Read me a book by Barbara Reid

I volunteer in the children's library at Westmead Children's hospital here in Sydney. In 2011 Scholastic Australia (who support this library) published or reprinted this small format book from 2003 as a promotional publication. I found a copy in our give away box.

"This little book is a gift from the Book Bunker, the special library for the young patients at The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney. ... Experts say that reading to our children for just ten minutes a day will make the difference. They suggest that we read one favourite book, one familiar book and one new story each time."

Here is the text of this sweet little book which has wonderful plasticine illustrations. Read more about her work here. I am hoping Barbara Reid might be one of the speakers at the IBBY Congress in Ottawa this year. 

This is a simple and very format book but the message is important!

Tell me a story, 

Read me a book, 

Bounce me a poem, 

Let's take a look. 

Read around the garden, 

Upstairs and down, 

Underneath the covers, 

Read around the town. 

Tell it one more time, 

Pick out something new, 

The very best beginning is ... 

to read a book with you!

Read Me A Book was initially commissioned by the Government of Ontario’s Early Learning Initiative and was distributed to newborn children across the province. Original artwork from Read Me a Book was presented to the Toronto Public Library Foundation and is displayed in various branches throughout Toronto.

There is something rather comforting about small format books - I am thinking of Beatrix Potter and all the Miffy books. 

Companion book:

Read more here

Library Snapshot Day 1st April

 

My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything alerted me to this event today - 1st April 

LIBRARY SNAPSHOT DAY 

Please read her post.

In her book Raising Readers Megan Daley says this:

"Well-resourced school libraries, with exemplary teacher librarians and library support staff, develop and sustain a vibrant reading culture, promote innovative use of digital technologies and are a participatory hub within the school."  Note from me to school principals this one sentence contains all the criteria needed for writing a job advertisement for a teacher librarian.

"School libraries are wonderful places which are the beating heart of many school communities and a refuge for those in need of time away from a busy school environment."

"Library displays should be dotted around the library, be ever-changing, professional, eye catching with all the books facing forwards and able to be borrowed from the display."

Now I am going to re-write this sentence with my own shouting voice. (Megan says its okay to be loud!)

"Library displays should be dotted around the library, be ever-changing, professional, eye catching with all the books facing forwards and able to be borrowed from the display."

Below are some photos of school libraries - from my former school, some I have visited and some from Pinterest - these warrant a celebration because they are inviting and light and bright and filled with amazing books that the children can easily find and read. The post you just read from my friend also talks about LUNCH time in the library - and this was a time, as a teacher-librarian, that I treasured. Sure, I was busy shelving and preparing resources for teachers etc but I loved seeing tons of kids in my library every lunch time - drawing, playing games, chatting, building brick towers and most of all reading. Not using tech, just free to chill in a fairly calm if not really quiet space.

We had an empty brick wall leading to my former library so I collected ideas for a painted mural. We did create a fantastic huge photo display printed on canvas and hung under a huge Perspex sheet but sadly the vandals completely destroyed this after only one term.

This was my favourite shelf in my former school library filled on both sides with picture books

My library counter had a look in window positioned just where the kids waited to head out the door

My library motto from 1994-2017 Read only on the Days you Eat. 

Posters by a Grade 5 class and their hugely talented teacher who made these every year for book week.

From Pinterest - notice the bright colours and all the front facing shelves

From Pinterest - easy access picture book bins and lots of different seating options

Display of new books in a K-2 library

Bay end panels are a great way to promote books

Found on Pinterest: I love this floor rug

Dewey signage from Pinterest

Book baskets for series titles - from Pinterest

The Norfolk Children's Book Centre go into UK schools to make their space sing!

How fabulous is this display - lots of series book suggestions and below are boxes with the books!

Setting out themed displays like this weekly or fortnightly keeps your books circulating and ensures your library uses keep finding new books to read and enjoy. 

Here are two of my previous posts on the topic of the importance of School Libraries:

• Australian School Library Day
• Ensure that every child, no matter their postcode, has access to a well-resourced school library

February 4th World Read Aloud Day

World Read Aloud Day was founded on the belief that stories are the key to creating positive social change, ... studies have shown that reading aloud to children has been linked to the development of vocabulary and comprehension, 

strengthening emotional bonds and enhancing focus.

I saw a question on a Facebook forum asking for books to share with teachers for National or World Read Aloud Day. The person who asked for book ideas set a couple of criteria but I am going to disregard these - Australian and published in the last five years. 

