Category: Ages 3–5

Meet new friends with little Boab in The Boab Tree. This free video features Helen Milroy, author and illustrator of The Boab Tree, reading a story of friendship, resilience, and the Stolen Generation. Little Boab is lost and far, far from home. Surrounded by tall, unfriendly trees, he feels all alone. But the friendship of […]

Award-winning author and illustrator Kelly Canby will be the lively host and MC for the Young Readers Day Out, presented by The Society of Children’s Book Writers and held at the State Library of Western Australia on 17 November.

A Leaf Called Greaf, illustrated and designed by Kelly Canby was named runner up in the Best Published Book Cover Design Award in the Whitsundays Literary Heart Awards this weekend. The Whitsundays Festival launched the Literary Heart Awards earlier this year, offering cash prizes to recognise and honour outstanding contributions to the literary and design landscape. In […]

Australia’s most coveted prize for children’s literature has gone to Fremantle Press author Kelly Canby for her 2023 picture book Timeless. The CBCA Picture Book of the Year rewards outstanding books of the genre in which the creators achieve both artistic and literary unity. Children’s publisher at Fremantle Press, Cate Sutherland, said every one of Kelly’s […]

Get the classroom thinking creatively, and help Quokka find a friend, with this free teaching activity. Working together or solo, kids can brainstorm the animals that a quokka would encounter on the beach and draw a friend for them.

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'Draw a Friend for Quokka'

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Using the illustrations of bush animals, get the classroom colouring in and writing the Noongar word for each animal in the blank space. Each of the animals can be found in the dual-language Noongar and English picture book, Djinang Bonar: Seeing Seasons by Ebony Froome and Leanne Zilm.

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'What animals can we see in the bush?'

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Nedingar: Ancestors, a bilingual picture book by Isobel Bevis and Leanne Zilm, has been shortlisted for the Karajia Award by the Wilderness Society of Australia. Launched in 2022, the Karajia Award for Children’s Literature celebrates the First Nations authors illustrators who create children’s books that honour a connection to Country and tell stories exploring land, […]

In A Leaf Called Greaf, Greaf changes with the seasons, and so does Bear. As Greaf leaves him, Bear feels a lightness and warmth that he had almost forgotten. Greaf has gone, but Bear knows its memory will hold a special place in his heart forever. In this activity, we ask children to draw their […]

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'What Does Your Emotion Look Like?'

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Children’s publisher Cate Sutherland said she loves working with Kelly Canby. Cate said, ‘Kelly’s work is nuanced and always evolving. She deals with sophisticated human emotions with subtlety and empathy, simplifying them so that young readers can understand themselves and others.’ Tell us about your latest book and why you wrote it. My latest book […]

Djinang Bonar: Seeing Seasons by Ebony Froome and Leanne Zilm takes readers through the six Noongar seasons and is a wonderful way to learn some Noongar language. Listen to Ebony read the story in Noongar.

On Wednesday 8 May, the Hon. Sabine Winton MLA, Minister for Early Childhood Education, and Bookaburras Ambassador Renae Hayward helped launch the 2024 Books for Little Bookaburras at the KindiLink early learning centre at Bentley Primary School. In her speech, Winton emphasised the importance of local stories by a local publisher for local Western Australian […]

Fremantle Press is pleased to announce that the Books for Little Bookaburras 2024 program will be launched by Hon. Sabine Winton MLA, Minister for Early Childhood Education on Wednesday 8 May.

Just when we thought Kelly Canby’s star couldn’t keep rising, we were sent the amazing news that the North American edition of her picture book The Hole Story has just been named a Teacher Favourite in the 2024 North American Children’s Book Council Awards. Kelly Canby said she was surprised and delighted by the news. She […]

Nedingar: Ancestors by Isobel Bevis and Leanne Zilm, I Am the Mau and other stories by Chemutai Glasheen and Timeless by Kelly Canby have been named Notable books by the Children’s Book Council of Australia. Fremantle Press children’s publisher Cate Sutherland said she was extremely proud of her list and excited to see diverse debut […]

This fun-filled colouring activity for Helen Milroy’s picture book Bush Bugs is a great way to inspire kids to get outdoors and get familiar with insects. Milroy’s latest instalment of her bestselling First Nations Bush series features Australian bugs in all their hairy, scary glory! With boldly coloured, highly patterned illustrations, Bush Bugs is sure to delight early readers […]

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'Where's My Bug?'

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Dive deep into these activities that will keep the children busy with the underwater chaos of Dianne Wolfer and Karen Blair’s classic. Granny Grommet and Me is about the power of our elders to transform scary experiences into exciting ones. Featuring fun and fearless surfing grannies, this picture book will help the whole family nurture a […]

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'Colour In The Sea Creatures'

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Celebrate with us! To make your book-giving ceremony extra special we’ve prepared an online storytime session reading from my book Say Hooray. And it’s coming soon! In the meantime, there are also lots of fun and free activity sheets for you to download for the Bookaburras program!

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'Say Hooray! badge'

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Crow Baby is a story that will capture the imagination of both young and older readers, inspiring them to embrace their unique gifts. Here’s Helen Milroy to tell you more about it.

The Koori Curriculum Book Summit Recordings for 2023 are now available for educators. Fremantle Press’s own Helen Milroy is among the list of contributors for 2023 with her picture book Wombat, Mudlark and Other Stories. Access to the 2023 Koori Curriculum allows patrons to hear what’s behind the stories created by First Nations storytellers. You and your classroom […]

In When I Can Fly by Katie Stewart, Little Boobook is obsessed by the idea of moving to the city and sets off as soon as he can fly. The city, however, is not what he imagined at all. In this free and fun activity, children are asked to colour in Katie’s images and then […]

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'Colouring-in activity for When I Can Fly'

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From the bestselling Indigenous author and illustrator Helen Milroy comes Crow Baby, a new adventure about a girl with an incredible gift. Crow Baby was born with two spirits – one crow and one human – and in the story she has to use both spirits to save her community. If you had special bird […]

Activity Sheet

'Which Bird Are You? Crow Baby Activity Sheet'

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In Nedingar: Ancestors by Isobel Bevis and Leanne Zilm, the main character says ‘Ngaangk, ngany koodakarn djinang nganyang nedingar wer kaadatj baalabany’, or ,‘Please Mum, I want to meet my Ancestors and know who they are’. What do you think her answer was? To find out, listen to Isobel reading from her book. Then download […]

Activity Sheet

'Identify the missing Noongar words'

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Nedingar: Ancestors by Isobel Bevis and Leanne Zilm is a lyrical, dual language picture book that celebrates the beauty of Country and family. Listen to Isobel read the story in Noongar.

Fremantle Press poet Caitlin Maling, who is on the cusp of releasing Spore or Seed (July 2023), has been awarded the inaugural creative McAuley Fellowship at the University of Tasmania worth $10,000. Caitlin will spend two weeks in Hobart writing and presenting a masterclass for students and an event for the general public. The fellowship […]