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World Read Aloud Day 2022

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World Read Aloud Day

Back for its 13th year, World Read Aloud Day 2022 invites the world to slow down and sit down together on February 2, 20220, to read. Created by Litworld and sponsored by Scholastic, the yearly event is intended to bring people together in a common love of books and stories.

Image of conversation bubble saying World Read Aloud Day 2022 Save the date.

Scholastic and LitWorld to Host Free Virtual Event Series Leading Up to World Read Aloud Day Annual Celebration on February 2, 2022.

Virtual Events

This year, virtual events to mark World Read Aloud Day begin on January 31 and will continue through February 2. The events include sing-along sessions for the kids, chats about parenting, and a presentation with Q and A from I SURVIVED series author Lauren Tarshis. For a full list of events, click here.

All readers and event participants are encouraged to share the word with the #WorldReadAloud hashtag on social media — tell us what you’re reading and what you love!

((Like the I Survived series? Read MUF contributor Meira Drazin’s interview with her here.))

According to Scholastic,  173 countries celebrate this day of reading.

SLJ Best Books 2021

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‘Tis the season of giving and gratitude, and we at MUF are grateful to spy several of the authors we admire most make the School Library Journal Best Middle-Grade Books of 2021 list.

school library journal logo

The prestigious list includes 139 titles from seven categories, this year including “a breakout list of poetry.” (SLJ)  Many congratulations to all the authors. We’ve been lucky to feature two of them on our We Need Diverse MG Mixed-Up Files series and we’d love to feature more stars from the rest of this list in the coming year.

Chad Lucas

WNDMG Letting Boys Be Boys

Thanks A Lot, Universe Book Cover

Saadia Faruqi

Saadia Faruqi author photo

9-11 Book List and Yusuf Azeem is not a Hero book cover

Chrystal Giles

Take Back the Block book cover Chrystal D. Giles author photo

 

Shakirah Bourne

Josephine Against the Sea book cov erShakirah Bourne author photo

 

 

Remembering Gary Paulsen

Author Photo Gary Paulsen
Author Photo Gary Paulsen

Copyright: Brian Adams

Newbery Honor-winning author Gary Paulsen died suddenly last week. The prolific Paulsen, who wrote more than 200 books for children and adults, was 82 years old. His recurring theme–survival–echoed a hard childhood marked by parental abuse, alcoholism, and abandonment. In spite of his traumatic upbringing, Paulsen was able to transform those experiences into work that encouraged and inspired young readers to find their own strength and believe in themselves.

Hatchet Book Cover (Gary Paulsen)

His final book, NORTHWIND (Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux Books for Young Readers), will release in January 2022.