Though NEA’s Read Across America celebrates reading year-round, Read Across America Day on March 2 (and the entirety of National Reading Month) is a special time to call attention to the ongoing efforts of educators across the country who are working to make sure every student can find age-appropriate books in their schools that reflect and respect who they are and also help them appreciate and learn from the stories and experiences of others.
This year, NEA is celebrating Read Across America by bringing music and story together with a special partnership and program celebrating the 10th anniversary of the critically acclaimed best-selling novel in verse, The Crossover. In front of a live audience for the video cameras, poet and author Kwame Alexander is reading aloud the entirety of his award-winning title with accompaniment by jazz bassist Amy Shook.
Five twenty-five-minute videos of this engaging fusion of literature and music will be produced, with one released each day throughout the first week of March on NEA’s YouTube, Facebook, and NEA.org. This will give students across the country an opportunity to experience the rhythm and beat of the story of twin brothers navigating love, loyalty, and family on and off the basketball court in a whole new way!
Readers can tune in for a new episode every day beginning at 8:00 a.m. ET March 3 – 7, 2025. And if 8 a.m. sounds too early…don’t worry; it will play when you want to watch it.
