World Read Aloud Day is February 1, 2019, and we're encouraging everyone to join us in celebrating by grabbing a book and reading aloud to your friends and loved ones! (Be sure to check out our official World Read Aloud Day website for tons of resources and ideas about how to celebrate!)
Here are five books that would make perfect read-alouds this year:
1. The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds (ages 4-8)
In this stunning picture book, Jerome discovers the magic of the words all around him. Sharing this book aloud with young readers will be a special celebration of finding your own words — and the impact you can have when you share them with the world.
2. Hello, Crabby by Johnathan Fenske (ages 4-6)
This hilarious early reader series will have young readers highly engaged and laughing out loud. Crabby is NOT happy. Sun is in Crabby's eyes. Salt is in Crabby's teeth. Sand is in Crabby's shell. Plankton tries again and again to cheer Crabby up — with laugh-out-loud results! Will Crabby ever crack a smile? Or will Crabby always be crabby? The comic speech bubbles make sharing a read-aloud easy, and the full-color artwork throughout will grab readers' attention and give you LOTS to talk about!
3. Dog Man #6: Brawl of the Wild by Dav Pilkey (ages 7-10)
The lastest book in the #1 bestselling series is one that will have readers of all ages laughing out loud. It's a graphic novel, so read alouds of this book can be highly interactive! Try out using different voices for the different characters, or assigning one reader to do all the sound effects!
4. The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson (ages 8-12)
You will love trying to figure out this puzzle mystery with your young readers! When Candice finds a letter in an old attic in Lambert, South Carolina, she isn't sure she should read it. It's addressed to her grandmother, who left the town in shame. But the letter describes a young woman. An injustice that happened decades ago. A mystery enfolding its writer. And the fortune that awaits the person who solves the puzzle.
So with the help of Brandon, the quiet boy across the street, she begins to decipher the clues. The challenge will lead them deep into Lambert's history, full of ugly deeds, forgotten heroes, and one great love; and deeper into their own families, with their own unspoken secrets. Can they find the fortune and fulfill the letter's promise before the answers slip into the past yet again?
5. Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series by Sayantani DasGupta (ages 8-12)
On the morning of her twelfth birthday, Kiranmala is just a regular sixth grader living in Parsippany, New Jersey . . . until her parents mysteriously vanish and a drooling rakkhosh demon slams through her kitchen, determined to eat her alive. Turns out there might be some truth to her parents' fantastical stories-like how Kiranmala is a real Indian princess and how she comes from a secret place not of this world.
This fast-paced fantasy adventure is perfect for fans of Rick Riordan and Soman Chainani, and the rich folklore its based on is just made to be read aloud!
