Children’s Book Week to Boost Literacy

Children’s Book Week is a national initiative that will be held from Saturday 17 – Friday 23 August. It is designed to boost literacy in young Australians and the theme for 2019 is “Reading is My Secret Power.”

To celebrate Children’s Book Week locally, the City will be running a series of activities at all four of its libraries throughout August.

City of Rockingham Mayor Barry Sammels encouraged families to head into their local library and join in the fun during Children’s Book Week 2019.

“Each year Children’s Book Week is one of the premier events on our library calendars and it represents a terrific opportunity for kids to celebrate the joy of reading,” Mayor Sammels said.

“Reading is a powerful tool that plays a vital role in boosting literacy skills for children so it is important for the City to celebrate Children’s Book Week.

“We are thrilled to be hosting a variety of events and activities for young readers of all ages, so I encourage residents to pop into their local library and get involved in this terrific initiative.”

Full information regarding the activities scheduled across the City’s libraries for Children’s Book Week 2019 is as follows:

Aśka is a passionate children’s book illustrator and science communicator with a background in both arts and quantum physics. She has illustrations being published in seven books in 2019, including the Eco Rangers series by Candice Lemon-Scott. You can meet Aśka at the following times and locations:

Tuesday 6th August 2019 3.30pm – 4.30pm at the Safety Bay Library’s Bookstars Club (Ages 6 – 12). 5.30pm – 6.30pm at the Warnbro Community Library’s Wicked session (Ages 12 – 17).

Saturday 24th August 2019 9am – 10am at Rockingham Central Library (Ages 6 – 10). 11am – 12pm at Mary Davies Library and Community Centre (Ages 8+).

Celebrate Children’s Book Week at the library and discover your secret power as you learn how to do circus tricks with Ricochet Circus, listen to some wonderful stories and craft your own creations to take home. This is a community event open to all ages.

Sabrina Dudgeon-Swift is descended from the Bardi people from north of Broome, and the Gija people in the East Kimberley. Sabrina grew up in Darwin, but now lives in Perth and works for the School of Indigenous Studies at The University of Western Australia. Her story Lilli and Shadow in Trouble is part of the Waarda series for young readers and was inspired by her nanna and the stories she shared. These sessions are for school groups and homeschoolers aged 7 – 11.

9.30am – 10.30am at Warnbro Community Library. 11.30am -12.30pm at Mary Davies Library and Community Centre. 1.30pm – 2.30pm at Rockingham Central Library.

Author of Lintang and the Pirate Queen (which was a notable book in the Children's Book Council of Australia awards in 2018), Tamara Moss is an engaging and passionate speaker with a background in Asian studies.

She has written two more books in the Lintang series, which have received rave reviews for their sense of adventure, charming characters and vivid fantasy world. These sessions are for school groups and homeschoolers aged 7 – 11.

Sessions running 9.30am – 10.30am at Mary Davies Library and Community Centre and from 11.30am – 12.30pm at Safety Bay Library.