My Favorite Read Aloud Memory: Yaya Yuan

World Read Aloud Day is only 9 days away! To countdown to the big day, each member of the LitWorld team is sharing a favorite read aloud memory. Today's story comes from the amazing Yaya Yuan, LitWorld's Innovation Developer.

"I was born in China before the country opened up to western influences. For the first four years of my life I lived with my maternal grandmother and grandfather in Xi'an, home of the terra cotta warriors. I was their first grandchild and I was very close with my grandfather. He would sit me on the crossbar of his bike every day as we rode to and from my preschool. When I got home he would let me wear his glasses and we would play a game of tug of war with a toothpick in our teeth--not the safest now that I think about it...

When I was four, I moved away from my grandparents to live with my mother in the United States and I didn't see my grandfather for many years. Finally, he came to live with us for a summer when I was 12. By this point I could no longer speak Chinese but could understand everything well. Still, we had an incredibly difficult time communicating. I was also in the throes of being totally and completely terrified of the dark, but would have to make the trek to my attic bedroom every night and try to fall asleep while the rest of my family slept of the first floor of the house. 

When my grandfather came he took the other attic bedroom and every night he would read to me from the old Chinese classic, Journey to the West, about a mischievous chinese monkey god and his journeys with a buddha to the far reaches of the Chinese empire. It was the most comforting part of my day and the only way we could still share moments together. He has since passed away but I still remember those stories we shared, and still feel the comfort of his presence."

Blue Star Families Celebrates World Read Aloud Day

It is a special treat to share a guest blog from World Read Aloud Day Partner, Blue Star Families. Janet McIntosh, Books on Bases Program Manager for Blue Star Families gives us the inside scoop on how this wonderful organization plans to celebrate WRAD on March 6.

World Read Aloud Day is fast approaching on March 6, 2013 and Blue Star Families’ Books on Bases is preparing four special events to honor this special day!   Blue Star Families is a non-partisan, non-profit organization, created by real military families.  We are committed to supporting one another through the unique challenges of military service and asking the larger civilian population to help as well, connecting military families regardless of rank, branch of service or physical location, and empowering military family members to create the best personal and family life possible for themselves.

Our Books on Bases program was created by Blue Star Families to positively impact the lives of military children through the power of reading. With the generosity of partners and supporters such as Disney, BAE Systems, Sleeping Bear Press, Operation Paperback, United Concordia and Random House, Blue Star Families donates books to military children, base libraries, Department of Defense schools, military-impacted public schools, and community libraries.

In support of World Read Aloud Day we have four classroom outreach events planned thanks to the work of our dedicated Blue Star Families Chapter Directors.  Janine Boldrin, our Fort Campbell, Kentucky Chapter Director, will be reading to a kindergarten classroom.  Tracy Adkins, our Fort Meade, Maryland Chapter Director, will be reading to a second grade classroom.  Amber Robison, our Pennsylvania Chapter Director, will be reading to a first grade classroom.  Our final event will actually be taking place in a classroom across the Atlantic Ocean in Stuttgart, Germany.  Carmen Carlisle is our Chapter Director there and she will be reading to first grade and third students.  The students at all of these events will be presented with books that they may keep.

The goal of Books on Bases is to support the literacy skills of our military children and to also build a true love of reading.  Thanks to partners such as LitWorld we are achieving this goal every day!  Make sure you take the time to read to a child this World Read Aloud Day!

--Janet McIntosh, Books on Bases Program Manager, Blue Star Families

Meet Regional WRADvocate Alexandra Navarre

It is a pleasure to introduce our Regional WRADvocate from New Orleans, Louisiana, Alexandra Navarre! We asked Alex why why she celebrates World Read Aloud Day, and to give us a glimpse of her exciting plans for March 6. Here is what she had to say:

"Books are one of the most important things in my life. Ever since I was a child, books and reading have always been one of my favorite pastimes. I believe that helping introduce young people to the magic of reading is vital to their educational growth and a successful life.  WRAD is a great opportunity to invite them to explore new worlds and ideas through a great story. I want the children who participate in WRAD to be exposed to reading and literature, and to give them the opportunity to learn just how fun it can be!

