Worldwide at least 793 million people remain illiterate.

We must join our voices and firmly move towards achieving Global Literacy together.

EDUCATE Read aloud with loved ones or new friends and talk together about the importance of global literacy, marking this as a special day of reading!

Visit litworld.org for recommendations, worksheets, read-alouds, videos and other resources to help guide and inspire you.

ADVOCATE Spread the word about World Read Aloud Day and the Global Literacy Movement to your friends and followers or host an event in your area to rally around this urgent cause. Help us reach more than one million participants, joining forces and reading together in honor of this day.

INNOVATE Share World Read Aloud Day with friends across the globe by using video chat and tuning into LitWorld’s special live webcasts. When you register for World Read Aloud Day at litworld.org, let us know if you would like us to match you up with a special guest reader!

World Read Aloud Day is about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people. World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words, especially those words that are shared from one person to another, and creates a community of readers advocating for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology. By raising our voices together on this day we show the world’s children that we support their future: that they have the right to read, to write, and to share their words to change the world. Visit litworld.org to join the story.

Detailed Schedule with Special Guest Profiles:

10:00 - 11:30 AM: Children’s Books Read Aloud Session

Pam Allyn, Reading from New Day, New Friends (by C. Alexander London) Pam Allyn is the Executive Director of LitLife and LitWorld, renowned organizations working to promote literacy. She is the author of many acclaimed books for educators and families, including "Pam Allyn's Best Books for Boys" (Scholastic 2011) and "Your Child's Writing Life" (Penguin/Avery 2011). She is considered a leading advocate and expert on childhood literacy development and quality education as a human right that belongs to all children. Her campaign Books for Boys has won many awards for its success, and she has been featured on television and the blogosphere, including The Today Show, Good Morning America and the Huffington Post. She is the founder of World Read Aloud Day, now in its third year and reaching hundreds of thousands of children. Pam is the Global Ambassador for Scholastic's Read Every Day, Lead a Better Life Campaign. Follow Pam Allyn on Facebook and on Twitter @pamallyn.

11:30 - 1:30 PM: Children’s Workshops

Sam Ita, Learn to Create a Pop-Ip Book!

Born in 1978, Sam Ita grew up in a small town near the Canadian border. He studied graphic design at Pratt Institute. After working as a petticab driver and luggage salesman, Sam eventually answered a classified ad in the Village Voice, which led to his first job as a "paper engineer." He has since applied his unique abilities to such fields as publishing, advertising, and toy design. His first book; A Comic / Pop Up Book adaptation of Moby Dick was officially selected for Illinois First Lady, Patricia Blagojevich's Reading Club. His latest book, "The Odyssey: A Pop-Up Book," received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and The Kirkus Review. He currently lives and works in Queens. Visit his website at www.samita.us.

During this workshop participants will learn basic paper engineering techniques and use them to create their own pop up books.

Ryan Sias, Creating Silly Stories Workshop

Ryan Sias is the author and illustrator of "Zoe and Robot - Let's Pretend!", one of Kirkus best graphic books for kids. He illustrated "Are You Eating Something Red?" and a book of placemats "Are You Eating Something Green?" His comics have also been featured in Mad & Nickelodeon magazine. Ryan was a story boarder for the movie, Robots, Noggin show "Pink Dinky Doo" and worked with Sesame Workshop. Ryan lives in New York City with his brother. Make sure to check out Ryan’s website, Ryansias.com and follow Ryan on Twitter @ryansias.

During the Silly Stories workshop Ryan will share his book “Zoe and Robot – Let’s Pretend!” to begin an interactive workshop about character and story development. Collectively the children will create a silly character with Ryan’s help. They will put that character in a story written by the group. This workshop stimulates creative thinking and introduces kids to concepts of structure, character, setting, and other basics of story-telling and cartooning.

Hands in Motion

Hands in Motion Professional Sign Language Interpreters was established in 2006 by Janice B. Rimler. Hands in Motion provides communication services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals in their daily interactions. To give back to a community that has been welcoming since she began studying ASL in 1981, Janice created the Learning Center with low cost classes for Deaf participants of all ages. Hands in Motion will join LitWorld and sign during the morning read aloud session and will conduct a fun workshop exploring the possibility of telling your story through sign language. Learn more at www.allhandsinmotion.com.

