The weeklong festival is an annual celebration of books run by Children’s Book Council of Australia with the hope to inspire a love of reading and literacy around the country. Education centres including schools, day cares, and libraries across the country host activities and events throughout the week which connect readers with books, authors and illustrators. Book Week 2018 marks the 73rd anniversary with the theme ‘Find Your Treasure’ which is a perfect description for the search of your favourite book, character or even illustrator.

During the week the children participated in the well-loved book week dress up day, listening corners, retelling tables and many more activities. The children were also asked to count the number of books read at home, within their classroom and in the library. At the end of Book Week, Timber Tots tallied the number of books read which come to an impressive total of 2,120 books.

To celebrate this great achievement Timber Tots purchased the top four winning books of CBCA to join our library collection.

The Book of the Year, Early Childhood: Rodney Loses It written by Michael Bauer.
The early childhood book of the year is for children who are aged between 0-7 years old. Rodney Loses it is about a rabbit who loves to draw but one day he loses his favourite pen and his patience.

The Picture Book of the Year: A Walk in the Bush Illustrated by Gwyn Perkins.
The Picture Book of the Year is awarded to books where the story is unified through illustrations along with words. A walk through the bush joins a granddad and Iggy who walk through the Australian bush celebrating the flora and fauna.

Eve Pownall Award: Do Not Lick this Book written by Idan Ben-Barck.
The Eve Pownall Award is for books designed to have the prime intention of documenting factual material through imaginative presentation. Do Not Lick This book is a simple yet funny book which introduces children to the strange unseen world of microbes that can be found all around them.

Crichton Award for New Illustrators: I Just Ate My Friend written by Heidi McKinnon
The Crichton Award is aimed at recognizing and encouraging new talent from Australian illustrator’s. I Just Ate My Friend is a hilarious story about the search for friendship and belonging with simple brightly coloured drawings.

At Timber Tots we place a high value on literacy within all areas of our Centre including the classroom, the garden, our play grounds and parklands. As an educational setting, our aim is to develop our children’s love and enjoyment for reading and writing through fun and exciting experiences. Every single day we encourage our children to immerse themselves in books, however, the excitement of Book Week creates an opportunity to align our passion with the surrounding schools and the community, as we all celebrate our love of literacy together.