What do an egg, a book and red have in common? If you want to find out, you’ll need to visit the Gunnedah Shire Library at 10:45am on Wednesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The library is preparing to launch literacy initiative Paint the Town REaD and participate in National Simultaneous Storytime.
This year, the book that will be read all over the country at 11am is The Cow Tripped Over the Moon, written by Tony Wilson and illustrated by Laura Wood.
The library has been taking part in storytime for many years, with a guest reader this year – local veterinarian and councillor, Ann Luke.
Liz Ironnmonger will also be in the library to launch Paint the Town REaD at 10:45am. She will bring along the REaD egg, which grows and grows the more it is read to.
Paint the Town REaD aims to prepare children for school by encouraging communities to read, talk, sing and rhyme with children from an early age. The library has partnered with Gunnedah Family Support to get the initiative up and running.
Mrs Ironmonger is coordinating Gunnedah’s Paint the Town REad and is also part of the Every Child Gunnedah program campaign, which is working to ensure every five-year-old in Gunnedah is ready to start school.
“I’m part of Every Child Gunnedah – that’s preparing kids for school – and reading is a big part of that,” she said.
“I just think we need more and more groups to come together and encourage reading.”
Over the next six months, Mrs Ironmonger is planning for books to be read in locations across Gunnedah, and is looking for anyone who might like to put up their hand to read. She also plans to leave boxes of former library books in businesses around town so parents can take books home.