King's Celebrates 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 have to mean beating everyone else, but rather 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 Primary students marked the occasion during their classes that morning as they sat virtually alongside more than a million students from across Australia and New Zealand to enjoy the joint literary experience. Each student received a Certificate of Participation to acknowledge that they had taken part in this wonderful initiative.