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Lindsay H. Metcalf

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Free Virtual Visits with Soaring ‘20s Authors for World Read Aloud Day

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Mark your calendars for February 7, 2024 — it’s World Read Aloud Day! 

LitWorld started World Read Aloud Day (WRAD) in 2010 to honor the power and joy of reading. To celebrate, authors and illustrators come together each year to offer virtual classroom visits around the world. 

Several Soaring ‘20s authors and illustrators still have spots available (see below). 

Most virtual visits go something like this:

1-2 minutes: Creator introduces themself and talks a little about their books.

3-5 minutes: Creator reads aloud a short picture book, or a short excerpt from a chapter book/novel

5-10  minutes: Creator answers a few questions from students about reading/writing.

1-2 minutes: Creator book-talks a couple books they love (but didn’t write/illustrate!) as recommendations for the kids.

Before you sign up, most authors request you have the following available.

  • School name, grade level/teacher name, and approximate number of students

  • Platform (ex. Zoom, Google Meet, Skype)

  • Cell phone number for day-of-event emergencies

NOTE: Please pay attention to each creator’s time zone when scheduling. We are located across the US!

To check availability and/or schedule with an individual creator, click on the links below.

Lindsay H. Metcalf

Sign-up link

Book: Outdoor Farm, Indoor Farm

8:30 am-2:50 pm Central Time

Angela Burke Kunkel

Sign-up link

Book (choose one): Digging for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built, Penguin Journey, or Make Way: The Story of Robert McCloskey, Nancy Schön, and Some Very Famous Ducklings

8:30 am-3:30 pm Eastern Time

Susan Kusel

Sign-up link

Book: The Passover Guest

8 am-2 pm ET

Candy Wellins

Sign-up link

Book: A Geoduck Is Not A Duck

9:30 am-3 pm CT

Patricia Newman

Sign-up link

Book (choose one): Any of my recently published titles

7:00 am-1:30 pm Pacific Time

Melanie Ellsworth

Sign-up link

Books: Clarinet and Trumpet, Hip, Hip…Beret!, and Battle of the Books

9:30 am-1:20 pm ET

Isabella Kung

Sign-up link

Books: No Fuzzball! and No Snowball!
9 am-1 pm PT

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2023 Gift Guide

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One of the best things about being part of a group of picture book creators is celebrating each other’s books. In past gift guides, where we recommended holiday gifts that paired well with our own books, we decided to change things up a bit this year! Below, you’ll find not one, but two sets of gift ideas for each book— each created by a different Soaring 20s member!

We hope you find something fun and unique for the children in your life. Happy holidays!

Alphabot by Vicky Fang 

Kirsten W. Larson’s picks:

LEGO Gear Bots 

Robbie Robot Stuffed Animal 

Pixar Wall-E Movie Night

Bisa’s Carnaval by Joana Pastro, illustrated by Carolina Coroa

Candy Wellins’s Picks:

Bear harmonica 

Cheetah face stickers

Colorful umbrellas

Melanie Ellsworth’s Picks:

Rainbow Hand Bells 

Grandparent’s Memory Book

Silk Dance Scarves

Eavesdropping on Elephants by Patricia Newman

Kirsten W. Larson’s picks:

3D Elephant Puzzle 

Schleich Wild Life Starter-Set 

Save the Elephants tee (benefitting Save the Elephants)

M.O. Yuksel’s picks:

Elephant Plush 

Elephant Puzzle

Elephant Coloring Book

Fire of Stars by Kirsten W. Larson, illustrated by Katherine Roy

Angela Burke Kunkel’s picks:

Starry Night Light 

Galaxy Skater Dress 

Glow in the Dark Wall Sticker Set 

Hooked on Books by Margaret Chiu Greanias, illustrated by Kristyna Litten

Angela Burke Kunkel’s picks:

Anglerfish Twirl Dress 

Marine Night Light 

Ocean Stuffed Animal Set 

How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias, illustrated by Melissa Iwai

Vicky Fang’s picks:

Red Panda Stuffy 

Create Your Own Book Kit 

Giant Panda Stuffy

Angela Burke Kunkel’s picks:

Red Panda Earrings

Kids’ Personalized Journal (available in red!)

