Simultaneous stories told

PRIMARY school pupils in Torquay sat down at the same time as millions of children across Australia for a good tale as part of this year’s edition of National Simultaneous Storytime.

At 11am on May 24, children in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places across Australia were read The Speedy Sloth, written by Rebecca Young and illustrated by Heath McKenzie.

As part of this year’s National Simultaneous Storytime, councillors from the five local government areas that Geelong Regional Libraries services, as well as library representatives, read The Speedy Sloth at libraries across the G21 region.

At Torquay Library, Surf Coast Shire mayor Liz Pattison read the picture book to an attentive audience, including Foundation pupils from St Therese Catholic Primary School.

Cr Pattison says Geelong Regional Libraries was proud to participate in National Simultaneous Storytime in 2023.

“I love reading books to my kids; we all get something out of it. I can see in my kids how it fosters a love of reading, curiosity, creativity and develops language skills.

“Research shows the frequency of reading to children at a young age has a direct causal effect on schooling outcomes regardless of family background and home environment.”

St Therese Catholic Primary School library manager and educational support officer Ty Hudson said the school had a focus on the science of learning and teaching its pupils skills in literacy.

“In taking advantage of community resources such as the local library, our pupils get to listen to great stories being read by great readers.

“This opportunity in learning has had a very positive impact and we are seeing great improvements in our pupils’ results.

“At St Therese, it is important for us to connect to our community and we feel very lucky to be able to share the library space and enjoy what it offers.”

National Simultaneous Storytime is run by the Australian Library and Information Association, and every year the picture book selected is written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator.

Now in its 23rd year, the event promotes the value of reading and literacy.

Geelong Regional Libraries chief executive officer Vanessa Schernickau said the topic of early literacy was always relevant and the impact of reading to children when they are young was undeniably positive.