Our virtual K-12 school author talk program brings the magic of stories to inspire, educate, and connect with students in the classroom.
We created BookBreak with a mission to make transformative literacy events accessible to every classroom while aligning with curriculum standards. Our innovative platform connects students with renowned authors virtually, allowing schools to participate who would not normally be able to afford the speaking fees of bestselling authors. With BookBreak, you can offer your students the excitement and inspiration of a live author event, empowering them to thrive as readers and writers.
With over 2,000 subscribing schools and counting, our goal is to embed author talks as an integrated component of student learning. By seamlessly integrating these virtual author sessions into your curriculum, you’ll ignite a fire for reading, kindle a passion for writing, and captivate even the most reluctant readers. These interactive experiences are more than just talks—they’re a catalyst for transforming student motivation and cultivating a vibrant school-wide culture of reading.
Encouraging students to think critically and engage in literature in meaningful ways.
BookBreak Middle School
Deepening reading engagement and core literacy skills as high school students prepare for their future.
BookBreak High School
BookBreak brings bestselling authors to K-12 schools each month via live stream. Events are geared toward specific grade cohorts such as K-2nd, 3rd-5th, 6th-8th, and 9th-12th. Each grade level has the opportunity to hear from an age-appropriate author at least once per month throughout the school year. Recordings of the talks are also available on our platform.
We are highly committed to offering a diverse mix of perspectives and ensure that half or more of the featured authors are women and/or represent a multi-cultural background. This pledge enriches the learning experience by exposing students to a variety of viewpoints and voices.
BookBreak supports student interest in reading and writing with monthly bestselling virtual author talks and comprehensive planning resources, seamlessly integrating with teacher curricula and state standards while reinforcing the library's value as a collaborative learning space.
The Author in Residence program is an exciting opportunity for upper elementary and middle school students to hear from a single author multiple times throughout the school year and be guided through a writing project.
The first event introduces students to the program and lays out expectations. The second event will include a live revision of a student-submitted story, and the student winner will be announced and read at the final livestream.
There’s even more to love! In addition to the virtual school author talks, students can have a cross-discipline experience with Draw-alongs with our Author/Illustrators!
Want to see this in action? Watch this Draw-along by Jeff Kinney!
2X
Impact
As part of our vision and commitment to provide author access, develop every student's love for books, and to support reading and literacy for all communities, every school that joins the BookBreak program will allow us to give a high-poverty school free access to the program. High-poverty schools are those where 80% or more of students come from low income families.
We offer free access to more than 500 high-poverty elementary and middle schools around the US.
One of the biggest benefits of our school author talk program is that it saves time for teachers! The BookBreak platform includes a comprehensive set of resources for each grade level including lesson plans and ready to use pre and post-talk activities! The best part is that the lesson plans and activities seamlessly integrate into the curriculum.
The BookBreak Team is comprised of former School Librarians and Teachers with over 100 years of combined experience, so we understand how critical it is to find ways to save teachers time while having a positive impact and forging connections with students at the same time.
Modern-day classrooms require representation, and we are highly committed to offering a diverse mix of perspectives that ensures half or more of the featured authors will be women and/or represent a multi-cultural background. Students in our member schools love learning from people who look like them and have similar experiences which enriches the learning experience for all students by exploring a variety of viewpoints and voices.
Connections are a key component to learning, and students show more excitement about the books and engagement with the activities when they are able to establish a connection with the authors. For some, these connections have been a game changer.
The ease of accessibility of virtual author talks, as compared to in-person author visits, is indisputable. Without the logistics of travel and special schedules, our virtual school author talk program allows more schools access to best-selling authors every month via live stream and recordings! Additionally, teachers and librarians have access to a virtual library of all the author talks so subscribers can show the talks at their convenience.
There’s nothing quite like meeting a famous author to get students excited to read and write their own stories. Connecting with the students in this way has proven invaluable. BookBreak member schools have reported that they have seen our author talks directly lead to reluctant readers picking up books to read on their own. Reading and writing engagement and enjoyment is also higher among regular readers who experience author talks.
One of our School Librarians reported that she has devised a “lottery system” to check out certain books after our author talks due to increased interest. Read more below!
Here's what some of them have to say about what we do and the impact on their students.
"BookBreak is the best digital tool in my toolbox! Through these monthly livestream presentations, I can easily connect my teachers and students with the authors and illustrators they already love... the presentations spark interest in books and increase our circulation statistics."
"BookBreak has been a great addition to our curriculum because it aligns with our district plan of increasing equity, access, and engagement for all our learners... It offers authentic author talks to our most promising readers and the authors look like our students!"
"Our classroom has been enjoying the BookBreaks and meeting all of the wonderful authors of their favorite books. Realizing they are a real-life person who embarked on the same writing processes as themselves has improved their own writing hugely not to mention the benefits to students' writing development. These BookBreaks have developed and enriched my students' love of reading."
"Our staff and students have been thoroughly enjoying the BookBreak virtual author/illustrator talks this school year because they promote the love of reading, writing, and illustrating in a very unique and personal way!"
"BookBreak has been an incredible addition to my library routine. My students have enjoyed the variety of authors, and the fifteen-minute chats are just about perfect for their attention spans. Thank you, BookBreak, for coming up with such a fabulous program to connect our kids with authors and illustrators in a more personal way!"
"With short, engaging sessions, BookBreak is so easy to fit into our busy classroom schedule... The students love to hear what each author is 'cooking' up next!"
"One third grade teacher recently told me, "Hearing from real authors about the importance of reading is such a strong message to our students." BookBreak has been a fantastic addition to our literacy toolbox!"
"Our students have thoroughly enjoyed the book talks and hearing about the authors’ perspectives... This program enriches our student's experiences with literature."
Our authors talk about their experience as writers. They share their own struggles and triumphs with the students about their own writing processes and what they did to improve their writing.
We hope you will consider joining our 2000+ member schools!
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