Category: Ages 6–8

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 […]

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 […]

Mark Greenwood shares mysterious true Australian stories in his junior fiction series, beginning with The Dragon’s Treasure and The Vanishing. In the teaching activity for The Dragon’s Treasure, budding reporters share the story of discovering treasure on a remote West Australian beach, using the newspaper template for the Pirate Times. For The Vanishing, kids create their own comic strip: drawing the moment […]

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'Create A Comic/Dig Up A Story'

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Mark Greenwood is a history hunter. He enjoys searching for lost explorers and glittering treasure, delving into baffling mysteries and investigating famous cold cases. In this piece, he shares his passion for the unexplained and how that resulted in a new series of books. Why these mysteries in particular? I’m hooked on mystery, history and […]

What do good illustrators and authors do when they sit down to write a book? Sally Tinker, the leading character of Brobot: now available in colour, ponders this question with her author and creator James Foley. James’s new edition of Brobot: now available in colour is available in all good bookshops and online. Gastronauts: now available in colour is due for release […]

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.

In this episode, we are tuning in to listen to children’s author James Foley speak with his lead character, Sally Tinker, about how the big ideas come to be and where you can find them. James’s new edition of Brobot: now available in colour is available in all good bookshops and online. Gastronauts: now available in colour is due […]

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 […]

Children’s publisher Cate Sutherland says she loves the way Cristy Burne’s Into the Blue combines a snorkelling adventure with real-life conundrums that kids face every day. We asked Cristy to share more about the book’s themes and her writing process. Tell us about your latest book and why you wrote it. My latest book is Into the Blue […]

In Into the Blue, what starts as a fun snorkelling adventure quickly becomes a test of character and conscience when Blair loses his brother’s beloved GoPro in the sea. On this map of the Omeo wreck on Coogee Beach, draw and label the plants, animals, lost objects, trash and treasure you might see on an old […]

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'Ship to Shore'

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In Kelpie Chaos, a kelpie puppy is about to be sent to the pound and Eli knows he has to do something to save him. After adopting the flame-chested kelpie, now named Zoom, the family falls in love, but they soon learn there’s a lot to remember when raising a working dog. In this activity, kids are […]

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'Draw A Dog You Know with Deb Fitzpatrick'

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Sister Bullwinkel was a WWII hero who tended to patients in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Indonesia. Find the right illnesses to diagnose the WWII patient like Vivien Bullwinkel does in Courage Be My Friend. We’ve collated some common diseases she may have encountered. Use the internet to come up with your best […]

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'Diagnose the WWII illness'

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Brobot is the first children’s graphic novel in the Sally Tinker series. The series follows Sally Tinker and her brother as they navigate through all of Sally’s inventions. The Design Your Own Robot activity sheet is a great resource to spark creative and logical thinking and to encourage attention to detail. For more teaching activities, download […]

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'Design your own robot'

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Find the right words to fill out the ad-lib poem or write your own Fibonacci poem (sometimes called a Fib). Right Way Down and other poems is an accessible poetry collection that covers a wide variety of topics in an illustrated, read-aloud format. It offers plenty of opportunities for engagement through performance, creative writing, art and […]

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'DIY Poetry'

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Gastronauts is a children’s graphic novel in the Sally Tinker series. The series follows Sally Tinker and her brother as they navigate through all of Sally’s inventions. The Inside The Human Body activity sheet is a great resource for written literacy, identification skills and biological science. For more teaching activities, download the free teaching notes here.

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'Inside the human body with James Foley'

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Ever wondered what makes an idea good or bad? Sally Tinker, the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve, asks author and illustrator James Foley just what is the big idea?

Cristy Burne  Remember the first time you spotted a fish swimming in the ocean? Or the fun of jumping waves? Or that full-body shiver as you plunge into the chilly, salty sea? A child’s emotional connection to nature is a vital and revitalising superpower – and I want to grow it whenever I can.  Our […]

Find the Wongutha Words in this crossword and unlock the tales of the Wongutha people. From Indigenous traditional teaching stories of the Wongutha people, to stories based on the author’s childhood at Mount Margaret Mission, Wongutha Tales is a unique collection bringing together May L. O’Brien’s beautiful stories for the first time. This activity sheet is an […]

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'Wongutha Words'

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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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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.

My most recent picture book, When I Can Fly, tells the story of a young boobook owl who yearns for the day when he can visit the city from his home in the bush. From afar, he can see the lights and movement and imagines it to be a magical place – much more interesting […]

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.

Colour Me is a children’s picture book that uses the rainbow as a metaphor for our diversity and uniqueness. Ezekiel Kwaymullina and Moira Court use screen prints and evocative prose to deliver a strong message of diversity and inclusion. The Colour Me colouring-in activity sheet encourages individuality, creativity and self-awareness. For more teaching activities, download […]

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'Colour Me Activity'

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