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Children’s Book Council Rallies to Read

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation’s leading children’s literacy nonprofit, is launching the third annual Rally to Read 100 (RallytoRead.org)—a six-month initiative that runs from October 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, designed to inspire the joy of reading and motivate children to read, starting with a pledge to read 100 books. 

“Rally to Read 100 provides the opportunity to drive reading joy through popular author read-alouds, a book pledge, and reading activities. We know that the joy of reading leads to greater reading frequency, motivation, and engagement. And RIF is fortunate to have partners, including the Children’s Book Council, who share in our mission and are supporting Rally to Read by ensuring as many families and educators as possible are aware of this free reading engagement initiative. Together, we are creating a nation of readers.” —Alicia Levi, President & CEO

Carl Lennertz, CBC Executive Director, added: “We are very happy to partner again with RIF and this important new reading campaign. The book banning crisis is about subtraction; RIF’s work and the Rally to Read is about addition and expanding choices, and highlighting the FUN in Fundamental and in book reading.”

Building on the success of last year’s event, in which over 800,000 books were pledged to be read, RIF will once again unite classrooms and communities across the country with a reading initiative anchored on monthly themes and supported by a diverse lineup of author read-alouds. There will also be a book collection sweepstakes, a variety of engaging reading activities for the home and school (some of which are in Spanish), plus a live virtual event hosted at a Barnes & Noble’s store in New York to celebrate Read Across America Day in March 2024.  All of the free literacy resources and activities are available at RallytoRead.org.

RALLY TO READ 100 PROGRAM ELEMENTS: 

  • Pledge to Read 100 Books: Participants can pledge to read 100 books over six months and receive engaging content and book recommendations to support this goal. 
  • Book Sweepstakes: 100 randomly selected eligible educators will each win 100 specially curated diverse books donated by Barnes & Noble to enhance their school’s library and classrooms.
  • Monthly-Themed Events: Each month features topics ranging from community and inquiry to wellness and culture with activities for fun, engaging time spent exploring books; companion activities; and video-recorded read-alouds by noteworthy authors and illustrators, many whom are sharing recently released new books. 

READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY CELEBRATION EVENT: 

The nationwide online event will be simulcasted from a Barnes & Noble’s store in New York City in March 2024 with a high-profile host and guests (to be announced) and will be live-streamed to homes and classrooms across the country.

Reading Is Fundamental is proud to recognize the generous support of its partners:  Inspiration Partners include Barnes & Noble, Macy’s, and Nellie Mae Education Foundation; and Promotional Partners include Children’s Book Council, Coalition for Literacy Equity, Every Child a Reader, Kiwanis International, Little Free Library, National PTA, Penguin Random House, Reading Partners, and United Through Reading.

About Reading Is Fundamental

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is committed to creating a nation of lifelong readers by inspiring the joy of reading among all children, putting them on the path to becoming skilled readers. We provide free, high-quality content to engage children, educators, families, and literacy advocates in the solution to the U.S. literacy crisis—so that every child has the fundamentals for success. As the nation’s leading children’s literacy nonprofit, RIF has provided nearly 430 million books and reading resources to over 160 million children since 1966, impacting generations of children. Explore our results and learn more about partnering with us at www.RIF.org.