In these uncertain and difficult times, we know that many of you are looking for creative ways to share our books and stories with students and readers. All of us here at Eerdmans Books for Young Readers believe in the power of stories to connect us and comfort us—especially in times like these.

We are committed both to our readers and to the authors and illustrators who create our books, and we want to protect our authors’ and illustrators’ intellectual property rights while encouraging people to enjoy their books.

We’d be delighted to have you offer a virtual story time, read-aloud video, or live online event with any of our books. We do ask that you follow a few guidelines. By sharing a reading of one of our books online, you are agreeing to these terms:

  • Please note at the beginning of your reading that you are doing so with permission from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.
  • Authors and illustrators are welcome to read their own books as long as they’ve received permission from their co-creator. Please feel free to get in touch with EBYR if you’d like us to facilitate that. These readings can be live or posted for a limited time (no longer than a week from the date of posting) on websites and social media channels, but they should not be saved or archived beyond this.
  • Librarians, educators, parents, caregivers, and clergy are all welcome to share readings of EBYR titles with their patrons, students, and children. Please post your videos through a private platform or within a closed group with access limited to your community of students or patrons. As long as your video is made available through a closed platform (or on YouTube as an “Unlisted” file), it may be posted through May 31st, 2021, after which we request that these videos be removed.

 Please tag @ebyrbooks when discussing any recordings featuring our books on social media, and let us know that you’re doing a reading by emailing youngreaders@eerdmans.com with the following details:

    • Your name and contact information
    • Your organization (if applicable)
    • The title and ISBN of the book that is read
    • The platform on which the reading is offered, and a link to the video

Thanks for your interest in sharing stories and fostering connection during this time!