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

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.

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Lindsay H. Metcalf

Sign-up link

Book: Outdoor Farm, Indoor Farm

8:30 am-2:50 pm Central Time

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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

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Susan Kusel

Sign-up link

Book: The Passover Guest

8 am-2 pm ET

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Candy Wellins

Sign-up link

Book: A Geoduck Is Not A Duck

9:30 am-3 pm CT

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Patricia Newman

Sign-up link

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

7:00 am-1:30 pm Pacific Time

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Melanie Ellsworth

Sign-up link

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

9:30 am-1:20 pm ET

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Isabella Kung

Sign-up link

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

Soaring '20s on World Read Aloud Day

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Mark your calendars for February 3, 2021 — 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. This year, teachers and librarians have their pick of 15 Soaring ‘20s creators!

Most virtual visits go something like this:

• 1-2 minutes: Creator introduces themself and talks a little about his or her 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. Skype, Zoom, Google Meet)

• Skype name or link to virtual meeting

• Cell phone number for day-of-event emergencies

NOTE: Please pay attention to each creators’ time zone when scheduling, as we are located across the U.S.!

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

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Angela Burke Kunkel

(DIGGING FOR WORDS):
FULLY BOOKED

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Candy Wellins

(SATURDAYS ARE FOR STELLA):
FULLY BOOKED

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Carrie Finison

(DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS/
DON’T HUG DOUG):
FULLY BOOKED

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Elisa Boxer

(THE VOICE THAT WON THE VOTE): Noon-1 p.m. ET

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Kelly Carey

(HOW LONG IS FOREVER?):
9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. ET

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Kirsten W. Larson

(WOOD, WIRE, WINGS):
11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. ET

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Kjersten Hayes

(THE ELEPHANTS’ GUIDE TO HIDE-AND-SEEK):
FULLY BOOKED

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Lindsay H. Metcalf

(BEATRIX POTTER, SCIENTIST/NO VOICE TOO SMALL/ FARMERS UNITE!):
FULLY BOOKED

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Isabella Kung

(NO FUZZBALL!):
FULLY BOOKED

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Joana Pastro

(LILLYBELLE, A DAMSEL NOT IN DISTRESS): FULLY BOOKED

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Julie Rowan-Zoch

(LOUIS): FULLY BOOKED

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Rajani LaRocca

(SEVEN GOLDEN RINGS/MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM/RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE): FULLY BOOKED

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Saira Mir

(MUSLIM GIRLS RISE):
FULLY BOOKED

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Susan Kusel

(THE PASSOVER GUEST):
9 a.m.-3 p.m. ET

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Vicky Fang

(LAYLA AND THE BOTS/I CAN CODE/INVENT-A-PET):
FULLY BOOKED

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Can’t connect with a Soaring ‘20s creator? Find more available authors on author Kate Messner’s website.

20 Questions: 'Dear Younger Me...'

By Elisa Boxer and Kjersten Hayes

Welcome back to our series, 20 QUESTIONS!

This is the place where we here at the Soaring ’20s answer questions about our debut picture book process.

We’re one month into 2020 (gasp!), looking ahead to all that awaits us during our debut year.

But we’re also looking back, taking stock of what we wish we’d known before this whole journey began.

Today’s question:

“What’s your best piece of advice for your younger author/illustrator self? “

Rajani LaRocca

Rajani LaRocca, author of the picture book SEVEN GOLDEN RINGS and the middle-grade book MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM: “Lean into the stuff that makes you weird. It’s also what makes you and your writing interesting! Also, just when you’re thinking of giving up on something is when the breakthrough comes.”

Kjersten Hayes

Kjersten Hayes, author of THE ELEPHANTS’ GUIDE TO HIDE-AND-SEEK: “Please, younger self, stop sabotaging by rarely submitting. It can be just as painful to hide as it is to share. Also, make a fool of yourself more often — boldly saying YES to your adventurous, risky, beautiful efforts, even when they fall horribly short. Those failures are likely the exact opportunities you need to build on to make your work better. Stop being scared of your mistakes.”