1:30 - 3:30 PM: All Ages Read Aloud Session

Debbie Dadey, reading from Mermaids Don’t Run Track

Debbie Dadey is the author and co-author of ten children's series, including the Adventures of the Bailey School Kids series, a Publisher's Weekly bestseller and one of Scholastic's top three best-selling series of all time. This former librarian and teacher strives to write stories that touch every young reader. With 151 books and 48 million copies of titles like Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots and The Worst Name in Third Grade, Debbie reaches even the most reluctant readers. Watch for her new series coming in May, Mermaid Tales form Simon and Schuster. The first book is Trouble at Trident Academy. Find out more at www.debbiedadey.com or Facebook at Debbie Dadey.

Caroline Leavitt, reading from Charlotte’s Web

Caroline Leavitt is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Pictures of You and 8 other novels. Pictures of you made the Best Books of 2011 List from the San Francisco Chronicle, Providence Journal, Bookmarks Magazine and Kirkus named it one of the Top 5 Books of 2011 on Family and Love. It was also a San Francisco Chronicle Lit Pick and a Costco Pennie's Pick. She teaches novel writing at UCLA Writers Program online and she is a book critic for the Boston Globe, People Magazine, Shoptopia and Dame Magazine. She lives in Hoboken, NJ with her husband the writer, Jeff Tamarkin and their son Max. She can be reached through carolineleavitt.com, found on Facebook at Caroline Leavitt and on Twitter @leavittnovelist. Check out Caroline’s blog at carolineleavittville.blogspot.com/

Walter Dean Myers, National Ambassador for Young People's Literature 2012-2013

Walter Dean Myers, the new National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature—a post that raises national awareness of the importance of young people’s literature, is a critically acclaimed author of books for young people. His award-winning body of work includes “Sunrise Over Fallujah,” “Fallen Angels,” “Monster,” “Somewhere in the Darkness” and “Harlem.” Myers has received two Newbery Honor Awards and five Coretta Scott King Awards. He is the winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award (for excellence in young adult literature, given by the American Library Association) as well as the first recipient of Kent State University's Virginia Hamilton Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2008, he won the May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture Award. He is considered one of the preeminent writers for young people. In 2010, Myers received the Rutgers University Award for Literature for Young Adults, from the New Jersey Center for the Book and the Rutgers School of Communications. Walter Dean Myers lives with his wife in Jersey City, N.J. He was born in Martinsburg, W.Va., and grew up in Harlem. Find Walter on Facebook at Walter Dean Myers.

Katherine Paterson

Katherine Paterson served as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature 2010-2011. Her international fame rests not only on her widely acclaimed novels but also on her efforts to promote literacy in the United States and abroad. She is a two-time winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award, and she has received many other accolades for her works, including the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, given by her home state of Vermont. Katherine Paterson was also named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress in 2000. She lives in Barre, Vermont, with her husband, John Paterson. Find Katherine on Facebook at Katherine Paterson.

3:30 - 4:30 PM: Workshops for Middle Schoolers through Young Adults

Figment

Figment is an online community for teens and young adults to create, discover, and share new reading and writing. Whatever you’re into, from sonnets to mysteries, from sci-fi stories to cell phone novels, you can find it on Figment. During this workshop participants will come together in groups and use the Figment platform to write and share their own stories. LitWorld and Figment will provide writing prompts and tips to get you started! Check out Figment on Facebook at Figment and Twitter @figmentfiction.

The Peace Poets

The Peace Poets are a community based arts collective from New York City committed to teaching with a focus on collective liberation and the creation of fresh art that reflects love, loss and life. Their mission is to create safe space for inner-city youth to express themselves artistically and discover their true potential as community members and leaders. The Peace Poets will conduct a workshop exploring the power or poetry and spoken words as a vehicle for telling your story. Find The Peace Poets on Facebook and on Twitter @ThePeacePoets.

4:30 - 7:00 PM: Young Adult Read Aloud Session

Peter Lerangis, Reading from "The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers Book #3: The Dead of Night"

Peter Lerangis is a New York Times bestselling author who has penned three books in the worldwide bestselling multi-platform adventure series The 39 Clues: Book 3: The Sword Thief, Book 7: The Viper’s Nest, and with Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, and Jude Watson, he co-authored Book 11: Vespers Rising. Lerangis has written The Dead of Night, the newest installment in The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers, a brand new story arc of the widely popular series set to publish in March 2012. This groundbreaking series has more than 11 million books in print worldwide and 1.7 million registered online game users to date. Lerangis is also the author of numerous books for young readers in many different genres including mystery (the Spy X series), historical fiction (Smiler’s Bones) and science fiction (the Watchers series). Peter has an extensive social media following and can be reached via Twitter @peterlerangis and through his official website peterlerangis.com/.