Reading Hour fans make it a day of fun

A nationwide initiative made its way to Broome last week when mums, dads, bubs and everyone in between met for a picnic at Town Beach.

Australian Reading Hour was celebrated by more than 330 libraries and bookshops across the country last week, with the premise being to read a book for an hour last Thursday.

To add some fun to the concept, Magabala Books and Waardi organised a picnic in the park event for families to enjoy, while parents read a few old favourite picture books with their children.

Magabala Books chief executive Anna Moulton said as a national publisher, it was important to support such nationwide initiatives on the business’ home soil.

“Our children’s books are a very important part of our publishing program,” she said.

“We are committed to supporting literacy and strong educational outcomes for all children and believe children will learn to love to read if they have access to books with a good story and great illustrations.

“The fact that our authors and illustrators are Aboriginal people means Aboriginal kids can identify with the stories and there’s a role-modelling aspect too.”

Ms Moulton said the decision had been made to team up with Waardi because of its renowned Building Babies’ Brains program, which aims to teach children oral language skills before they begin school.