NY Times Best-Selling Author Peter H. Reynolds Partners With The Boch Center For World Read Aloud Day Featuring The Word Collector Reading & Workshop
The Boch Center Shubert Theatre Virtual Event Wednesday, February 7, 2024 10:00am ET
Virtual Live-Stream Registration Available Here
Boston, MA (Wednesday, January 31, 2024) – New York Times #1 best-selling children’s book author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds is returning to the Boch Center with a reading of his book The Word Collector as well as an interactive workshop with the Boch Center Education team at the historic Shubert Theatre on Wednesday, February 7, 2024 at 10:00AM ET to celebrate World Read Aloud Day. Virtual live-stream registration for the event is available here.
As part of the World Read Aloud celebration, Reynolds will also share a sneak peek of his brand-new storybook, which will release on March 5th - called The Reflection In Me. Kirkus Reviews noted that, “This empowering, beautifully written book makes clear that children—all of us, actually—need, at least occasionally, to give ourselves a good pep talk to remind ourselves of our value, talents, integrity, kindness, and goodness…even if we say those things only to ourselves.”
World Read Aloud Day is a day that celebrates the power of reading aloud to create community, amplify new stories and advocate for literacy as a foundational human right. World Read Aloud Day is a global movement of millions of readers, writers, and listeners from communities across the world coming together to honor the joy and power of reading and sharing stories and expand the definition and scope of global literacy.
In-person, the Boch Center expects to have well over 1,000 students from Boston Public Schools, Chelsea Public Schools, and more. To date, there are over 1,000 classrooms and schools registered for the live stream from coast to coast and 16 countries worldwide including Australia, Argentina, China, Croatia, India, Japan, Romania, Sierra Leone, United Arab Emirates, among others with the estimated virtual audience at 20,000 students.
Press are invited to attend the Shubert Theatre event, please RSVP to darren@luca-pr.com for access.
“We are thrilled to announce our participation in World Real Aloud Day and our continued partnership with the extraordinary Peter Reynolds for the second year in a row,” said Josiah Spaulding, President and CEO of the Boch Center. “This event embodies our commitment to education, community engagement and the transformative power of storytelling and we invite everyone to join us virtually on our Shubert Theatre stage.”
The upcoming World Read Aloud Day event is a part of an ongoing partnership between the Boch Center and FableVision/ Reynolds TLC. The organizations will also partner on future Boch Center Interactive Readings programs. Through innovative storytelling techniques, the Boch Center brings these stories to life in Boston-area neighborhoods with our professional teaching artists. In the last few years, the Boch Center has visited community and local sites such as Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston Centers for Youth and Families, Boston Public Libraries, Boys & Girls Clubs, early education centers, and hospitals in the Boston area. To date, Interactive Readings have reached nearly 8,000 children.
About The Boch Center
The Boch Center is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit performing arts institutions and a guardian of the historic Wang and Shubert Theatres. As New England’s largest cultural venue, the Boch Center is home to theater, classical and popular music, dance, comedy, opera, Broadway musicals, family entertainment, and more. Located in Boston’s historic Theater District, the Boch Center also offers a diverse mix of educational, cultural and community outreach initiatives, including the City Spotlights Leadership Program and the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame; collaborates with artists and local nonprofit arts organizations; preserves historic venues; and acts as a champion for Greater Boston’s arts and cultural community. Learn more at bochcenter.org.
Connect with us on social!
facebook.com/bochcenter/ | twitter.com/BochCenter | instagram.com/BochCenter #WRAD24
About Peter H. Reynolds
Peter H. Reynolds (www.peterhreynolds.com) is a New York Times best-selling author and illustrator, creativity advocate, and founder of FableVision Studios (www.fablevisionstudios.com), an award-winning educational multimedia development company, as well as FableVision Learning (www.FableVisionLearning.com), a K12 educational media & technology resource hub in Dedham, MA. Peter and his twin brother Paul launched the non-profit, The Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning, and Creativity (TLC) (www.ReynoldsTLC.org,) which supports hands-on creativity and constructionist technology skills through a wide range of PD programs, student-driven digital storytelling, video/audio/animation production resources, and story-powered social and emotional programs. RC-TLC’s TLC Studios, a hands-on media and professional development lab is planned to open this summer in Dedham, Ma. Reynolds’ goal is “to help children protect their creative spirit and give their parents, teachers, and caregivers the support and tools to bravely make their mark in learning, creative self-expression, and civic problem-solving.”
In 2007, Peter received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from his undergraduate alma mater, Fitchburg State University, in recognition of his “substantial contributions to education and the arts.” He was named Verizon Literacy Champion for his “tireless efforts in promoting reading, writing and self-expression”, and was also awarded the Champion of Arts Education Advocacy Award at the Massachusetts’ Statehouse for his “amazing work supporting & promoting arts education.” Reynolds was also recognized by the publishing industry with theVisionary Award by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for his “insight and exceptional leadership.”
The Word Collector, written and illustrated by Reynolds, was honored as an Outstanding Literary Work for Children by the NAACP. The book was also chosen as global read aloud by President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama during the pandemic, as part of the Chicago Public Library’s Live from the Library series.