NT students try Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge, National Simultaneous Storytime

NT students are set to take on two reading challenges at once, with fellow readers from around the country joining in at the same time.

Leanyer School students Olivia McCue and Harrison Pigrim are reading Bowerbird Blues by Aura Parker as part of the National Simultaneous Storytime and Chief Minister's Reading Challenge in 2024.

Thousands of students across the country will read the same book at the same time on Wednesday.

Aura Parker’s Bowerbird Blues will land in the hands of the nation’s school students on May 22 as part of the 24th National Simultaneous Storytime.

For Territory students, the Australian written and illustrated picture book will also count towards their goal for the Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge.

Bowerbird Blues follows the story of a bird searching for blue with themes of longing and connection.

Leanyer School students Olivia McCue and Harrison Pigrim said they thought the book was “exciting” and “everyone in Australia is going to like Bowerbird Blues”.

“He collects things and finds love,” Olivia said.

“It’s really exciting because he is collecting stuff for his family, and he found lots of blue stuff,” Harrison said.

Education Department Chief Executive Karen Weston said she was thrilled to see so many NT schools sign up for the National Simultaneous Storytime and the Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge.

Ms Weston said more than 60 schools had signed up for the Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge, with about 9,500 students pledging to read 12 books each by August 23.

“Developing a passion for reading from a young age builds a lifelong journey of learning, so I would encourage as many students as possible to sign up for the challenge and discover their next favourite book,” she said.