Menlo Park Library celebrates World Read Aloud Day on Feb. 1

February 1 is World Read Aloud Day, when readers of all ages celebrate literacy and the “pure joy and power of reading aloud!”

The Menlo Park Library will celebrate by reading aloud from some of our favorite picture books. Feel free to come early to read with your young one, or to stop by for all or part of our celebration of reading, or to have your own one-on-one storytime with your youngster after the main event! The action takes place from 2:00 to 4:00 pm in the Children’s Reading Room.

In an ongoing effort to encourage reading aloud to kids of all ages, the global literacy non-profit LitWorld created World Read Aloud Day, an advocacy day that calls attention to the importance of reading aloud and sharing stories. Research from Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report found a majority of children ages 6–17 from the U.S., U.K., Australia, India, and Canada reported they love (or loved) read-aloud time at home because “it’s a special time with my parent,” yet many parents stop reading aloud to their children as they get older.

Since its inception in 2010, World Read Aloud Day has reached people in 65 countries and all 50 states, as an advocacy day that asserts the right to read and write for all people.