National Simultaneous Storytime 2026!

Australia's biggest collective reading event literally kicked goals!

On 27 May, millions of readers across the country and beyond joined Elise Kellond-Knight, Matildas legend and international football superstar, reading the 2026 NSS title, Luna Roo the Kangaroo Baller for StoryBox Hub, written by Adam Jackson and Adrian Lloyd, illustrated by Jake A. Minton and published by Little Book Press. Featuring the voices of cheeky galahs Jeff and Gary brought to life by Tom Bainbridge.

Choose from three versions: regular English, Read-Along, or Auslan.

Want to know more? We've got you covered. Jump straight to the chapter you're after in the video below:

Meet Elise – hear from the Matildas star herself about National Simultaneous Storytime

Q&A with Elise – all about Elise Kellond-Knight

Behind the book – Adam, Adrian and Jake share the story behind Luna Roo the Kangaroo Baller

This NSS, Luna Roo the Kangaroo Baller is multilingual!

For the first time, StoryBox Hub has made the 2026 National Simultaneous Storytime story available with captions in 11 languages, thanks to publisher Little Book Press and our captioning partner, Ai-Media (Access Innovation). Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Greek, Italian, Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Bengali and Spanish are all available alongside the English, Read-Along and Auslan versions that you already know and love. 

*Captions are available for the regular and Auslan editions of Luna Roo the Kangaroo Baller. Select the story below the video, press play and look for the CC option in the video player. Click cc and select your language of choice to view.