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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Exactly 564 Yellowknife students simultaneously listened to Robert Munsch stories on Friday.

The read-a-thon was a nationwide attempt to break the Guinness World Record for "the most children reading with an adult in multiple locations," a record currently held by the United States.

Weledeh librarian Joyce Karau reads Robert Munsch's Pigs to Grade 8 students Pippa Kennedy, Ashley Jeremick-C, Sarah Black, Jessica Kruger, and Cheyen Mandeville. - Anne Jones/NNSL photo

All participants had to read all of the stories in Robert Munsch's Munschworks 2, which is a collection of the famous Canadian's stories, including Pigs, Mortimer, Purple, Green and Yellow, Murmel, Murmel, Murmel, and Something Good. Munsch is Canada's best-selling author and Family Literacy Day's honorary chair person.

Some readers in Yellowknife read the Munsch stories entirely online.

Pre-kindergarten to Grade 5 students at J.H. Sissons and kindergarten to Grade 8 students from Weledeh took part.

The event needed witnesses. At Sissons school, witnesses included Robert Hawkins, MLA for Yellowknife Centre, and other government officials. All the stories at the French immersion school were read entirely in French.

"We're the only completely immersion school in the territory," said Lynn Taylor, librarian at Sissons. "So we had to do it in French."

Weledeh Catholic school had 45 adult readers reading to 360 students.

Weledeh librarian Joyce Karau said volunteers included local social services employees and deacon Brian Carter of St. Patrick's Catholic Church.

All schools have to submit their results and witness statements by Feb. 6 so Guinness can determine what country will hold the record. More than 190,000 Canadians signed up to break the record of 78,791 American adults and children reading together.