World Read Aloud Day 2025
The Lower School enjoyed its second annual World Read Aloud Day to honor the joy and power of reading.
The visiting group was built from a list of hundreds of authors and illustrators — some selected to correspond to the classroom curriculum and some to introduce students to new authors and subject matter. “A few of the many highlights of the day were the tie-ins to curriculum: vermiculture in Yellow Group and the author of Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen, which I read to the second graders every year,” said Lower School Librarian Ms. Rivers.
For fourth graders writing about healthcare for their annual classroom Poetry Slam, their read-aloud book couldn’t have been more timely! Lisa Katzenberger read It Belongs to the World, a story about Frederick Banting, who discovered insulin. The book touched upon two topics some students are writing about — animal testing and health care costs.
Along with enjoying the read-alouds, students had the chance to ask the authors questions about the publishing process, how they work with illustrators, how they choose their subject matter, and why they became writers. The list of books and visiting authors is below!
- K Blue: Moon's Ramadan by Natasha Khan Kazi
- K Red: Moon's Ramadan by Natasha Khan Kazi
- K Yellow: Carl and the Meaning of Life by Deborah Freedman
- First Grade: I Want a Boat by Liz Scanlon and Shark Princess by Nidhi Chanani
- Second Grade: Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen by Debbi Michiko Florence
- Third Grade: Black Girl Magic by Sonja Thomas and Amah Faraway by Margaret Chiu Greanias
- Fourth Grade: It Belongs to the World by Lisa Katzenberger and Pura's Cuentos by Annette Pimentel
About World Read Aloud Day® (WRAD)
LitWorld founded World Read Aloud Day® (WRAD) in 2010 to celebrate the power of reading aloud to create community and amplify new stories and to advocate for literacy as a foundational human right. Since then, World Read Aloud Day has evolved into a global movement of millions of readers, writers, and listeners from communities all across the world coming together to honor the joy and power of reading and continue expanding the definition and scope of global literacy.
Burke's mission is to educate, encourage and empower girls. Our school combines academic excellence with an appreciation for childhood so that students thrive as learners, develop a strong sense of self, contribute to community, and fulfill their potential, now and throughout life.
Burke's admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.