Mary Wagley Copp

Mary Wagley Copp, author of WHEREVER I GO: “Keep at it! It is a roller coaster of a ride, and while the lows ARE low, the highs ARE high — and worth working toward. It is okay to feel discouraged, but don’t stay in that place. Get up, dust off, and write!”

Lindsay H. Metcalf

Lindsay H. Metcalf, author of BEATRIX POTTER, SCIENTIST and FARMERS UNITE!, and co-editor of NO VOICE TOO SMALL: “Patience, young Padawan. Don’t submit work that’s not the best thing you’ve ever written. Would you want to make a mediocre book? No. So don’t send mediocre submissions just because you’re tired of futzing with them.”

Kelly Baptist

Kelly Baptist, author of THE ELECTRIC SLIDE AND KAI: “Don’t wait! Don’t let life get in the way of your passion. No matter how busy or complicated life becomes, you MUST make space for writing. Dreams are great, but you have to wake up and work to achieve them. Time doesn’t wait, so you shouldn’t either!”

Hope Lim

Hope Lim, author of I AM A BIRD: “Your best story ideas come from personal experiences, described and retold from your own unique perspective.”

Kirsten W. Larson

Kirsten W. Larson, author of WOOD, WIRE, WINGS: EMMA LILIAN TODD INVENTS AN AIRPLANE: “It’s OK to write what you love. For me, that’s true stories. There is tremendous creativity and craft in writing nonfiction, and lots of challenge too, because you have to stick to the facts.”

Anna Crowley Redding

Anna Crowley Redding, author of RESCUING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: “Keep going. Don’t give up! Go to as many workshops and classes as possible!”

Abi Cushman

Abi Cushman, author/illustrator of SOAKED!: “Put in the work and then put it (and yourself) out there. Doing the work is the only thing you can control in this industry, plus you’ll gradually improve as you build and build upon your skillset over time. Putting yourself and your work out there allows you to develop lots of long-lasting kidlit friendships, in addition to a nice thick skin.”

Qing Zhuang

Qing Zhuang, illustrator of HOW LONG IS FOREVER: “Invest in craft-based art classes and trust your instincts on which medium to focus on. Don’t give yourself so much pressure — You have the right to practice art in a joyful, carefree way as much as anyone else. Take care of your mental and physical health, and try not to take on too much in student loans!

Vicky Fang

Vicky Fang, author of INVENT-A-PET: “Write lots of stuff! Experiment, push, and find great partners.”

Melanie Ellsworth

Melanie Ellsworth, author of CLARINET AND TRUMPET: “Just go for it! And stick with it. Listen to the critiques and edit — a lot! But don’t change your story so much that it loses its heart.”

Susan Kusel

Susan Kusel, author of THE PASSOVER GUEST: “Somebody really is going to want to publish your story based on an obscure Yiddish folktale. It will take about a decade, but don’t give up. One day you’ll see it in print. No kidding.”

Kelly Carey

Kelly Carey, author of HOW LONG IS FOREVER?: “Be patient and trust that the hard work and tentative steps outside of your comfort zone are going to bring you rewards beyond that published book proudly clutched in your hands. You’ll enjoy the long road to publication and you’ll find like-minded friends who will enrich your journey more than you can know.”

Candy Wellins

Candy Wellins, author of SATURDAYS ARE FOR STELLA: “‘Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never…’ It comes from a speech Winston Churchill made during World War II, but it’s the best encouragement I’ve ever heard for doing anything that’s tough. You want to be a writer, but are scared of rejection. Ideas come easily, but you struggle plotting them. Your story has been on submission for months and you still haven’t heard anything. It’s so easy to give in. But if writing is your passion, you have to stick with it and weather all the storms.”

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Now . . . over to you! What’s your best piece of advice for your younger author/illustrator self? Let us know in the comments below.