Emmy-nominated comedian, actor and host Joel McHale gets ghoulishly groovy reading Halloween Hustle for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Storyline Online®!

October 5, 2022

LOS ANGELES (Oct 5, 2022)Emmy-nominated comedian, actor and host Joel McHale invites young readers from all walks of life to unleash their fancy Frankenstein feet this spooky season and learn all the steps to the Halloween Hustle, McHale’s brand, new read-aloud at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s award-winning children’s literacy program Storyline Online®.

Written by Charlotte Gunnufson, illustrated by Kevan J. Atteberry, and published by Two Lions, an imprint of Amazon Publishing, Halloween Hustle is a light-hearted tale of a festive Halloween night in which McHale, Skeleton, and gobs of giddy ghouls head over to Ghost’s “fa-boo-lous” party where they enter the spooktacular dance contest! There are pumpkinheads, hissy black cats, swingy-swaying skeleton girls and more, all whooping it up at a King Kong-sized monster mash–and this particular party receives the scary seal of approval from SAG-AFTRA Foundation President Courtney B. Vance.

“We’re excited to celebrate this spooky season with a Halloween story, and Joel McHale is the perfect reader to bring this monster melody to children, parents and teachers worldwide. It’s so much fun to add Halloween Hustle to our Storyline Online library, as we don’t have many books written in verse, and this is definitely a great way to bop around with things that go, ‘Boo!’” says Vance.

As with all Storyline Online videos, Halloween Hustle is accompanied by a complementary supplemental activity guide that aligns with Common Core Standards that strengthen verbal, written and comprehension skills. Aimed at kindergarten through 2nd grade students, these activities encourage children to engage in critical thinking activities and explore the themes of each book, including topics such as perseverance, friendship, rhythm and rhyme.

Boasting over 900 million views worldwide, Storyline Online has been a trusted, educational brand and essential online resource for teachers and parents since 2001. Storyline Online remains committed to providing the extra help to teachers in classrooms, as well as parents with school-age children at home.McHale joins the illustrious cast of Storyline Online readers including Angela Bassett, Kristen Bell, Terry Crews, Viola Davis, Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Garner,  Allison Janney, John Lithgow, Rami Malek, Marc Maron, Seth Meyers, Chris Pine, Justin Theroux, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Yeoh, and many more who have volunteered their time and talent to promote literacy and inspire a love of reading in hundreds of millions of children around the globe.

To watch Halloween Hustle and all of the Storyline Online read-alouds, visit storylineonline.net. Keep up with new videos by subscribing to Storyline Online on YouTube and following Storyline Online on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Joel McHale reads for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s children’s literacy program Storyline Online® / Photo courtesy of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation

ABOUT STORYLINE ONLINE®
An Emmy-nominated program of the nonprofit SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Storyline Online streams 71 videos at no cost to children, parents, and educators worldwide. The site receives over 9 million views every month and is endorsed by the American Federation of Teachers and the American Library Association, as well as named one of the best websites by the American Association of School Librarians. In addition to the website, Storyline Online offers a free app for iPhone and Chrome devices. Storyline Online, like all SAG-AFTRA Foundation programs, relies solely on support from gifts, grants and sponsorships to produce new content. For more information, visit storylineonline.net.

CONNECT WITH STORYLINE ONLINE®
Twitter: @storylineonline
Instagram: @storylineonline
Facebook: facebook.com/storylineonline
YouTube: youtube.com/storylineonline
Hashtag: #StorylineOnline

ABOUT THE SAG-AFTRA FOUNDATION
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides vital assistance and free educational programming to the professionals of SAG-AFTRA while serving the public at large through its award-winning children’s literacy program Storyline Online. The Foundation relies solely on support from gifts, grants and sponsorships to sustain its free programs. For more information, visit sagaftra.foundation.

CONNECT WITH THE SAG-AFTRA FOUNDATION
Instagram: @sagaftrafound
TikTok: @sagaftrafound
Twitter: @sagaftrafound
Facebook: facebook.com/sagaftrafoundation
YouTube: youtube.com/sagaftrafoundation

Contact: Caroline O’Connor
Director of Communications
coconnor@sagaftra.foundation
323-549-6604

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