City staff lend a hand with Storytime for Harmony Week
Subiaco Library’s Cultural Storytimes offer a unique opportunity for kids under 5 to learn about different cultures, stories, and activities – and for Harmony Week 2026, a few City staff members got involved in these fun sessions.
Three Storytime sessions; in Mandarin, Japanese, and Italian, were hosted by City staff members Yubao, Ayana, and Jessica.
The Storytimes include half an hour of storytelling, and half an hour of playtime or crafting.
Ayana’s Japanese Storytime, held on Friday 13 March, included a ‘paint your own paper’ fan activity, after Ayana read a traditional Japanese children’s storybook.
Ayana, who is the City’s Coordinator Project Management Office, said the session was very popular and received some great feedback.
“There was a Japanese mother with her three-year-old boy who had just moved to Perth in October – she said she happened to stop by and found our session by coincidence. They enjoyed interacting with other mothers and children, playing together, and making fans. There were also a couple of mums who spoke a little Japanese, which was lovely,” she said.
“I really loved the activity. I had done similar Japanese Storytime sessions a few times before at the International Centre in my city, and I find them very fun and rewarding.”
The library team received some very positive feedback from a participant following the event; “Even though my baby was very young, it was lovely to see them engaged with the sounds, rhythm, and atmosphere of the session. It made for a really special morning for both of us.”
Jessica, who is the Coordinator of the Subiaco Museum, is set to present an Italian Storytime at the library this Friday 20 March.
Jessica said, “I was born in Australia, but I have Italian heritage – my family is from Valtellina (where they had the Olympics), and I’ve always loved languages. I learned Italian and developed a much deeper connection to my family heritage when I moved to Italy at 19 to study.
“When I became an aunt, my sister asked me to speak Italian with my nephew, and I’ve been doing that ever since. These early experiences are one of the best ways to language – even as an adult, I found children’s books and songs incredibly helpful when learning Italian.
“Sharing language is a way of sharing culture, identity, and connection. I hope families feel encouraged to bring their own heritage into the home and to support language learning from an early age.”
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