Yellowknife (Feb 01/06) - There were so many kids in their pyjamas Friday night at the Multiplex, it seemed like there was a sleepover party.

It wasn't a sleepover, but there certainly was a party.

Hundreds of people came out dressed in pyjamas to take part in the annual Pyjama Jam.

"What a great turn-out," said co-ordinator Brad Heath, who helped organize the NWT Literacy Council event.

It was a big deal for five-year-old Markus Cluff, who put a lot of thought into which pair of PJs to wear.

"He was planning this all week long," said Dean Cluff, Markus' dad.

Markus wore his Star Wars jammies to the party, accompanied by his dad Dean and mom Jill Herbert.

The boy's favourite books are the Berenstain Bears. "I think they've read the whole series multiple times over," said Herbert. "The last one was about how the bears forgot their manners."

The evening included story-telling and sing-alongs. The whole room took part in a long version of "Old MacDonald" and had the kids laughing and jumping with excitement.

A session by four members of the Strings Across the Sky fiddle group entertained the crowd, which also enjoyed a crash course in jigging by Roseanne MacPherson.

The DragonFly theatre group performed a play, but the focus on the night was reading.

"I think reading with my kids is important for their knowledge," said Hashem Hashem, who attended with his two sons and his wife.

Seven-year-old Mohammed Hashem was excited to be there in his sport-themed pyjamas. Mohammed's favourite book right now is about Batman. It was the last book that he read with his dad, and now they're looking for more.

"I like reading because it makes me smarter, and it's fun," said Mohammed.

Hashem's other son, Abdalla, may only be 14 months old, but he's getting a good start on reading: Hashem said he reads to baby Abdalla every night.