Stories & activities for celebrations and family time
24 Nov 2021
Stories provide a great vehicle for opening discussions and providing insights into celebrations, and cultural and religious festivals around the world. Wherever you may be, educators, librarians and families can access a wide range of stories to explore important events and festivities during this time of year. Each story in our digital collection comes with dedicated Activity Time ideas, encouraging quality family time and providing opportunities for creativity and expression especially during the school break. For those in the southern hemisphere, join our Summer Story and Activity Challenge, with free printables and resources for kids to use.
However educators and students recognise December 25th, Sarah’s Two Nativities is a heartwarming celebration of family and faith for everyone, read by beloved Australian author Jamila Rizvi. After watching the story, students can find Activity Time instructions on how to make colourful paper angels, which can be painted and decorated around the home.
Read by Ria Soemardjo, Ayu and the Perfect Moon transports readers into the heart of Balinese village life, as you hear elderly dance instructor Ayu's story of her childhood experiences. The thudding drums, banging gongs, tinkling gamelan and the bamboo flute create a truly atmospheric background to this wonderfully cultural story about traditional Balinese music, dance and village life. Ria was born in Melbourne of Australian/Indonesian descent, and is a skilled performer of songs in the highly refined and soulful Javanese classical tradition.
The Race for the Chinese Zodiac
The Race for the Chinese Zodiac is an enchanting book written by Gabrielle Wang and illustrated by Sally Rippin. It tells the tale of the Chinese New Year's Zodiac and how it came to be when the Jade Emperor of China held a great race between the animals. Thirteen animals competed for twelve places on the Zodiac. Read by storyteller Valanga Khoza.
It's Christmas time in Australia and Reindeer is having a whole lot of fun giving presents to his friends Cat, Dog and Guinea Pig. But even when it's warm and sunny outside, it's hard to be far from home and family on Christmas Eve.
This touching and timeless story, The Tiny Star, combines, for the first time, the talents of world-renowned author Mem Fox with the heartwarming illustrations of Freya Blackwood. These two luminaries craft a truly unique and moving story about the journey of life, to be cherished and shared for generations to come. Read by author Gabrielle Wang.
A joyous tale of giving and sharing from two award-winning Australian creators, Frances Watts and Ann James, A Very Quacky Christmas is the only Christmas quacker you'll need this holiday season!
All I Want for Christmas is Rain
The rhyming narrative from author Cori Brooke is simple, yet paints a vivid picture of the importance of rain to the community and the perils of farm life. The watercolour pictures by illustrator Megan Forward are full of exquisite detail and expertly portray the oppressively dry rural landscape.
Jane Godwin's story and Anna Walker's illustrations work beautifully. Charming, warm and appealing, they evoke the timeless and idyllic joy of Christmas in Australia as seen through a child's eyes.
Set along a railway track in Australia on the Nullabor Plain, Tea and Sugar Christmas tells the story of the Tea and Sugar train, that carted groceries and once a year, the train was transformed into the special Christmas train and carried an eagerly awaited visitor. Jane Jolly's beautiful and heartwarming story is the perfect blend of real and imagined, and gives viewers wonderful insight into a slice of Australian history. Robert Ingpen's illustrations are a mixture of charming pencil sketch portraits and stunning full-colour landscapes, and are truly sublime. Beautifully told by actor Ursula Yovich, Tea and Sugar Christmas will intrigue and captivate viewers young and old.
Find more stories about Christmas and celebration on Story Box Library now.
