Gearing up for #WorldReadAloudDay!

I'm kicking off a new series in honor of World Read Aloud Day (WRAD), which will be celebrated next Thursday, February 1. (Can you believe it's almost February?) If you'd like to see ideas for how to celebrate at home or in the classroom, check out the official World Read Aloud Day website. 

Before I go on, I want to thank all of you who participated in our giveaway of the 2018 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market (CWIM). We appreciate your sharing your writing challenges and goals with us and we wish you the best in accomplishing them! Congratulations to our giveaway winner, Danielle H.

For today's post, I'm sharing a photo of me reading aloud. The following was taken at my first book signing for Rosa, Sola, at Anderson's Bookshop, back in 2005. 

I always enjoy hearing authors read from their own work, and I had plenty of opportunity to do so at the Vermont College residencies. In addition to readings by our excellent faculty, I was privileged to hear readings by such renowned authors as Richard Peck, Katherine Paterson, Karen Hesse, and Ashley Bryan. 

But long before I had a published book, I read aloud regularly to my son. One of my favorite memories is of him, as a two-year-old, sitting on the couch "reading aloud" an alphabet book. I'd read the book to him so many times that he'd memorized it, right down to the page-turns. As it says in this list of 7 Important Benefits of Reading Aloud, it's not only children who benefit when adults read aloud--adults do, too!

I hope you'll take time to celebrate #WorldReadAloudDay on Thursday. If you don't have anyone to read aloud to, you might consider celebrating as a listener at Poetry Out Loud.

In the meantime, don't forget to check out this week's Poetry Friday round up at Beyond LiteracyLink.

And remember to always Write with Joy!

Carmela