One of Australia’s most celebrated authors brought the magic of reading to Morayfield State School today.

State Member for Morayfield Mark Ryan MP was joined by Education Minister Kate Jones and renowned children's author Mem Fox to launch Morayfield Magic, an annual fun day for local students and their families to inspire a love of reading.

Ms Jones said the celebration was an initiative of Mark Ryan and inspired by Mem Fox’s classic book, Possum Magic.

“This is a great idea from Mark because instilling a love of reading in children is crucial for their literacy skills,” she said.

“Events like this inspire children to read more and teach them that reading can be great fun.”

Mark Ryan said having Mem Fox at the launch of the event added magic to the special event.

“I’m very excited to be joined by Mem Fox and the Minister to launch this initiative,” Mr Ryan said.

“It’s a dream come true to be able to work with Mem on this and I greatly appreciate her support in coming along to launch Morayfield Magic.”

Mr Ryan said Morayfield Magic was developed to challenge school children to expand their literacy skills through fun activities.

“NAPLAN results indicate some good improvement in literacy levels for our local schools but our young people are still as a whole not exceeding the national benchmark for reading and I want to help do something about that,” Mr Ryan said.

Important information from key government departments, community groups and service providers will also be available at the event.

Morayfield Magic will also offer students and schools the opportunity to win great prizes, including autographed books by Mem Fox, including an inter-school challenge.

Following the launch, the inaugural Morayfield Magic will take place on Sunday 26 July 2015 from 1:00pm – 4:00pm at the Morayfield State School Oval, Caboolture River Road, Morayfield.