At StoryBox Hub, we’re all about sharing stories, and making the experience of shared reading joyful and accessible. So we’re thrilled to be part of this year’s National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS), with a special story read of one of our favourite recent picture books – The Truck Cat, written by Deborah Frenkel and illustrated by Danny Snell.

Some cats are house cats. Some are apartment cats.
But Tinka is a truck cat. Tinka lives everywhere.
Along with his human, Yacoub, Tinka travels roads wide and narrow, near and distant. But no matter how much they travel, home feels very far away – for both of them.
Yacoub drives his truck to make a living, learning the landscape of a new country along the way, and longing for connection. When Tinka and Yacoub are unexpectedly separated, they are determined to find their way back to each other – and, in doing so, might find more than they expected.

The Truck Cat is a story about cats and humans, immigration and identity, and homes lost and found. It’s the perfect book to inspire kindness and compassion in young children everywhere.

Now in its 25th year, National Simultaneous Storytime is an annual event held by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), to promote the value of reading, language development, learning and literacy, and ‘the role that libraries play in fostering these skills.’ Each year, on the same day and at the same time, the carefully-chosen book is read in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. It’s a fun, vibrant reading experience shared by over 2 million people!

On Wednesday May 21st 2025 at 12pm (AEST) join us and readers around the country to share this stunning, timely, and uplifting story. And stay tuned for more exciting news soon, including just which special guest star will be dropping by the Hub to read The Truck Cat!

To take part in this year’s NSS, register with ALIA here, for access to a range of fabulous resources plus a PDF copy of The Truck Cat.

And to get ready for May, check out some of our previous NSS story reads, including the hilarious Alpacas with Maracas, read by Jimmy Rees and Matt Cosgrove, and Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas read by Emma Watkins from The Wiggles.