Book Week 2022: Resources and Links

Book Week is often one of the biggest events in the school library calendar. Book Week throws into the light the importance of reading, school libraries, children’s literature and Australian literature. It is a chance to celebrate all of that and more.

The theme for Book Week 2022 is Dreaming With Eyes Open… The theme is decided and announced each year by the Children’s Book Council of Australia and they do an amazing job of creating resources that fit the theme and official artwork.

Official Artwork, Merchandise and More

Dreaming with eyes open

Jasmine Seymour, illustrator of Baby Business, which won the CBCA Award for New Illustrator in 2020, has designed the official artwork for Book Week 2022. I love the teal design and beautiful animals.

The CBCA always provide free resources to help promote Book Week, which you will find on the CBCA website.

They also sell a range of themed merchandise, everything from posters and pins to bunting, stickers and planners. You can find it all here or purchase through your state CBCA branch.

Book of the Year Shortlist and Notables

Display boards showing book covers of Book Week shortlist from 2015

It’s always been tradition in my school libraries to display the shortlist and notables list from the CBCA Book of the Year. The Book of the Year from each of the six categories is announced at the start of Book Week and it helps to further highlight the importance of Australian children’s literature. You’ll find the Shortlist here (along with more information about each book, resources and links to teacher notes), the Notables List here and some ideas for displaying these titles here and here.

Teaching Activities

IDTL network Book Week book cover. Blue with white stars and planets with green crocodile reading.Every year, without fail, my school library purchases a copy of the Ipswich District Teacher Librarian Book Week publication. It is full of ideas for activities that fit the Book Week theme and the Shortlist books. There are printable activities, bookmarks, colouring and more. Now, you can purchase, download and print your own copy. Find it all on the IDTL website.  I’m not sure who does their cover artwork but it is always beautiful.

The team at Zart also create a booklet with activity ideas. You can find and purchase it on their website.

Book Week Poem

Poet Mike Lucas writes a beautiful poem around the Book Week theme each year. Mike is also incredible generous in allowing schools to use this poem. Last year, we used his Book Week poem to create a video with students from Pre-Prep to Year 12. This year, you’ll find the poem Dreaming With Eyes Open on Mike’s website. 

Indigenous Storytelling

Story Box Library, with funding from the Australian Council for the Arts, created a series of books written, illustrated and read by Indigenous storytellers.  You will find these stories on the Story Box Library platform. Story Box Library also created a short film called Stories Connect Us All that explains the backstory to this project.

Dreamy is a collection of sleep stories created by First Nations storytellers. ​Brought to you by Common Ground and Snapchat, you can listen to each of the stories and learn more about the storytellers.

bedtime storiesCommon Ground also work with First Nation elders to create Bedtime Stories – sharing non-secret Dreamtime stories through film. While this is designed to be view during a certain week (November 2021), visiting the website and signing up for a free account means you get an email with all five films and loads of teaching resources for all year levels. The films are also linked to the Australian Curriculum standards. You’ll also find four stories and more information on the Common Ground website.

If you are looking for Creation stories, the Indigenous Knowledge Institute from the University of Melbourne has a range of video links and teaching resources. They also have more on the Resources page.

Teach your students more about the first languages of your local area with First Languages Australia. Their resources, including the interactive Gambay First Languages Map are fantastic.

Costumes

Often, one of the highlights in a school library celebration of Book Week are the costume parades and character dress up days. While these are lots of fun, they can also be stressful for parents, students and staff alike. Here are some links for quick and easy costume ideas.

Easy book week costumes from things in your wardrobe Easy book week costumes from things you can make at home. Madison's Library

Costume ideas from things in your wardrobe

Homemade costume ideas

Costume ideas for kids from Children’s Books Daily.

Costume ideas for educators from Children’s Books Daily

Book Week Bookmarks

Book Week 2022 Dreaming with eyes open bookmarks. Madison's Library

I love using Canva for all my graphics, posters and Instagram posts and I had a lot of fun creating these bookmarks for our school library. You can download the PDF printable here. Feel free to use for your own school library but please do not share or reproduce for commercial purposes.

Facebook Group and collaborative Pinterest board.

If you’d love to start sharing ideas for the Book Week 2022 theme, why don’t you join our Aussies Book Week Facebook group or Pinterest page?

You can also check out my Pinterest board, Library – Book Week, which I will be updating to reflect the 2022 theme.

Want more Book Week ideas? Check out these activity and display ideas.