Preps to Year 3s Celebrate The 23rd National Simultaneous Storytime

On Wednesday 24 May, King's joined with many schools and Early Learning Centres from across the Pacific for the 2023 National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS). The special annual event features an Australian book that is read simultaneously to young listeners. Now in its 23rd year, NSS has become an annual opportunity for educators across Australasia to unite through a shared love of storytelling. The book chosen for 2023 was 'The Speedy Sloth' by authors Rebecca Young and Heath McKenzie, which provokes the inspiring message that winning doesn't mean beating everyone else but is about the great feeling of setting a challenge and accomplishing it. This year, 'VIP Guest Readers' included Grant Denyer, Gabrielle Wang (Children's Laureate) and the book's own author, Rebecca Young, who live-streamed the reading of her book from The Sydney Zoo, alongside her illustrator Heath McKenzie.

King's Pimpama Primary students marked the occasion during their classes that morning as they sat with their teachers who read the story to them alongside more than a million students from across Australia and New Zealand to enjoy the joint literary experience.  The classes also coloured in and created a sloth that will be on display in their classrooms as art.