THE day for the Derwent Valley’s most travelled egg to hatch finally arrived this week, with ptunarra Child and Family Centre the location for the big unveiling of the dweller inside the Paint The Valley REaD egg.

Having spent the last five months visiting schools, libraries and learning centres, the egg has been read, sang, talked too and played with by Derwent Valley children, parents and teachers as part of the Paint The Valley REaD initiative, which emphasises the importance of reading and singing to children from their birth.

This week, the egg was sung and read too for the final time, with the kids of ptunarra singing to the egg in an effort to will whatever lay inside the shell out into the world, and with the help of parents, teacher, Derwent MLC Craig Farrell and Derwent Valley Mayor Ben Shaw, the egg began to crack.

After a final song made specially to coax the egg from it’s shell, the dweller was revealed to the centre as a gigantic platypus named Larila.

Larila, whose name means platypus in Palawa Kani, was happy to greet the children of ptunarra, even answering everyone’s platypus-related questions, before a final story read by Mr Farrell put the platypus to sleep.

The Paint The Valley REaD program has stretched its influence across the Derwent Valley, with the egg getting involved with children’s reading from Westerway to Molesworth and will continue to run in the Derwent Valley as many schools, learning centres and libraries continue to get behind the program.

Evidence shows that this builds the best brain networks possible in readiness for formal literacy when they start kindergarten and gives children the best possible start to life.

To follow the continuation of the program, or to get in touch with the program organisers, you can head to the Paint The Valley REaD Facebook page.