitWorld live at 8:30am EST!

World Read Aloud Day.

Your presence matters.

Participate and spread the word virtually on Facebook, Twitter or your Blog!

Raise your voice with LitWorld in honor of the 774 million people worldwide who cannot read. With this global rally we show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people and we lend our voices to the Global Literacy Movement.

 



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