• Read aloud one of the books (or one book per week for the picture book study) during scheduled six weeks starting October 1st.
  
• Make as many global connections as possible. Reach out -- connect with other classes, Tweet (#GRA18), Skype, email, KidBlog, whatever you can come up with that gets your kids connecting with others and talking about the book(s).

For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises—some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat’s mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter.

But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he’s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet.

A Boy Called Bat:
Week 1: Chapters 1 - 4

Week 2: Chapters 5 -8

Week 3: Chapters 9 - 12

Week 4: Chapters 13 - 16

Week 5: Chapters 17 - 21

Week 6: Chapters 22 - End

When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is--but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a fierce storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island's unwelcoming animal inhabitants.

As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home--until, one day, the robot's mysterious past comes back to haunt her.

From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heartwarming and action-packed novel about what happens when nature and technology collide.

Amal Unbound:

Week 1: Chapters 1 - 8

Week 2: Chapters 9 - 16

Week 3: Chapters 17 - 24

Week 4: Chapters 25 - 32

Week 5: Chapters 33 - 40

Week 6: Chapters 41 - End

So that Pernille can gather data on the participants in the project, please sign up at this link.

The dates: October 1st though November 9th. Don’t worry about getting behind, just don’t get ahead.

Using any form of social media, technology, or even good old fashioned paper/pen, find a way to share your thoughts on the book with others. In the spirit of the project, the connections are often the most meaningful when made from a distance.

See below for ideas of how to connect via Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Edmodo.

The hashtag for this year is #GRA17 – individual hashtags for books will be:

Mem Fox author study – #GRAMem

Fenway and Hattie – #GRAFenway

The Wild Robot – #GRAWild

Don't forget to follow @PernilleRipp

There is an active Global Read Aloud Community on Facebook.

There is a Global Read Aloud Pinterest Board.

Pernille has put together a list of tech tools and how others have used them.

And a list of FAQs.

You can even buy a shirt.

Officially the read aloud starts October 1st, but with as busy as classrooms are, it's okay to start earlier. Just make sure that if you are connecting with another class, and you get a bit ahead in your reading, you don't share any spoilers!

The true beauty of the GRA is the connection with readers across the globe who have read the same story. Tweet, Skype, pen pal letters, Kidblog posts... use your imagination (and any tech or non-tech skills in your toolbox to share and discuss with others who read the same title(s).