Gotham Reads, now live on YouTube, will feature writers (Tony DiTerlizzi), actors (Max Greenfield) and politicians (Sen. Cory Booker) engaging with popular literature aimed at children.
Management-production company the Gotham Group has launched a YouTube reading room called Gotham Reads.
The channel, live as of today, is aimed at kids and will showcase upward of 75 children’s authors, content creators, screenwriters and performers reading their own work or their favorite book while sometimes giving a peek into their creative process.
Gotham Reads kicks off with five videos: Tony DiTerlizzi (The Spiderwick Chronicles) reading his book Ted; illustrator and author Gris Grimly reading his Old MacDonald Had a Farm; Jerry Spinelli reading his Stargirl; Butch Hartman (Fairly OddParents) reading the Dr. Seuss classic Green Eggs and Ham; and actress AnnaSophia Robb (Little Fires Everywhere) reading The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak.
Gotham Reads content will be refreshed every few days. Additional participants include D.J. MacHale (the Pendragon series); Ethan Nicolle (Brave Ollie Possum); Angela DiTerlizzi (Some Bugs); Lin Oliver (Hank Zipzer with Henry Winkler); film director and author Barry Sonnenfeld (Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother: Memoirs of a Neurotic Filmmaker); Eileen Spinelli (Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch); Dan Yaccarino (Oswald); Scott Sonneborn (Attack of the Invisible Cats); Elanna Allen (Itsy Mitsy Runs Away); Jarrett Krosoczka (Lunch Lady series); Selwyn Seyfu Hinds (Prince of Cats); Sen. Cory Booker; Skylar Astin; Steve Buscemi; Casey Cott; Max Greenfield; Jewel; Sonequa Martin-Green; Natascha McElhone; Sara Rue; Lorraine Toussaint; and Patrick Warburton.
Gotham Reads also has partnered with a roster of nonprofits and organizations as a way to reach as many quarantined students as possible, including 826LA, Common Sense Media, Girls Inc., Imagine LA, P.S. Arts, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Save the Children, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and Young Storytellers. Mixed media production company 1stAveMachine is providing creative and production support in addition to running operations on the channel as part of the company's strategic partnership with Gotham Group. 1stAveMachine has experience in the space, having done YouTube channels like Field Day and Google Arts and Culture.
The channel is an effort grown directly from the DNA of Gotham Group, founded by Ellen Goldsmith-Vein 27 years ago and now home to a diverse group of artists and creators, including book authors, screenwriters, actors, filmmakers and storytellers. It's home to many high-profile animated projects and operates with a philanthropic bent thanks to Goldsmith-Vein, active in charities throughout Los Angeles as well as being a noted Democratic fundraiser.
Of the program, Goldsmith-Vein says: "Authors, illustrators, screenwriters and content creators are eager to help bring some solace and normalcy to children around the world during these challenging times. Storytelling is an essential part of our lives. No one knows that better than these artists, whose unique voices have entertained and comforted millions of children for decades."
The channel can be found here.
