Words by Jodie Powell
Bookworms at Hercules Road State School are pursuing their love of literature with innovative storytime sessions led by librarian Kellie Judd.
Kellie introduced live storytime on Sundays through the school’s Facebook page about two years ago, but they really came to the fore when COVID-19 lockdowns hit.
“During lockdown periods I began doing them each weekday as a way of maintaining a connection between the students learning at home and school,” Kellie explains.
“Some of our teachers also tune in at the same time to listen with the students of essential workers who are here at school.”
The sessions are popular with the school community, with younger siblings tuning in too, Kellie says.
“Funny stories are the most popular with most kids and definitely fun to read as well,” she says.
“For the middle years and up the most popular books are Graphic Novels and the range and availability of these has greatly increased.
“There has also been a noticeable increase in books with female characters, which is so important for all readers to have characters they can identify with while reading.”
Student input
Kellie sometimes chooses books that are related to upcoming events, but says she mainly selects material she knows students and their parents will enjoy.
“I now have kids coming to make suggestions for the Sunday Storytime - they bring me one from the shelf that they would like to hear, which I love.”
A librarian for the past five years, Kellie says the role gives her the chance to interact with every student in the school each week.
“I love the creative space of the library and promoting reading for pleasure is a passion.
“The library really is the heart of the school and provides a welcoming and supportive space for every student, as well as being the hub for teachers as well.”
As a child, one of her favourite books was Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendek – and she relished sharing it with her own children.
“Now though, some of my favourites are the Pig the Pug and The Very Cranky Bear books.”
Tune into the Sunday sessions on the Hercules Road State School Facebook page at 6.30pm.
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