Book Week challenges 2026

Image source: CBCA merchandise

This is controversial but I am not a fan of Book Week dress up days or parades.  I think Book Week should be a celebration of books, reading, libraries and creative thinking, so in my school, as an alternate activity, I used to set four Book Week challenges. Sometimes kids worked on these during breaks and sometimes teachers allowed their class to complete a challenge in class time. 

My rules are simple but of course you can set your own:

• the challenge must be completed during the school day (not at home)
• the deadline for entries is 3.25pm each day
• label your work with your name and class
• up to ten winners will be announced each morning and they will each received a small prize bag there are also certificates for highly commended and commended entries
• you can visit a showcase of entries in the library during Book Week and beyond

Here are ten challenges I have created for 2026 around the slogan 'Symphony of Stories'.  Please feel free to use, adapt, adopt etc.  I suggest selecting four challenges that appeal to and you could set one each day over four days of Book Week. It takes a long time (at night) to sift through the hundreds of entries but it is also fun. I think it is important to maintain the excitement by announcing winners each day and then displaying them in your library.

Here are my 2026 ideas:

Your library needs an advertising jingle – write a song using a well-known nursery rhyme tune that encourages the youngest children to read a book or borrow a book or share a book

Books can be other shapes – not just rectangles. Make a three-page book in the shape of a musical instrument – it will need a title, cover, title page, one story page and a back cover with a blurb or for bonus points make a pop-up book that looks like an instrument

Puzzle me a puzzle – use the letters of the 2026 CBCA book week slogan 'Symphony of Stories' to design a puzzle such as a find-a-word, cross word, or a code to solve

Using music staves as your lines write the first line of your story – make it large enough to fill a whole page ready to display in the library

The members of the orchestra have heaps of spare time – make a list of instruments and suggest a great book for each player to read and present your work as a poster to display in their rehearsal room

Write a short story (one page only) that features music or musical instruments (perhaps a musical instrument could be the main character)

Illustrate the book cover for a new book which features a musical instrument or a song and add the title, plus the author and illustrator names (be inventive with these names if you like).

Design a game that includes some of the 2026 short listed picture books – it might be snakes and ladders, or a simple version of monopoly, or a card game perhaps

Choose a book that can be made into a movie – write a proposal in the form of a letter to a famous movie director suggesting which book could be a movie and which music they should use for the movie soundtrack. Did you know the movie Babe uses music by a famous composer Camille Saint-Saëns and his Symphony number 3 and Star Wars uses music from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff and Bluey also has classical music in the episode called Sleepytime from a piece called The Planets. The book you choose for this challenge could be a personal favourite or even one of the 2026 CBCA shortlisted titles.

I penned a post linking classical music and children's books a few months ago. And this post about an elephant and a piano in Thailand might also give you some inspiration. 

Happy Book Week

Heartwood Hotel: Family Forever by Kallie George illustrated by Stephanie Graegin

Bookseller blurb: Everything is humming at the Heartwood Hotel one year after the forest fire. Yet Mona the mouse feels like something is missing. Something besides the Golden Acorn—a legendary treasure buried and forgotten long ago. When a stranger turns up at the Heartwood with a map, suddenly the whole forest is taking part in a big treasure hunt and the hotel’s regular activities are turned upside down. But Mona has an idea to get things back to normal: throw a surprise birthday party for Mr. Heartwood! As the Heartwood attracts treasure hunters—well-meaning and otherwise—and as Mona's best friend Tilly seems to be pulling away, Mona feels like her plans are slipping through her paws! Who will find the legendary treasure? And what if danger finds the hotel first?

I actually squealed when I saw a NEW Heartwood Hotel book in Canada last month. Kallie George lives in British Columbia, Canada. I grabbed it with both hands, went back to my hotel and read the whole book straight through in one huge, delicious gulp! If you have not yet discovered this sweet series quickly add them to your 'to read' or 'to borrow' list. I am sure this series will be easy to find in many school and public libraries. Kallie George creates real tension in this newest installment as we watch Mona struggling to understand why her precious friend Tilly is so distracted and where is Mr Heartwood he needs to know some of the hotel guests are acting suspiciously. 

This newest book has a slightly larger size. The new editions, which have different covers from the original ones, match this size but if your library has the original copies the two newest books will look slightly different on your shelves. You can see other books illustrated by Stephanie Graegin here.

Now there are six books in this series (the sixth book is not yet released):

A True Home (#1)

The Greatest Gift (#2)

Better Together (#3)

Home Again (#4)

Family Forever (#5)

A Brave Beginning (#6)

Canada 2026

I first visited Canada in 1994 and then again in 2012 and 2019. I have now returned from my fourth trip to this huge, and varied country. My visit this time allowed me, and another children's literature aficionado, to attend the 40th IBBY World Congress hosted by IBBY Canada in Ottawa.

Back in 1994 I set myself the target of collecting a picture book from every Province and territory. One of the books I picked up back then was O'Canada. The lyrics of this song, the Canadian nation anthem, hummed along in the background all through my most recent trip.

Here are a few observations about Canada some linked with a picture book (although not all of the books are Canadian).

Bookshops 

No surprise here - I visited heaps of bookshops in Vancouver; Victoria BC; Montreal; and Ottawa - here they are: Kidsbooks Vancouver; Munro's Books (Vancouver Island); Tanners Books (Sidney Vancouver Island); Kaboodles Toy store (Vancouver Island); Upstart & Crow (Granville Island Vancouver); Nooroongji Books (Granville Island Vancouver); Indigo (Montreal); Octopus Books (Ottawa); and one with books all in French which was so much fun Librairie du soleil d'Ottawa. (I will post pictures of some of the book treasures we found in these shops later). 

