The Global Read Aloud 2026
Picture Books and Elementary Chapter Book Selections đź“–
Kick-off this year is October 5th and we run until November 13th-ish.
You can absolutely fall behind or start later, just don’t read ahead.
- The official hashtag for the year is #GRA26
#GRADan (for picture books)
#GRAGrowing (early chapter book)
#GRASnap (upper elementary chapter book) - Global Read Aloud 2026 webpage
- For a comprehensive FAQ post, go here
- To join the main Facebook group, please go here. To join the picture book author Facebook group, please go here. This is where news will be posted for the most part.
Week 1:The Adventures of Beekle the Unimaginary Friend
Author: Dan Santat
Illustrator: Dan Santat
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, 2014
Description:
This magical story begins on an island far away where an imaginary friend is born. He patiently waits his turn to be chosen by a real child, but when he is overlooked time and again, he sets off on an incredible journey to the bustling city, where he finally meets his perfect match and-at long last-is given his special name: Beekle.
New York Times bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Dan Santat combines classic storytelling with breathtaking art, creating an unforgettable tale about friendship, imagination, and the courage to find one's place in the world.
Week 2: After the Fall
After the Fall
Author: Dan Santat
Illustrator: Dan Santat
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 2017
Description:
My name is Humpty Dumpty.
I'm famous for falling off a wall.
(You may have heard about it.)
But that's only half the story...
Because I decided to get back up.
And when I did, something amazing happened.
This story is about my life...
AFTER THE FALL.
Inspiring and unforgettable, this epilogue to the beloved classic nursery rhyme will encourage even the most afraid to overcome their fears, learn to get back up--and reach new heights.
Week 3: Don't Trust Fish
Author: Neil Sharpson
Illustrator: Dan Santat
Publisher: Dial Books, 2025
Description:
Why, dear reader, must you NEVER EVER trust fish?
1) They spend all their time in the water where we can’t see them.
2) Some are as big as a bus—that is not okay.
3) We don't know what they're teaching in their "schools."
4) They are likely plotting our doom.
This nature-guide-gone-wrong is a hilarious, off-the-rails exploration of the seemingly innocent animals that live in the water.
Week 4: Harold & Hog Pretend for Real!
Author: Dan Santat
Illustrator: Dan Santat
Publisher: Hyperion Books, 2019
Description:
Hog is careful. Harold is not. Harold cannot help smiling. Hog can. Hog worries so that Harold does not have to.
Harold and Hog are best friends. But can Harold and Hog's friendship survive a game of pretending to be Elephant & Piggie?
Week 5: Are We There Yet?
Author: Dan Santat
Illustrator: Dan Santat
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2016
Description:
"Are we there yet?" Every parent has heard this classic kid question on a long car ride--and after reading this astonishingly inventive new book (that even turns upside down for several pages!), you'll never look at being bored the same way again.
Let's face it: everyone knows that car rides can be boring. And when things get boring, time slows down. In this book, a boy feels time slowing down so much that it starts going backward--into the time of pirates! Of princesses! Of dinosaurs! The boy was just trying to get to his grandmother's birthday party, but instead he's traveling through Ancient Egypt and rubbing shoulders with Ben Franklin. When time flies, who knows where--or when--he'll end up.
Week 6: Drawn Together
Author: Minh LĂŞ
Illustrator: Dan Santat
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, June 2018
Description:
When a young boy visits his grandfather, their lack of a common language leads to confusion, frustration, and silence. But as they sit down to draw together, something magical happens—with a shared love of art and storytelling, the two form a bond that goes beyond words.
Resources:
Growing Home
Growing Home
Author: Beth Ferry
Illustrator: The Fan Brothers
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025
Description:
Ivy is the beloved houseplant of young Jillian Tupper of Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, much to the constant dismay of Toasty the goldfish, who is technically the family pet—swimming in his special place of honor, the antique octagonal fish tank—and should be the most loved. It seems that’s how the cookie (or cheese puffs, in Toasty’s case) crumbles in the curious Tupper household, but soon a sequence of thrilling and magical events challenges that way of life forever.
First, there’s the arrival of Arthur, a knowledgeable spider with a broken leg and a curious mind, hidden in an old typewriter. Then Jillian throws everyone for a loop when she brings home dear, sweet Ollie, a school houseplant who just wants to be friends and sing. When Toasty splashes the plants with his tank water out of frustration, the friends learn that they can do magical things—like lift heavy objects and turn things invisible!
It turns out Toasty’s fishtank isn’t just for fish; it was made by a curious inventor who gave it special powers that, in the wrong hands, could disrupt everything forever. And a curious man with purple shoes just so happens to want that tank at any cost. Can Ivy, Toasty, Arthur, and Ollie grow to be friends in time to work together to save their beloved Tupper family from utter ruin?
Reading Breakdown:
Week 1: Pages 1 – 43
Week 2: Pages 44 – 91
Week 3: Pages 95 – 138
Week 4: Pages 139 – 169
Week 5: Pages 173 – 207
Week 6: Pages 208 – end
The Second Life of Snap
Bright Valley Subsidized Camp #5 is not a perfect place to live. It’s dusty, there are no trees to provide respite from the beating sun, the trailers are falling apart, and the water supply is heavily rationed. But to twelve-year-old Zuzu Santos and her three best friends, Bright Valley is home.
When Zuzu’s dad loses his job at Lockwood, the corporation that controls everything from rations to education, he isn’t given money or food or water as severance, but a dated, first-generation robot. They do not provide a working charging station. Zuzu names the robot Snap, and he soon becomes part of the Bright Valley family. But Snap’s battery is dwindling every day, and though Snap is prepared for his inevitable reset, Zuzu isn’t. She would do whatever it takes to keep Snap alive. The problem is, Snap would do the same for Zuzu and her friends, no matter the cost.
Reading Breakdown:
Week 1: Pages 1-31
Week 2: Pages 32 – 53
Week 3: Pages 54 – 82
Week 4: Pages 83 – 109
Week 5: Pages 110 – 139
Week 6: Pages 140 – end