My niece Kayla reading aloud to Tico the cat. Tico looks like he may have heard this story a few times before.

LitWorld is a nonprofit organization that works to promote global literacy through advocacy, access, and education. Their founder, Pam Allyn, talks about the impressive work they are doing in this article in the Huffington Post. Today is the second annual World Read Aloud Day, the aim of which is to bring greater awareness and support to the global literacy movement. To find out more about LitWorld and the different ways people are celebrating World Read Aloud Day visit their website.

When I think about it, my life has been filled with memories of being read aloud to or reading aloud to others. Reading aloud with my parents, brother, other family members, pets, friends both imaginary and real, teachers, classmates, librarians, children I babysat, campers, students, friend’s children, and my most favorite read aloud crowd of the present day: my niece and nephew.

Aren’t they the cutest? This was several years ago. Lifelong book lovers, these two.

I also have memories of being read aloud to over the phone by the weekly Dial-A-Story program at my library. I had the number memorized and would dial it on our rotary phone, sit on the scratchy shag carpet in our den, and listen to the pre-recorded story of the week.

Here are a few of my favorite read aloud selections:

My childhood favorite, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd. My mom tells me I wanted this read to me pretty much every night.

Another great read aloud is The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood. It’s a clever, interactive story between the reader and the mouse. It’s long been one of my favorite picks to read to little ones.

And, of course, Shel Silverstein poems are always fun to read aloud. Did you know you can have Shel Silverstein himself read aloud to you? (I was surprised at the spooky way some of these were recited, like “Bear in There”. I always read that with a sillier tone. That’s another fun thing about reading aloud–hearing the different ways people interpret a story.)

Here’s a poem from A Light in the Attic that makes me giggle. Read aloud with me now:

What are some of your favorites to read aloud to others or to have read to you?