By Danielle Kutchel
It’s not every day you get to share a book with an alpaca, but that’s exactly what hundreds of Casey families did last week.
Together with two furry visitors from Myuna Farm, nearly 300 families packed Bunjil Place to take part in National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday 22 May.
National Simultaneous Storytime is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Each year, an Australian children’s book is chosen to be read in libraries, schools, childcare centres, homes and more, all at the exact same time.
This year’s book was Alpacas with Maracas, a story about two musical camelids, and the live reading at Bunjil Place was broadcast on the big screen for all to see.
Adding an extra dimension to the fun, Myuna Farm brought along two of their young alpacas, nicknamed Macca and Al for the day after the heroes of the story.
“We don’t usually take animals off the farm, but this was such a coincidence that we had two animals that matched the story, that we thought, ‘what a great concept to pull it together!’” Myuna Farm manager Steve Hill said.
Visitor services officers Kate and Kelly from the farm chaperoned their fluffy charges, which were friendly, gentle and affectionate with the kids, Mr Hill said.
They also brought alpaca wool with them, which kids used in craft activities after the book reading.
“We’re lucky to have a community farm where we can provide this extra dimension,” Mr Hill said.
“This is a great concept to encourage reading to young people. We’re all about supporting education for young people, and this was just a great link to enhance it.
“The biggest problem was making sure we could bring the alpacas back and not have people take them home!”
