This Wednesday. March 9th, is World Read Aloud Day, when people in all 50 States and in over 50 countries will share the power of reading with their communities and acknowledge the 774 million people around the globe who cannot read or write. Two-thirds of those people are women.

They are not merely statistics. They are not all far away. They are our neighbors and our fellow citizens, people we see on the street as well as on the news. They are 774 million people who cannot access their basic political rights or discover the means for better health outcomes. They are isolated from the information economy. They are unable to share a private tear as Charlotte the spider passes away or a laugh as Harry Potter wins a Quidditch match. We can cut that number, giving all people access to free and full expression, to information and to the sanctuary of story.

Literacy is a key component for achieving every single one of the Millenium Development Goals and it all begins with sharing stories.I recently had the chance to visit elementary schools around the country while promoting my new book for young readers, We Are Not Eaten By Yaks, and in addition to reading out loud to them from the adventure, I told the children that I met how I came to be a writer. I wasn't much of a reader when I was a child. I wasn't illiterate but I chose not to read whenever I had the option to do almost anything else. I watched a lot of TV, played games and made up my own stories. I used to spent hours staring at the covers of books, making up my own version of what was inside, without ever cracking the spine. I was, though not a reader, hungry for story. And that's where reading aloud came into play. My big sister would read to me all the time (so would my parents, but they didn't do all the voices the way my sister did). She read all kinds of things from "boy books" to "girl books" from folk tales to realistic novels, and she brought the stories alive for me. Her reading aloud got me hooked. Her reading aloud made me want to read; showed me the possibilities that words could create worlds and could spark the imagination. She showed me that the possibilities for story were endless. Somewhere along to the way, I became a reader, a voracious reader and eventually, a librarian and a professional writer. Words became my world because I was lucky enough to have people around me willing to take the time to sit together and read out loud.

Everyone should be so lucky. That is why love I visiting schools and sharing my own work with kids and that is why I am participating in World Read Aloud Day in my hometown, reading aloud in Times Square on Wednesday. That is why I am posting this reading decree. This statement, designed by LitWorld, is to be presented on March 9, 2011, but you are welcome to modify the first lines and read it aloud or post it on your own website on any day, because we need to support Reader's Rights every day until we achieve Global Literacy. 774 million is not a number we can afford in the 21st century. We can change it.

LitWorld's Reading Decree

Today is World Read Aloud Day.

We are uniting our voices in cities and communities across the globe.

We celebrate the power of stories and words to change worlds.

We join our voices for quality literacy education for every child worldwide.

Today 774 million people cannot read or write. They are denied the joy and light of reading every day.

Education is a human right and a means to attaining other human rights that we declare to be universal.

Literacy education improves the health of children and families, spurs economic growth and advances equality. For many children worldwide, quality education is the difference between life and death, between hope and despair and being able to make the most of one's potential. This is our opportunity to give voice to the future.

By coming together and raising our voices on this day, we show the world's children that we support their lives: that they have the right to read, to write and to share their stories to change the world.

Today I pledge my passion for quality education and my support for the cause of literacy.

I encourage everyone to take part in this day and this cause.

As a representative of my community, I will continue to advocate for the causes most important to us and I encourage all of you to join me in the fight for our children and all children's futures.

In observance of World Read Aloud Day, I invite you to take a moment to think about what you would miss most if you could not read or write.

It's time for all of us to join the global literacy movement.

Through our voices we can be free and be part of words changing worlds.