On May 21st at 11.00am thousands of Australian children all across the country, including the Wyvern boys from Kindy to Year 2, will participate in National Simultaneous Storytime. In libraries, classrooms, preschools and bookstores children will read the same book, Too Many Elephants in This House, at the same time. In its 14th year, this initiative of the Australian Library and Information Association is part of its annually held Library and Information Week.

The aim of National Simultaneous Storytime is to promote literacy amongst children and expose them to the magic and excitement of reading. It addresses key learning ares in the Australian Curriculum such as: interpreting, analysing and evaluating texts, and placing texts in context. It also provides a way for families and communities to get involved in children’s literacy by sharing in their reading experience and introducing age appropriate themes for discussion.

Wyvern Kindergarten boys will join Newington Year 12 students in the Senior School Library to participate in small group readings and guided discussions of Too Many Elephants in This House at the National Simultaneous Storytime appointed time. Later, each Kindy boy will have a shared reading of a favourite book with a Year 12 student. Follow-up literature activities about the book and the experience will be completed when the Kindy boys return to class.

Years 1 and 2 students will participate in National Simultaneous Storytime at Wyvern. Classroom teachers and Mrs Barnes will read and discuss Ursula Dubosarsky’s book and students will be involved in literature activities based on the book. Further details about National Simultaneous Storytime can be found on the ALIA website https://www.alia.org.au/nss.

Book Synopsis 

In Eric’s house there were  too many elephants – in the living room, in the kitchen, in the bathroom, even in his bedroom! The elephants take up a lot of space, but Eric loves every one of them. So when his mum says they have to go, Eric comes up with a clever solution to a very BIG problem…

Joanne Barnes
Teacher Librarian