Book Week 2025 – the dates have been set, the notables announced and the theme gloriously brought to life by illustrator and author Jess McGeachin.
How are you celebrating in your library or classroom?
I have to admit that Book Week has taken rather a backseat in my secondary school library over recent years and this year is my year of beginning a revitalisation. I’ve pulled together a list of ideas and resources. I won’t use them all, that just the nature of a busy library with not enough time to get to everything I want to do, but the list is a starting point for gathering inspiration and refining my approach.
The theme for Book Week 2025 is Book An Adventure and there are lots 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 organisers of Book Week and they create a wonderful range of free digital resources and official merchandise for school libraries to use. This year, Jess McGeachin is the creator of the incredible illustrations for the theme. You’ll find the range of free downloadable graphics, posters and more on the CBCA website.
The CBCA 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 Notables and Shortlist on the CBCA website (along with more information about each book, resources and links to teacher notes).
A fun way to share the CBCA Books of the Year with students is through Shadow Judging. You can access the official Shadow Judging program here. I’m intending to create my own version to use with Year 7-9 students in our Library lessons.
Activity Ideas
- Loyalty card, book bingo or passport – use stamps or stickers to reward borrowing and finished books.
- Adventure in a bag – adding some books themed to different destinations, these bags will take readers on an adventure.
- Treasure hunt – what says adventure more than a map and a treasure hunt? Hide literary-themed clues around the library or school for adventurers to find.
- Escape room – these have been super popular in my library. This year I’ll need an adventure themed kit – The Lost Mummy from Lock Paper Scissors fits perfectly.
- Choose Your Own Adventure writing – Have you ever tried to write your own choose your own adventure story? Not an easy feat, but a fun challenge for students. Another option might be to create a choose your own adventure story spread throughout the library space, inviting students to read along as they move between different areas of the library.
- Extreme reading competition – an old favourite of book week celebrations, this is particularly relevant to the theme this year. Readers photograph themselves reading in unique, exotic or unusual locations.
- Storytelling campfire – sadly we’ll have to forego real fire in our library, but creating a storytelling area sounds fun….we might even need a tent to create the right vibe. Story dice make storytelling more approachable and lots of fun.
- VR adventures – I’ll be curating a range of VR games and tours that highlight literary, historical and geographical locations.
- Geocaching – is an awesome adventure activity. Using an app like ActionBound, create maps, treasure hunts and challenges for students to complete.
- Survival skill activities – grab the non-fiction and dive into helpful skills like knot tying.
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
Facebook Group and collaborative Pinterest board.
Have you heard of the Aussies Book Week Facebook group ? 11,000 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 2025 theme.
Want more Book Week ideas? Check out these activity and display ideas.