For many children’s authors, school visits are a significant part of the job. And most authors can readily share a powerful story about the positive ripple effects from that type of interaction. Similarly, lots of young readers can clearly recall how an author visit inspired them. Zach Rubin, cofounder and CEO of BookBreak, a virtual school author talk program, was one of those kids. He has often told the story of when Mary Pope Osborne visited his elementary school years ago: Rubin, then a nonreader, was so transfixed that he soon wanted to devour all the Magic Tree House books—and more.
Rubin later built his passion for books and reading into a career, cofounding the Perpetual Learning family of five digital companies devoted to supporting lifelong learners at every age. BookBreak, the newest venture in that portfolio, launched in 2023. Via a subscription model, BookBreak brings livestreamed interview-style talks by top authors to K–12 schools. For schools with an account, “there’s an age-appropriate author every month that kids can see,” says Yapha Mason, director of programs and operations. “We also include lesson plans and activities with each author talk that teachers can use to prep their students, and everything is aligned with the appropriate curriculum standards they need to meet.”
A member of the BookBreak team, which is wholly comprised of former teachers and school librarians, conducts the livestreamed author interview, clocking in at roughly 15 minutes at the elementary level and 25 minutes for middle school programming. “We’re not asking them to do their normal school presentation,” Mason says. But she notes that a BookBreak talk can serve as a “trailer” for an author, allowing schools to observe how they present. “We had at least one author who was subsequently flown across the country to do live presentations at three schools in an area because some of their teachers saw her on BookBreak.”
An audience q&a session is part of the experience as well. In the lead-up to a livestream, teachers can submit questions and students can send in video questions—with parental permission—that the BookBreak team will screen and pass along to the author. “We try to let the authors know the questions in advance, because we’re not trying to surprise them,” Mason says. “But as time permits, we’ll include live questions from classes who are watching the livestream.”
As an example, she recalls an interview with Kelly Yang, one of the very first authors to participate. “Behind her on a bookcase there was a plaque in the shape of Minnesota, which is a pretty recognizable state shape,” Mason says. “A class watching from Minnesota typed in, ‘We see our state behind you! What is that?’ ”
Yang explained that it was a state book award. “The kids were excited, she was excited, and it was a neat little interchange,” Mason says. “If the students hadn’t seen her studio, they wouldn’t have known to ask that.”
In addition to being able to tune in live to an author talk, subscribing schools can view recordings of previous talks on demand. Educators have a trove of supporting materials at their disposal as well, including five-to-seven-minute mini lessons recorded by the author. “We help the authors bullet-point or script lesson plans based on their books, and those are also available on demand for teachers to use,” Mason says.
BookBreak’s middle school programs feature short Would You Read It videos in which the author talks about some behind-the-scenes book info and does a brief readaloud with hopes of getting readers to check out the full book. The Author in Residence feature, offering students three writing workshops per year, is another option that middle school teachers can take advantage of. Author Barbara Dee (Unstuck) presented the workshops during the 2024–2025 school year.
BookBreak currently provides content to more than 2,300 subscribing schools nationwide, and membership is growing, according to Mason. Subscription pricing is at the building level, based on the number of students in the subscribing school, and district discounts are available. BookBreak also offers a buy-one, give-one plan: for every paying school, BookBreak gives a free subscription to a qualifying high-poverty school.
The BookBreak programming lineup continues to expand as well. After an inaugural year that presented only elementary author talks, 2024–2025 saw the addition of middle school programming, and offerings for high school will launch in the 2025–2026 academic year. Participating authors so far have included Mac Barnett, Erin Entrada Kelly, and Yuyi Morales at the elementary school level, and Jerry Craft, Lois Lowry, Marie Lu, and Jason Reynolds in the middle school program. The slate for 2025–2026 has been announced, and Laurie Halse Anderson, Angeline Boulley, and Ibi Zoboi are among the authors giving high school level talks. “We’re trying to make sure with our author lineup that every child can see themselves in at least one of the authors and believe that they, too, could be an author someday,” Mason says.
Authors receive a flat fee for a live talk and two Would You Read It recordings, according to Mason. And if there’s no room on the BookBreak schedule for an author to do a live talk, they sometimes will record a series of mini lessons or Would You Read It promos for a smaller honorarium.
Last month, BookBreak was named to AASL’s 2025 list of Best Digital Tools for Teaching and Learning in the Engaging Young Readers and Writers category. The selection committee praised the platform as a tool that “encourages reading engagement through... access to diverse literary content, fostering a culture of literacy in schools and libraries.” A demo and presentation on all of the list’s honorees will take place at the ALA Annual Conference on June 28.