New Orleans is a city that lives in the imagination of people the world over, so what better place to ignite the love of stories than in a place filled with a colorful history and lore? We have plans to initiate WRAD events in local schools, libraries, and even a children's hospital. WRAD gives all children the chance to have the world of literature given to them."

Meet Regional WRADvocate Cathy Trementozzi

Cathy Trementozzi is a Human Resources and Client Services executive in New Jersey and a Regional WRADvocate Ambassador.  She is an avid reader, a literacy advocate, and a great friend of LitWorld.

We asked Cathy why she celebrates World Read Aloud Day, and to share her special plans to Read If Forward for WRAD. Here is what she had to say:

"Reading is a skill that doesn’t come easily to everyone. I know this because it didn’t come easily to me.

As a preschooler, I looked forward to weekly story hour at the public library. As the librarian read aloud, I would allow myself to be transported on adventurous journeys where I would meet new people, explore new places, and learn new things. The way she read inspired me, and I couldn’t wait until the day that I could do the same.

In first grade I was in awe of a classmate who read well beyond his years. He confidently used different voices for each character and engaged his audience. Again, I was inspired and looked forward to the day that I, too, could read.

Our teacher separated the class into reading groups, each titled with bird names (Blue Birds, Red Birds, and Yellow Birds).  When called, we would flap our wings and quickly “fly” to our nest to read. The flock names were a nice way of grouping us into our reading skill level—below average, average or above average.  I longed to be in the group with the above-average birds.

I took my goal seriously and learned to read, as did many of my classmates, with the classic Dick and Jane readers.  “See Dick run. See Jane run. See Dick and Jane run. See Spot run.”  I didn’t like getting up in front of my classmates to read aloud, but even at that young age I knew it was what I had to do to become a better reader.

Curious George, Clifford the Big Red Dog, The Pokey Little Puppy, and Madeline set me on a path to discover the joy of reading.

Writer Alberto Manguel said, “At one magical instant in your early childhood, the page of a book—that string of confused, alien ciphers—shivered into meaning. Words spoke to you, gave up their secrets; at that moment, whole universes opened. You became, irrevocably, a reader."

I cherish that moment when I became the reader that I longed to be.  I celebrate World Read Aloud Day for the many children waiting for their moment and for the people, like me, whose moments permeate every aspect of our lives."

--Cathy Trementozzi, WRADvocate

Meet Regional WRADvocate Jennifer Reed!

Jennifer Reed is our amazing WRADvocate from Massachusetts. She is a librarian, a reader, and a self-proclaimed techie who loves using technology to capture the magic that happens when reader and story connect.

We asked Jennifer why she celebrates World Read Aloud Day, and to share her plans for March 6th. Here is what she had to say:

"I celebrate World Read Aloud Day because I believe in the power of story. Stories are a shared experience, they connect people, cultures, and continents. I have witnessed a new student with limited English make an instant connection with another student through a book. Not only are stories a shared experience, I believe that stories inform and inspire, transform and heal.  I have seen the impact of a story on my students.  Rich or poor, urban or rural, old or young, readers are readers.  Every child deserves this opportunity.  Reading is a right, not a privilege.  Join me in raising awareness of the importance of global literacy and help support LitWorld’s great programs.  Let’s Read it Forward.

I will celebrate by reading! At school, we’ll be reading to each other. We’ll also be connecting with other readers. We’ll start the day by Skyping with students in Germany. I have invited some special guest readers for the students in grade K-2. For my students in grades 3-5, we are planning Skype visits with other students as well as authors and illustrators.  The teachers in my school are excited to celebrate this day with me. I am planning on plying them with inspiring stories that will demonstrate the power of story. I can’t reveal all the details of the day, yet, but it promises to be very memorable."

Jennifer is also taking the World Read Aloud Day blogging challenge. Read her first and second posts, and for more inspiration visit her blog, Reederama. You can also find her on Twitter @libraryreeder.