Grammy winner Lizzo will read a children's book in a pre-recorded segment on Fort Bend County Libraries' social media channels Tuesday, Sept. 8, as part of the system's first 24-hour virtual Read-A-Thon.

The free event starts at 10 a.m. and runs through Wednesday, Sept. 9, streaming on the library's YouTube, Facebook and Instagram pages. Fort Bend County Libraries operates branches in Fulshear and Cinco Ranch that serve Katy and Fulshear residents.

Lizzo, a Houston native and four-time Grammy Award winner, will read Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, a book she called her favorite growing up, Houston Public Media reported. She is on tour for her new children's book, Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin'. The Read-A-Thon also falls during Library Card Sign-Up Month.

Other scheduled readers include bilingual author Erika Andrade Smith, who will read her book ¡Papas y Papas! in Spanish, and Sugar Land Mayor Carol McCutcheon, who will read The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper.

The event lands on World Literacy Day, which marks its 60th anniversary this year. UNESCO established the observance in 1966.

Library Director Roosevelt Weeks said the Read-A-Thon is meant to spotlight a local crisis. More than 4 million Texas adults read below a basic level, according to nonprofit Literacy Texas, which ranks the state fourth-lowest in the country for adult literacy.

The numbers are stark locally, too.

"Whether people know it or not, there's quite a few people in our area and also in the Houston surrounding areas where at least 30 percent or one-third of the people cannot read," Weeks told Houston Public Media. "We want to stress that it is important that we take literacy and see that it is a crisis and it is something that we need to help fix."

Participants are encouraged to read at least 10 minutes of any book of their choice, Weeks said. The library plans to make the Read-A-Thon an annual event with additional local celebrity guest readers.

Residents can tune in free on Fort Bend County Libraries' YouTube, Facebook and Instagram pages starting at 10 a.m.

Upcoming community events: