National Simultaneous Storytime 2024

This week’s timely post by teacher librarian, Anna Davidson, is full of inspiring ideas to tap into the fun and excitement of this annual event. 

It’s nearly time for the nation to pause and enjoy a shared reading experience as part of National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS). This year’s story, Bowerbird Blues by Aura Parker is a real delight. Bowerbird Blues is a gentle story, complemented by gorgeous illustrations. It has been the springboard for many ideas in our library and students have enjoyed engaging with the story in the first few weeks of term. In this post, I will share some of the accompanying experiences we are offering our students to connect with Bowerbird Blues and celebrate NSS.

Inquiry into Birds

In the lead up to NSS, our youngest students are engaging with an inquiry into birds. Currently, there appears to be an explosion of beautiful picture books and illustrated non-fiction books about birds and each week, it’s hard to choose which book to share. Each library lesson, we are exploring one picture book and one non-fiction book, which provides a gentle introduction to the features of non-fiction books in an informal way. It also provides some choice to the reading material; after an initial look at a non-fiction book, I’ll offer students a choice, ‘would you like to hear about bird beaks or what birds eat?’ and we read the page that most children vote for. 

The middle primary students are delving a little deeper into non-fiction titles about birds, conducting independent research to create a digital library display sharing their facts as well as creating a Kahoot quiz to share with the wider school community during NSS week.

TMAG Bird Specimens

Did you know you can become a member of TMAG, which allows you to loan animal specimens for display at your school?  This was a new discovery for me this term, but one well worth following up. For $54 for the term, we can borrow two specimens, swapping them over every two weeks. Currently we have a Pied Oystercatcher and four different honeyeaters in the library and they have provided a wonderful talking point for library visitors.

Bowerbird Collections

This idea has shamelessly been borrowed from Libraries Tasmania (they offer incredible ideas for engaging young people in the library). Students have been invited to take a jar and fill it with a collection of some kind. So far, we have collections of marbles, Lego, shells, socks, leaves, pegs and many other interesting items. This has been a really easy idea to implement, has been very popular and another great talking point in the library as students stop to admire the collections.

On the Day

On the actual day of NSS, we will take the opportunity to raise funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation through a ‘wear a touch of blue’ day as well as a ‘Count the Collection of M&Ms’ competition. At 12pm, classes are invited to the library to listen to the Principal read Bowerbird Blues aloud. We are grateful for the active support of the school leadership team who are always more than happy to participate in literary events around the school. 

Other Resources

NSS LibGuide

Book Creator book by the amazing Raff Grasso

Invitation to build a collection - template

Dress Up Day poster - template

Anna Davidson

Twitter - @davidsonteach

Junior School Teacher Librarian, avid reader (mad for Middle Grade Fiction), dog lover, yogi, nature lover, tea drinker

Editor's note: Are you set for NSS on May 22? Thanks Anna for great ideas and the very useful supporting resources you have provided. 

Ready Set Go – National Simultaneous Storytime is nearly here.

Are you ready to enjoy National Simultaneous Storytime at your local public or school library or other venue where kids gather? Find out what's happening in your area on Wednesday 24 May, dust off those running shoes and register to help celebrate this wonderful event. Get ready, get set, then go!

The National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is an Australia-wide group reading event run by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), where schools, libraries and other institutions bring  children together to read the same picture book at the same time –across the country! Registering for the event has great benefits, providing access to a range of electronic resources, including digital presentations of the book. The digital version PDF version of the book allows for sharing on electronic screens for easier viewing and still allows for the reader to add sound effects and voice animations as part of the reading. The ALIA NSS page includes links to Register (for free), Buy Merchandise and Buy the Book (though I suggest you check your local book store or library as your first option).

However, registering is not just about accessing resources, it is about being counted. Participation numbers provide data on just how many people were involved in the event and helps measure its success and relevance. ALIA and its supporters invest considerable time and effort to organise and promote this event and libraries and literacy organisations leverage this at the local level to make this an event to savour, celebrate and enjoy by targeting key stakeholders - teachers, parents and children. In a time when support for libraries is under the microscope getting counted…counts!  

For inspiration; in 2018 over 1,062,230 participants at over 8,255 locations across Australia took part in National Simultaneous Storytime. In 2020 there were over 1,297,000 participants at over 14,469 locations, including participants from New Zealand. In 2022 there were almost 2 million participants  simultaneously reading Family Tree by Josh Pyke in around 33,000 locations. Such figures are testimony to the way we value reading and reading aloud to children.

The Speedy Sloth (2022). Scholastic.

This year the book to read and share is The Speedy Sloth written by Rebecca Young and illustrated by Heath McKenzie. This is a delightful and funny story with some positive messages as Spike learns a lot about determination and perseverance as she takes on the faster animals in the jungle. Most importantly, Spike learns to be proud of her own achievements.

Each year, the chosen text specifically targets younger children but the shared reading experience is such fun that older students can also enjoy being part of the event. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Run a “Crazy Running Shoes” competition – encourage teacher and other adults to participate.
• A school assembly – involve teachers to act out the different characters – sloths and the race participants – and transform the ‘book’ into a ‘performance’. Alternatively, older students could perform the book. Invite parents to participate.
• Have children make and decorate and sloth mask to wear to the book reading.

• 

  Sloth mask template from ALIA's NSS page

• Plan a “Buddy” activity, with older children sharing the book with younger children, or completing an activity together as a follow up. 
• Secondary drama or arts students visit a nearby primary school to lead a simultaneous story time activity.
• Readers’ Theatre type activities are a great way to encourage read aloud skills in older children. 
• Investigate sloths, jungles, jungle animals and the Urban Sloth Project.
• There are loads of other great ideas to support this year’s NSS on the ALIA NSS page including free downloadable graphics – a great way to promote the event to your community and a number of other activities including a template for making a sloth mask.
• Search for other resources such as those available via Scholastic, a partner in this event and Learn from Play (a NSS supporter).

Find out what is happening in your local area – ask at your school library or day care centre and Tasmanian readers can visit Libraries Tasmania to register for a visit at your local library.

Speedy Sloth trailer from Scholastic Australia

We all know that reading aloud is vitally important and having fun with books is a great way to hook children into reading. With this post as a starting point you can easily get ready, get set and then GO on the 24 May 2023.  Don’t be a sloth – register today!

Jennie Bales

CBCA Tasmania Social Media Coordinator, read and retired teacher librarian and adjunct lecturer.

National Simultaneous Storytime at The Friends’ School

The National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) seems to gain momentum every year since its inception in 2001. Held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) NSS is a key component of Library and Information Week. Public libraries and schools around Tasmania shared Matt Cosgrove’s hilarious Alpacas with Maracas to the delight of young and old. Many thanks to Katie Stanley for providing a snapshot of activities at The Friend’s School.

2019 was a bumper year for National Simultaneous Storytime at Friends’.  We participated from K-12, with readings, dramatisations, translations and other activities.

Our primary students worked in vertical groups and read the story, then were tasked with creating a new page for the book: a four-line verse describing a new talent show act with matching illustrations.

Primary school responses to Alpacas with Maracas

Teacher Librarian, Katie Stanley engages Year 7 with a
 reading.

Year 7 students read the book and then worked in groups to research alpacas and maracas, extend the story, or rewrite it from a different point-of-view.  Of course, they did it all using rhyming couplets! 

Reading Alpacas with Maracas on kunany/Mount Wellington.

Laboratory Technician, Deb Chadwick reads
Alpacas with Maracas while walking.

Some of our Year 7s were out walking on kunanyi/Mount Wellington so they read the book up there!  









Even our Laboratory Technician, Deb, participated on her day off, reading it with her walking group.

Leo Oakley, dressed as an alpaca with maracas
with our High School display for
National Simultaneous Storytime and
Library and Information Week.

Our Year 11 Drama class performed the book, and language classes read it in Chinese, French, German and Japanese. Our principal also read the book to some very young students.

Great fun was had by all!

Katie Stanley

Teacher Librarian
The Friend’s School

Have You Got Your Hat Ready? - National Simultaneous Storytime 2016

Are you getting ready to enjoy NSS at your local public or school library? Find out what's happening in your area, make a hat, take a child or two along if you like, and enjoy the fun. Jessica has lots of ideas to get you inspired.

I have, and I am counting down the days until May 25^th because it’s National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) and that means lots of reading fun! 

The NSS is run by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and this year their chosen title is I Got This Hat by Kate and Jol Temple, illustrated by Jon Foye, and it is just delightful.

Yes, it is a picture book aimed a younger audience, but that certainly doesn’t mean they are the only ones who can enjoy this book. I will be sharing this story will all of my students aged from 4 to 12 and based on my past NSS experiences including The Brothers Quibble, Too Many Elephants in This House, The Wrong Book and The Very Cranky Bear, it will be a big hit regardless of age.

If you are not convinced that this book hits the mark for an older audience, why not approach it as a “Buddy” activity, with older children sharing the book with younger children, or completing an activity as a follow up together. Readers’ Theatre type activities are a great way to encourage read aloud skills in our older children. Setting up an environment where they feel permitted to have fun is important too, and a hat theme is perfect to help achieve this due to the broad nature of this topic. (Note - please be mindful of head lice issues if you are planning to use actual hats as props).

There are loads of great ideas to support this year’s NSS at the ALIA website and I highly recommend the blog post devoted to I Got This Hat by The Book Chook, Susan Stephenson, for an amazing range of activity suggestions – well worth a look.

Another of my favourite resources, online story-telling platform Story Box Library, will also be adding I Got This Hat to their fabulous library in time for NSS.

For those with an ipod or ipad, my children, aged 8 and 10, have enjoyed using the free I Got This Hat App to create a range of hat themed images which mix the quirky illustration style of Jon Foye with a photo of the user’s face. Images can be saved to the device. (Unfortunately not available for android devices).

We all know that reading aloud is vitally important and having fun with books is a great way to hook children into reading. ALIA have succeeded with the difficult task of selecting an NSS title that is age appropriate for the youngest library patrons across Australia, but is still relatable for an older audience – so I say, hats off to them!

Jessica Marston

Parent & Teacher Librarian at Hagley Farm School

Footnote – I have just started reading the latest collaboration between the I Got This hat team, an adventurous tale full of humour, Captain Jimmy Cook Discovers Third Grade.  Keep an eye out for this and future Jimmy Cook titles.

Editor's note:

If you celebrate NSS this year, why not share one happy hat snap - (no faces without approval) and email to info@cbcatas.org and I will put together a celebratory page on the blog.