Storytime rhyme a lesson in persistence
³ûÖÊÓƵ students from Kindergarten to Year 4 joined more than 500,000 children across Australia in reading a reimagining of a classic nursery rhyme for Simultaneous Storytime.
Held on 24 May, the annual event sees a selected children’s book read at the same time in schools and libraries nationally to encourage a love of reading in young people.
This year’s selected book, The Cow Tripped Over the Moon, highlighted the importance of perseverance. The humorous reworking of Hey Diddle Diddle follows cow’s many attempts to jump over the moon while supported by her friends the cat, fiddle, dish, spoon and little dog Rover.
Author Tony Wilson dedicated the book to his young son who has cerebral palsy, and for who persistence is a part of daily life. Illustrator Laura Wood’s drawings were admired by the students, who laughed as cow jumped too low and too high to clear the moon – catching a ride on a meteorite and getting burnt as she accidentally jumps over the sun before finally accomplishing the feat that seems simple in the original rhyme.