It’s almost time for Book Week. The CBCA Book Week is one of the biggest events in the school library calendar. Book Week is a wonderful celebration of reading, Australian literature, school libraries and the people who bring books to children. Australian School Library Day sits in the middle of Book Week and is a great day to celebrate school libraries and how they help support students, reading and the Australian publishing industry.
The theme for Book Week 2024 is Reading is Magic and there is no shortage of ideas for displays, activities, events and ways to celebrate..
Official Artwork, Merchandise and More
The Children’s Book Council of Australia are the official champions of Book Week and they create a wonderful range of free digital resources and official merchandise for school libraries to use. This year, Jess Raclyeft is the creator of the wonderfull illustrations for the theme. You’ll find the range of free downloadable graphics, posters and more 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
A big part of Book Week is celebrating the CBCA Book of the Year Shortlist and Notables. 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
My first stop every year, when planning for Book Week is the Ipswich District Teacher Librarian Network Book Week publication. It is full of ideas for activities, colouring in, lesson ideas, printables, bookmarks and so much more.
Syba Signs also produce a special catalogue for Book Week and Book Week merchandise.
Activity Ideas
It’s always fun to have a range of activities running for Book Week during Library lessons and at lunchtime.
Escape rooms
I love running escape rooms in our library. We’ve done them as large group activities and proper escape rooms in our small breakout rooms. This year, we’ll be setting up a magic themed escape room. If you need one that is ready to play, then check out the Frost kit from Lock Paper Scissors. I love these kits. They make creating an escape room so easy.
Creating a fantasy scene or mini door
A portal to another world or a mini fantasy world is a fun way to create and celebrate how reading is magical. Students can create a door to represent one of the short list books or their favourite novel. They can also create a fantasy world using Lego, prototyping materials or even a 3D virtual world.
Craft
From wand making to unicorns, there are loads of magical craft ideas. Check out some on the ideas on the Aussie Book Week Pinterest board.
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.
Costume ideas from things in your wardrobe
Costume ideas for kids from Children’s Books Daily.
Costume ideas for educators from Children’s Books Daily
Book Week Bookmarks, Badges and SVGs
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 access the resources 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.
Have you heard of the Aussies Book Week Facebook group ? 10,000 people have. It’s an incredible community of school library professionals who share ideas all about Book Week. Why not join us? If you are not on Facebook, check out the group’s Pinterest board.
You can also check out my Pinterest board, Library – Book Week, which I will be updating to reflect the 2024 theme.
Want more Book Week ideas? Check out these activity and display ideas.
Leave a Reply