Little Readers Read-a-thon
Join the Little Readers Read-a-thon
If you are a health professional, we'd love you to get involved and encourage families in your unit to take part!
We welcome all neonatal intensive care nurseries, special care nurseries or even pediatric intensive care units to read to babies.
Register your hospital to participate in the Little Readers Read-a-thon here. It’s easy – just fill in our online form and we’ll take care of the rest!
How to Win a Prize for Your Hospital
Prizes are up for grabs for the hospital with the greatest number of books read and the most minutes read, so please make sure you have families logging the reading on the logging sheets provided.
Once the Little Readers Read-a-thon is complete, upload your logging sheets using the link below.
Why Reading is Important for Babies in Hospital
Reading everyday matters, even to the smallest of babies.
Reading to babies every day supports development not only in the NICU but also going into early infancy and childhood. Babies enjoy hearing their parent’s voice over any other sound, but what’s more important is that it’s an activity that parents can do every day for their baby during a time where many feel helpless in an intense and stressful environment. Reading is also linked to improved language and writing abilities at school age, so it’s never too early to start and why we’re encouraging you to get on board with our Little Readers Read-a-thon.
Meet Our Amazing Little Readers Read-a-thon Ambassadors
Michelle Worthington
Michelle Worthington is an internationally published, award winning author of children’s picture books for children of all ages. She is also the mother of three premature babies and knows the benefits of reading to babies in hospital first-hand. Michelle’s experience of having her premature babies served as the inspiration for her story, “My Brother Tom”, which she shares with our Little Readers Read-a-thon participants as part of the Friday Night Story Time library.
Michelle has been a treasured ambassador for the Little Readers Read-a-thon for the last five years and we are delighted to have her as an integral part of this program. You might even be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of her book fairy alter-ego, Fairy Belle!
To hear more from Michelle on the importance of reading aloud to your baby in the neonatal environment from a parent’s perspective, check out the link below:
The Summers-Hewett Family
Alice Summers and George Hewett welcomed their little treasure, son Henry, at 28 weeks’ gestation. Since his arrival, they have been passionate about raising awareness of prematurity and what families go through on their journey with a premature baby. We are delighted to welcome Alice, George and Henry as our National Read-a-thon Ambassadors in 2025 and we look forward to getting them involved in what we have planned!
Keep connected with Life’s Little Treasures on our social media platforms to see what the Summer-Hewett Family are getting up to as part of the Little Readers Read-a-thon in August 2025!
Samantha Smith
Sam has been a friend of the Life’s Little Treasures Foundation for many years. She is a member of the Australian Society of Authors, the Children’s Book Council, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), a CYA judge, an Author Pen Pal and an Author Ambassador for the Little Reader’s Read-a-thon.
Samantha loves all things green and completed doctoral research exploring how to encourage positive environmental habits in young people. Inspired by her overactive compost and a few rogue worms that broke into the kitchen, Samantha and her co-authors penned their first eco-picture book – Harriet’s Hungry Worms.
We are delighted to share Sam’s thoughts on reading with young children – check out her video via the link below:
Little Readers at Home
A parallel companion program to the Little Readers Read-a-thon, the Little Readers at Home program was launched in 2024, and we’d love you and your family to take part!
We welcome all children under the age of six years (or when they have started school) to join the Little Readers at Home reading competition during the month of August.
You don’t need to register your child to participate in this program – all you need to do is download the Little Readers at Home info pack by clicking the links below and uploading your results at the end of August – it’s that easy!
You will find all the downloadable resources needed to participate with your child in the Little Readers at Home competition right here, plus a bonus colouring sheet from Dannika Patterson to allow your little treasures to colour along to “The Silverback’s Song” during Friday Night Story Time – big thanks to Dannika for her support!
How to Win a Prize for Your Child
Book pack prizes are up for grabs for the children with the greatest number of books read and the most minutes read, so please make sure you remember to record any family story time you have during the Read-a-thon period in August on the logging sheets provided.
Once the Little Readers Read-a-thon is complete, upload your logging sheets using the link below.
Friday Night Story Time
Providing an opportunity to read along together, we are proud to offer Friday Night Story Time for all of the month of August!
At 7pm on Friday nights during the month of August, we are delighted to share some of our favorite stories on the Life’s Little Treasures Foundation social media platforms – make sure you join our extra-special Ambassador, Fairy Belle as she hosts her author friends in sharing a story each week.
If you can’t join us on social media for a story at 7pm, not to worry – we have all of our author friends sharing videos of their stories on the Life’s Little Treasures Youtube channel, available for you to read along any time you like!
Little Readers Read-a-thon Storytime Library
Little Readers Read-a-thon FAQs for Hospital Heath Professionals
Is my unit eligible to enter the Little Readers Read-a-thon?
Any hospital unit that admits neonates is welcome to join the Little Readers Read-a-thon – we have neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), special care nurseries (SCNs) and pediatric intensive care units from hospitals of all sizes who join the Little Readers Read-a-thon throughout Australia. We also have neonatal units from many other countries worldwide that join us and participate remotely.
How do I get the resources I need for the Little Readers Read-a-thon?
Once you have registered for the Little Readers Read-a-thon, you will automatically be sent an email with digital files of all of the resources that you will need to get the event up and running in your unit. This email will contain the Parent Info Pack documents, a reading log template, certificates and flyers for you to print out and provide to families participating in your unit.
Will I be sent a starter pack?
Starter packs are sent to hospitals participating in Australia if they have registered before the cut-off date of Friday, 1 August 2025. International participants will not be sent a physical starter pack of resources but will be emailed all of the digital files needed to run the event. We will also send you a library bag for each of the families participating while our stocks last.
Can I collect my starter pack resources in person?
Yes, you are very welcome to collect your starter pack resources in person. Our office is located in Ringwood in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and is open for pack collection from 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday – starter packs can be available for collection upon request. Please make a note in your registration submission that you would like to collect your starter pack from our office. Other arrangements for collection can be made by chatting to any of our helpful team!
How can my unit participate?
Neonatal units are required to register to officially participate in the Little Readers Read-a-thon in order to be eligible for prizes and so that participants can access resources. Please register your hospital by the commencement date by completing the form (linked on this page). You will then receive a Little Readers Read-a-thon starter pack (Australia only) and access to online resources to help you run the activity.
What do I get when I register for the Read-a-thon?
Registering unit representatives will receive a great tool kit that includes everything you’ll need for the Little Readers Read-a-thon; fact sheets, promotional posters, participation certificates, reading log sheets, and survey tools.
What can I do to prepare for the Little Readers Read-a-thon in my hospital unit?
Consider how you can promote the event to parents and staff and what resources you have available to you. If you do not have an existing reading library in your unit, consider how you could start one – can you ask for donations from local businesses or supporters? Can your local school library or local council library provide you with decommissioned books?
