The Global Read Aloud was born due to Neil Gaiman and lazy summer night’s ride in the car listening to NPR. Being a massive Neil Gaiman fan, I immediately turned up the dial when his name was mentioned and was enthralled with the report of the One Book – One Twitter project happening that summer. In a moment of admiration, I turned to my husband, Brandon, and asked him why someone had not done that with kids and his reply was; “Why don’t you?”
So I did. A few days later a blog post was written inviting people to join some sort of a read aloud using some sort of tools to connect kids through a book. I had no plan, I had few answers, but I had an idea and sometimes that is all it takes. That year, in September 2010, the very first Global Read Aloud book The Little Prince was read aloud to about 150 kids through 60 different facilitators and it was amazing. Since then the project has grown organically through the passion people that participate.
Participant Count and Year
2010 = 150 kids
2011 = 6,000 kids
2012 = 30,000 kids
2013 = 144,000 kids
2014 = 308,000 kids
2015 = 573,000 kids
2016 = 1,000,000 kids and I stopped counting
The Global Read continues to grow because of the incredible people that participate and the amazing books that authors create. It continues to be a free project, where the only thing you need is the book and some way to connect with others. Who knows where this project will go, but one thing is for sure; we are connecting the world through a book every single year.
Past Books
The thing that makes the Global Read Aloud truly incredible is the amazing books that have been the center of the project since its inception. Since 2012, the GRA has also been lucky enough to have some of the authors involved during the six weeks. This has only elevated the project to a new level of connectivity
2010:
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
2011:
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
2012:
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
- To see Katherine’s final Q&A video, go here
2013:
- To see Kate’s week 1 Q&A, go here
- To see Kate’s week 2 Q&A, go here
- To see Kate’s week 3 Q&A, go here
- To see Kate’s week 4 Q&A, go here
- To see Kate’s week 5 Q&A, go here
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
- To see Sharon’s final Q&A video, go here
2014:
Peter H. Reynolds author study
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jenni Holm
- To see Jenni’s final Q&A video, go here
One for the Murphy’s by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
- To see Lynda’s final Q&A Video, go here
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
2015:
Amy Krouse Rosenthal author study
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina
2016:
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt
All American Boys by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds
2017:
Mem Fox author study
Fenway and Hattie by Victoria Coe
- To see Victoria’s week 1 Q&A, go here
- To see Victoria’s week 2 Q&A, go here
- To see Victoria’s week 3 Q&A, go here
- To see Victoria’s week 4 Q&A, go here
- To see Victoria’s week 5 Q&A, go here
- To see Victoria’s week 6 Q&A, go here
- To see Victoria’s Resource Padlet, go here
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
2018:
Julie Flett and Monique Gray Smith author study
A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold
Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
2019:
Yuyi Morales author study
Stella Diaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez
The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
2020:
Juana Martinez-Neal author
Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian and illustrations by Nasaya Mafaridik
Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis and Traci Sorrell
Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park
Stamped – Racism, Antiracism, and you by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
All About the Books
Here at the Global Read Aloud, I know that it is all about the books. It is all about that read aloud that we share that make our classrooms go quiet, that makes the students beg for one more page, for the satisfaction and sadness that comes from finishing a read aloud. I take books very seriously and finding the books for the GRA is something I hold very dear. The GRA has since 2018 in particular been focused on highlighting voices who focus on #OwnVoices experiences as well as allow us to have broad global conversations.
If you are an author and want to submit your own book, go here.
If you are a reader and want to submit an idea for a book, fill out this form
To see the past books that have been chosen, go here.
To see how books are chosen, go here.
To see past and current contenders, go here.
The Global Read Aloud 