One of the most moving books I read in a library - we visited four or five - was this one:

Beavers, capybaras, sea otters and groundhogs (and squirrels too)

We didn't actually see a beaver or a capybara or a sea otter in the wild, but we did see them in a 'zoo' called The Montreal Biodome and we watched a wonderful film about a sea otter mum and her baby.

 Groundhogs on the other hand were everywhere on the campus at Carleton University - I didn't know groundhogs were even real. Oddly we did have to navigate lots of misinformation about them - at first I wondered if these little brown guys were chipmunks but we discovered chipmunks are tiny. Then someone told us they were muskrats or perhaps woodchucks. Anyway, we did some research, asked more questions and yes they were groundhogs (woodchuck is another name for a groundhog). On campus they are affectionately known as 'chonkers'.

We didn't see a beaver except on a live cam screen at the Biodome

I found this close up photo on the internet of a Groundhog- 

my photos are too far away - these guys are quite shy but they sure do munch a lot of grass

Capybara image source: Montreal Biodome.

Watch the trailer

At the Malahat Skywalk we also saw a young girl handing a red-tailed hawk - one of those moments to treasure. It made me feel very emotional being so close to such a majestic bird.

Art galleries

We were so lucky to find fantastic exhibitions that coincided with our visit for example at the Ottawa Art Gallery near our hotel we learnt about the life and work of Faith Fyles (1875–1961), the first woman to be appointed as a botanist with Canada’s Department of Agriculture. Someone needs to write a picture book about her.

The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa had a very special exhibition by the Canadian impressionist artist Helen McNicoll.

Image source: National Gallery "In the shadow of the tree".

In Montreal there is a children's bookshop called Livres Babar

Sadly it was too far away for a visit this time.

At the Montreal Museum and Fine Art Gallery, we chanced upon an exhibition entitled 'From the functional to the Fabulous: 600 years of decorative arts and design'. They had chairs, computers through the ages, jewelry, and silver tea sets and so much more.

And in Vancouver we spent time at the Bill Reid gallery in preparation for our IBBY Congress which explored Canadian and other indigenous books for children and their creators. 

Suffragettes

The Famous Five statue in Ottawa

Read more here

Canada granted women the right to vote in 1917. Only women who were war widows or had husbands or sons at war were able to vote. Considerations for extending this right were linked to the desire of the nation to remain a “White Settler” land. In May 1918, women citizens (this did not include Indigenous women) were given the right to vote.

Check out my blog post about this book.

Maple trees and maple syrup

We did a fabulous tree walk in Stanley Park and saw some very, very old and very, very tall trees. Our guide was a young tree enthusiast and expert. We saw animal bones dropped by an eagle from a high tree nest, a woodpecker, and a robin feeding her babies in a tiny but precarious nest. Near the end of our walk Colin our guide pointed out a little berry on a plant (you can eat them) with the delightful name: Thimbleberry.

Lakes, rivers, canals and waterfalls

Canada has an abundance of freshwater, with about 20% of the world’s total freshwater resources and roughly 7% of global renewable freshwater supply. Freshwater shapes Canada’s geography, with over 2 million lakes, countless rivers and creeks, and nearly 9% of the country’s surface area covered by water. We walked along canals and beside lakes and saw several waterfalls including the famous Montmorency Falls in Quebec. We took a boat trip on the St. Lawrence River which is the second longest river in Canada and we were lucky to see the locks in action on the canal in Ottawa.

Montmorency Falls Quebec

Residential schools

In 2019 I read this book, Fatty Legs, and then at our conference David A Robertson talked about his book which shares the sad history of residential schools and is written for young children. Sitting in a museum (I think it was in Vancouver at The Bill Reid Gallery) I read Shi-shi-etko and The Secret Pocket. 

In Australia you might read this important book alongside The Burnt Stick by Anthony Hill.

Eagles

On a boat trip from Granville Island (Vancouver BC) we saw several of the famous bald eagles - they were actually very close.

Flower baskets and displays

It is summertime in Canada and every city had the most gorgeous street planter boxes and hanging baskets. 

More to come - conference highlights - I will talk about the richness of the 40th IBBY Congress in a few days including Michael Rosen; Sidney Smith and Jon Klassen! And we met Kathy Stinson, Margriet Ruuers, and saw Barbara Reid in the crowd. 

One more thing - I need to mention the BEST sandwich of the whole trip which we ate on the last day in Ottawa: Chicken avocado club: Brined Roasted Chicken + Cranberry Loaf + Avocado + Chipotle Aioli + Bacon + Smoked Cheddar + Lettuce + Tomatoes Served with choice of House Fries or Salad. YUM!

Speaking of food perhaps you are wondering - sorry we didn't eat Poutine nor did we sample a beaver tail (it's a pastry not the tail of a beaver).

Essential Fairy Tales: Sleeping Beauty

Trina Schart Hyman

The folktale begins with a princess whose parents are told by a wicked fairy that their daughter will die when she pricks her finger on a particular item. In one version, the princess pricks her finger on a piece of flax. In Perrault's and the Grimm Brothers' versions, the item is a spindle. The parents rid the kingdom of these items in the hopes of protecting their daughter, but the prophecy is fulfilled regardless. Instead of dying, as was foretold, the princess falls into a deep sleep. After some time, she is found by a prince and is awakened. You probably remember the scene - the Christening of the new baby, the fairies who come with gifts (six of them) and the fairy who felt scorned or left out (fairy number seven) who bestows her gift which luckily another fairy is able to modify from death to sleep. 

Maja Dusikova

Margaret Early (Australian illustrator - take a look at her other titles)

Ruth Sanderson

Christian Birmingham

Paola Escobar

An illustration by Roger Duvoisin (Favourite Fairy Tales Told in France)

And then for some fun try to find these (or take a look here):

by Mary Pope Osborne illustrated by Giselle Potter