For 2019, World Read Aloud Day is February 1. That’s one week from today. Whether you are an author, a teacher or just someone who loves books, reading matters. LitWorld sponsors this global event and gathered statistics on why reading matters.
- Statistics gathered in 2016 show that 758 million adults – two thirds of them women – lack basic reading and writing skills.
- The poorly-literate are less likely to participate in democratic processes. Because of this, they have fewer chances to exercise their civil rights.
- Illiterate people earn 30-42% less than the literate.
So what can book lovers do to celebrate literature?
- Take your children to a reading event at the local library.
- If there isn’t an event scheduled, find a comfy spot in the children’s section and sit down to share a book aloud. No, you can’t be too loud but that’s okay.
- Read at a Scout or Youth meeting.
- If your child is in school, ask if you can come share a short story with the children.
- Take photos or videos of your children or yourself reading. Share the images on social media with the tag #WorldReadAloudDay. Don’t want pictures of your children on social media? Take photos that show the book covers instead of their faces.
LitWorld has a host of ideas including a list of books around certain themes. Check out all they have to offer here and make plans to read aloud next Friday. Hopefully, with a little help, I’ll have a video to share.
–SueBE
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