The Gunnedah Shire Library has been celebrating Multicultural March, with members of the Multicultural Women’s Association coming to Book Buddies each week and reading stories to children in their native language.
Simoni DaSilva, who is originally from Brazil, came and read the book, Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson in Brazilian Portuguese and in English – much to the delight of her eager audience.
“It is very exciting to be doing this and I am happy to do it,” she said.
“Australia is so multicultural and it is important to know other languages and get in touch with other cultures.
“Learning languages is good for the brain, especially for children.”
Gunnedah shire librarian, Christiane Birkett, said Multicultural March at the library has been fantastic.
“We have had a lot of interest,” she said.
“The library is a community hub and it is great for others to experience language and culture here, which opens up the world.
“The women have been fantastic and it is something we will be looking at doing again.”
Brazilian Portuguese is just one of many different language books that have been read in recent weeks. Book Buddies participants have also heard their favourite books read in Korean, Maori, Mandarin, Spanish and Malaysian, just to name a few, highlighting the diverse culture of Gunnedah.
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