In honor of YouTube Kids’ second annual Reading Month initiative, the platform has tapped iconic country crooner Dolly Parton and 15-year-old dancer and digital star JoJo Siwa to help foster a love of reading and unlock literacy among children across the nation.
The month-long initiative, through August, will feature a special playlist helmed by Parton, who has been a literacy advocate for decades — and founded a book gifting program called the Imagination Library — inspired by her father’s inability to read or write. YouTube has also tapped Jimmy Fallon, Viola Davis, Kristen Bell, Nick Cannon, and Ludacris to read their favorite children’s books in videos, which are available via a #ReadAlong playlist. For her part, Siwa — who signed an overall deal with Nickelodeon
last year — is headlining a playlist comprising clips from the famed kids’ channel.In addition to the aforementioned celebs, YouTube Kids is also introducing a ‘Word Of The Day’ tile in the ‘Recommended’ section of the app, which will teach young viewers new words via explainer videos.
YouTube Kids launched its Reading Month initiative last June — though National Reading Month is technically held in March — alongside top publishers HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and National Geographic Kids. Check out Siwa’s video, introducing her Nickelodeon playlist, below:
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