Book Week - August 17-23

Each year, many schools and public libraries across Australia spend a week in August celebrating books and Australian authors and illustrators. This term, we have some wonderful opportunities for our students to participate in to celebrate Book Week. 

Author visit

In Week 4 (Tuesday, August 12), we are very lucky to have a visit from Katrina Nannestad for our Year 3-6 students. She is the author of The Travelling Bookshop series, The Girl, the Dog and the Writer series, Silver Linings, and several historical fiction novels, including We Are Wolves, Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief, All the Beautiful Things, and Waiting for Storks.

There will also be an opportunity to purchase signed copies of Katrina’s books.

Book Week Dress Up and Activity Day

As our aim is to bring students and books together, we invite all students to come dressed as a book character, either fictional or real, or as something relating to the Book Week theme ‘Book an adventure’ on Friday, August 22.  We will begin our day with a short assembly and then progress into Book Week-related activities. Could your child also bring along the book or a picture of the book cover (attached to a lanyard or pinned to their costume) to let others know the book their character is from? This year, we will be asking students to bring along a gold coin donation as part of our dress-up day. All money collected will be going to the World Literacy Foundation, which is partnering with Reading out of Poverty. This year, they are supporting early literacy in disadvantaged communities across Australia.

If any students choose not to dress as a book character, they will wear their normal school uniform. Please note that the costume does not need to be elaborate or expensive.  We would encourage parents to use dress-up clothes from home for the event. There are also many simple DIY ideas on the Internet.

As a Christian community, we are asking parents to assist us in selecting appropriate characters that complement our values and beliefs.  We would ask that characters who are violent or scary (i.e., ghosts, vampires, or those involving weapons) be avoided.  If you are unsure and would like to clarify this further, please speak to your child’s teacher.

The teachers and I look forward to seeing our students come dressed as their book character of choice.

Book Week Competition

This year, we are holding a Book Week competition. Students, if they choose, can decorate a paper plate to represent their favourite book – it could be a scene from the book, a character, or the cover of the book. There are some ideas below. If you need a paper plate, please collect one from Miss Judd. Students will need to write their name and class on the back of their paper plate. This activity will need to be completed at home. Entries need to be given to Miss Judd by Monday, August 18th, and winners will be announced at our Book Week dress-up day.

Upcoming Book and Author Events

If you are looking for some things to do with your children, please check out these upcoming events at The Book Cow (https://www.bookcow.com.au/events). Also, remember to check out what’s available at your local public library.

Book Club

Sally Judd

Teacher Librarian