"Reading is magic! Reading is magic! Reading is magic!” Marching down the hall, a swarm of elementary school kids chanted these words while flapping their book puppets in the air. One class, misunderstanding the chant, yelled “we are magic! We are magic! We are magic!” (Here at LitWorld, we encourage individual interpretations, so the group went uncorrected.)

Their words echoed off the walls as they headed toward the gymnasium. Walking down the hall alongside the multiple advisory groups, each child exuded joy, empowerment, and excitement about reading. Let it be known that I am not a crier, but in the presence of such an impactful moment, I had to consciously prohibit tears from escaping.

In the gymnasium, the elementary school classes marched in a spiral while continuing to chant, wave their book puppets, smile, and laugh. World Read Aloud Day 2013 truly proved the magic in literacy.

Sitting down with the New Yorker or reading an article about the gentrification of my neighborhood, it is easy for me to forget reading’s magical properties and delimit reading to its useful and practical purposes. However, participating in World Read Aloud Day reminded me that not only is reading magic, but when we read, we are magic too."

--Susannah Rosenfield, LitWorld Intern