On Wednesday, 21 May at precisely 12 noon, our Junior School joined over 2 million children across Australia and New Zealand for the 25th annual National Simultaneous Storytime - a joyful celebration of reading and storytelling.
This year’s book, The Truck Cat by Deborah Frenkel, illustrated by Danny Snell, follows truck driver Yacoub and his feline companion, Tinka, on a heartwarming journey of friendship and belonging. With themes of immigration and identity, the story gently explores what it means to find home.
The truck cat beautifully reflects Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop’s concept of “mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors” in literature. For some children, the story is a mirror, affirming their own experiences. For others, it’s a window into different lives. And for all, it can be a sliding glass door, inviting empathy and understanding (Bishop, 1990).
Reading aloud not only builds literacy skills, it nurtures compassion and connection. NSS reminds us that stories have the power to shape a more inclusive and empathetic world. As the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis once said, “There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.”
Citation:Bishop, R. S. (1990). Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors. Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom, 6(3). Retrieved from https://scenicregional.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Mirrors-Windows-and-Sliding-Glass-Doors.pdf
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