Red Panda Pencil Case

Hurry, Little Tortoise, Time for School by Carrie Finison, illustrated by Erin Kraan

Candy Wellins’s picks:

Humorous tortoise t-shirt 

Sloth pencil-toppers 

Kids’ watch 

Margaret Chiu Greanias’s picks:

Sloth Bento Box

Plush Tortoise

Tortoise water bottle

Mabel’s Topsy-Turvy Homes by Candy Wellins, illustrated by Jess Rose

Vicky Fang’s Picks:

Iguana Stuffy 

Yellow Backpack 

Orange Notebook 

No World Too Big by Lindsay Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley 

Battle of the Books by Melanie Ellsworth, illustrated by James Rey Sanchez 

M.O. Yuksel’s picks:

Kids Night Light

Dinosaur Plush Toy

Kids PJ Set

Angela Burke Kunkel’s picks:

Sheep Christmas Ornament

Sheep Farmstay as a Family (check in your local area for tours and visits!)

Kids’ Aran Sheep Slip-On Slippers

One Wish by M. O. Yuksel, illustrated by Mariam Quraishi

One Turtle’s Last Straw: The Real-Life Rescue That Sparked a Sea Change by Elisa Boxer, illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns

20 Questions: Our First Stories

Welcome back to our series, 20 QUESTIONS!,

where we answer questions about writing, reading, and author life.

(Note that we enjoy the series so much we’ve reset for a second round of 20.)

This month’s question:

What’s the first thing you remember writing or drawing, and how old were you?

Kirsten W. Larson

“I still have my first books from first grade, a book about snowy owls and the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria, complete with probably the best illustrations I’ve ever drawn (and that’s not saying much). Even as a kid, I was intrigued by true stories.”

—Kirsten W. Larson, author of THE FIRE OF STARS: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars Are Made Of, illus. Katherine Roy (Chronicle Books, 2023)

Lindsay H. Metcalf

“I recently came across a treasure trove of stories that first-grade me wrote in 1988. Although there is some fiction (a romance about a waltzing ostrich), the most prevalent genre is personal essay, with such titles as ‘My Pet,’ ‘Teeth,’ and ‘I Like Baby Ducklings.’ I always thought I was a good speller, but, well . . . see for yourself.”

—Lindsay H. Metcalf, co-editor with Keila V. Dawson and Jeanette Bradley of NO WORLD TOO BIG: Young People Fighting Global Climate Change, illus. Jeanette Bradley (Charlesbridge, 2023)

Kim Rogers

“I wrote my first poem in the first grade. It was raining that day, and I was filled with so much emotion that I had to put it down on paper. I wrote it on one of our worksheets and drew a picture of a girl under an umbrella next to it. When I got it back, my teacher told me that she really liked what I’d written.”

—Kim Rogers, author of A LETTER FOR BOB, illus. Jonathan Nelson (Heartdrum, 2023) 

Valerie Bolling

“I wrote ‘poems’ in a bland, white marble composition book when I was six years old. Using the daily phonics lessons I’d learned, I created simple rhymes, like: There is a cat. It sat on a mat. It caught a rat.”

—Valerie Bolling, author of TOGETHER WE SWIM, illus. Kaylani Juanita (Chronicle, 2023)

Abi Cushman

“My parents bought me a blank book when I was in elementary school. I was very excited because I could make my story look like a REAL book. While this wasn’t the first thing I ever wrote, it was the first book I remember writing and illustrating. Here’s the logline: When Mr. Johnson falls ill with a disease no one knew of, Petunia the cat and Wilber the dog travel to Italy and starve on the street, until… Okay, there was no ending.”

—Abi Cushman, author-illustrator of WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD: A [Not So] Serious Guide (Greenwillow Books, 2023)

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