Join the 2023 Children's Book Week Reading & Activity Challenge
04 Jul 2023
A favourite calendar event across Australia, Children’s Book Week is an exciting opportunity for teachers, parents and library staff to celebrate children’s literature and learning. This year, CBCA’s Children’s Book Week runs from Saturday 19 to Friday 25 August, with the theme ‘READ, GROW, INSPIRE’.
Encourage young children to go beyond the books with our 2023 Children’s Book Week Reading & Activity Challenge. Participate in four easy steps:
Watch the story read.
Play with games.
Learn more with activities.
Borrow and discover more!
Non-subscribers can follow links below to download free resources for primary teachers, librarians and early years educators. Active Story Box Library subscribers can download activities on our Resources page.
1. Watch the story read
Find shortlisted books on Story Box Library in the Picture Book, New Illustrator, Early Childhood and Eve Pownall categories for the Children's Book of the Year Awards, with diverse and dynamic storytellers bringing these popular titles to life, ready to engage young minds and let imaginations fly! Explore CBCA 2023 shortlisted stories on Story Box Library here.
2. Play with games.
Designed for A4 or A3 printing, suitable for younger learners and to be integrated into public library programming for 2023 Children’s Book Week, Story Box Library’s Story Hunt and ‘Read, Grow, Inspire’ Board Game help young children learn more about the stories by answering questions along the way.
Non-subscribers can download here. Active Story Box Library subscribers can download activities on our Resources page.
3. Learn more with activities.
Our resources for this year’s Children’s Book Week are ready for your classroom, library or early learning centre, making reading and learning fun for kids of all ages!
Activity Time
Each story in our collection comes with Activity Time resources, which can be found via the ‘Activities’ tab on each story page, or via our Short Films here. 
You can also browse resources according to activity type via our Resources page, only available to active subscribers.
Designed to be used alongside story reads in the library, classroom or at home, Activity Time resources are available for all subscribing schools, libraries and families.
Activity Cards & Story Response Templates
Designed for lower, middle and upper primary teachers, download a range of free Activity Cards with Story Response Templates for shortlisted titles, designed for A4 printing.
This resource includes a range of short book response tasks that provide students with creative and engaging opportunities to explore, analyse and connect with the themes, characters, language and literary features of Story Box Library’s 2023 shortlisted stories.
Each response task includes a printable template which students can use to record their responses. Non-subscribers can download here. Active Story Box Library subscribers can download activities on our Resources page.
4. Borrow and discover more!
Using bookmarks from our Reading Challenge resources, encourage students and children to borrow hard copies of stories from the school or public library, and leave a note or review for the next person to discover. Reading Challenge resources also include a printable A4 Shelf Talker so that children can discover stories quickly and easily via QR codes.
Story Box Library school subscribers can soon access titles via the Oliver V5 platform by Softlink, making it easier for educators and teacher-librarians to search for picture book favourites, and find relevant SBL resources within their school library. Find out more here.
Online event: 2023 Children's Book Week®: “More than costumes!”
On Tuesday 25 July, 6-7.30pm, Story Box Library’s Creative Director, Netti Wagner hosts this spectacular online event for educators, librarians, industry professionals, creatives and more to discover more about 2023 Children’s Book Week, how to engage young minds in creativity, learning and more.
Special guests:
CBCA - Jane Moore, Deputy Chair
ZartArt - Tania Di Berardino, Artist & Educator
PETAA - Karen Rogers, Literacy Leader & Cassie Tongue, Marketing Communications Manager
Story Box Library - Nina Perkinson, Education Resource Developer
The event also includes an opportunity for a live Q&A with all panelists.
