Children’s book council of Australia week

Today launches the Children’s Book Council of Australia week, from Friday 18 August to Thursday 23 August, to celebrate children’s books.

The awards for the Book of the Year will be announced today at noon. The categories include:

• Older Readers – 13-18 years
• Younger Readers – 8-12 years
• Early Childhood – 0-7 years
• Picture Book of the Year – 0-18 years – the story is primarily told through illustrations
• Eva Pownall Award – 0-18 years – the main focus is a factual account
• Crichton Award for New Illustrators – 0-18 years – to encourage new talent

My favourite book of all the shortlisted titles is How to Bee – you can read my review about this quirky and original story with a strong voice here.

The shortlist is a great reading list if you are looking to encourage your children to read quality literature.

Schools and kindergartens often hold a dress-up day for Book Week. Over the years, my kids have dressed up as:

• Fancy Nancy – you can never add too many accessories!
• Hagrid – Mr 9 did not have the necessary height or girth but he gave it a good shot with a cushion stuffed under his top and a black beard attached to his chin
• witches – think Witch School, Meg and Mog etc
• Alice in Wonderland – this was my costume one year when I was rostered on kinder duty for book week! I wore a blue dress, tucked a white tea-towel around my waist for an apron, and of course, wore a blue headband in my hair.

This post from Allison Tait might give you some more ideas for Book Week dress-ups, particularly if you have a cloak – useful for all kinds of characters, particularly if your kids are fond of the Ranger’s Apprentice series.

While this week is more for younger kids to celebrate books and have a fun day, let’s not forget the importance of encouraging kids of all ages to read. Mr 14 recently had his parent-teacher interviews and he was encouraged by at least half of his teachers to read – more often and more widely. Readers make leaders!