For my scenario I am going to imagine a school with twenty teachers. I don't really believe in one size fits all so I am going to group my books into four sections - Kindergarten; Grades 1 and 2; Grades 3 and 4; and Grades 5 and 6 and I will put five books per group = 20 books.  I will put some wonderful Australian titles here but also lots of international ones too. Because hopefully my scenario school has a well-stocked school library, I will put books that are not new - that is the joy of a library - you can find older books that are truly gems. In terms of gems the person asking for suggestions also used the dreaded word 'quality'. I won't go into that right now, but this is a word that makes me shudder. I am sure I could list several hundred books for this post - these are titles that I blogged recently. I previously talked about World Read Aloud day in 2018.

Kindergarten

Little Bear's Little Boat

Two for me, one for you

Happy Birthday Moon

Puffling (or you could read Lucy Goosey)

Owl Babies

Grades 1 and 2

Where does Thursday go?

Lizzy and the Cloud

Lisette's Green Sock

Strictly no Elephants

Dimity Dumpty (or another book by Bob Graham)

Grades 3 and 4

Shelter

Robber Girl

The King and Nothing

The Suitcase

Extra Yarn

Grades 5 and 6

Mr Lepron's Mystery Soup

Herman and Rosie

Snow White in New York

Sparrow Girl

As Time went by

A Brief History of World Read Aloud Day

When was this event established: World Read Aloud Day was founded in 2010 by the nonprofit LitWorld. Following a trip to Kibera in Nairobi, LitWorld founder Pam Allyn realized how important the power of stories was to children around the globe. So, she started World Read Aloud Day to make a positive impact on the world.

How has it developed since then: Since its establishment, World Read Aloud Day has been celebrated by millions of people through 170 countries. 

There are some resources here.

In answer to the question and using the very restrictive criteria from the original Facebook post here are the two sets of nine titles that I suggested (note one is older than five years but I snuck it in anyway). You can pop any of these titles into my search bar for more details.

"My kids had other plans" Sydney Morning Herald December 30th, 2025

An article from the Sydney Morning Herald caught my eye today - and in part it made me happy but then it also made me rage a little because this mother (Cherie Gilmour a freelance writer) has missed a fantastically easy way to be present with her kids which is the focus of this piece entitled 

"I was the mother of holiday invention. My kids had other plans."

Here are some quotes from the article (which is behind a paywall sorry):

"I set my intention: the summer holidays will be fun and relaxing - a chance to reconnect with my kids. After all I'd be off work as well. I would be the ringleader of fun."

This mum then discovers it is not really fun so she heads off to yoga retreat.  Then ...

"I set myself a challenge, a whole day with my kids, being utterly present. We walked to the park, and I watched them climbing, playing pirates, investigating slater bugs and tiny flowers. I realised that my kids' ability to transform boredom into imaginative play is something I have utterly lost the capacity for when my phone, or even my job, is infinitely more stimulating."

CAN YOU SEE THE WORD - PHONE!

So, this mum has worked out she needs to be with her kids and NOT on her screen. You might think that is why I am raging (and yes I do rage about this regularly) but actually my rage today is because this mum (as far as this opinion piece presents) has not yet discovered the joy of reading to her kids. She can see them enjoying imaginative play - that's fantastic but at the end of the long day she just turns on a movie. That's okay too but what about also grabbing a book or two? This piece mentions a 'new' phenomenon called #corememories. Sharing book after book after book should be one part of this process. Cherie Gilmour explains the idea of #corememories is not only about the kids themselves it is also about giving parents those beautiful memories of their child during those fleeting years of childhood.

"If I lose the ability to be present with my children, when it's easier to park them in front of a screen, I miss the opportunity to create my own core memories of their precious childhood, which is dripping away like a melting glacier, one day at a time. The days are long but the years are short."

I spent some time with a few 35-year-olds this week over Christmas. It was wonderful to see them talking about the books they (as adults) read this year and to hear them also remember books we had shared when they were tiny such as There's a Hippopotamus on the Roof Eating Cake. I gifted a selection of picture books at their family Christmas event for the next generation of young children aged 2-9 and then loved seeing every adult picking up a picture book to read to one of these children. This happened over and over again. My heart sang! I do hope Cherie Gilmour has discovered the joy of reading to her own children and that her home is filled with fabulous books - that is one easy way she can be present with her kids, create memories and share the fun of exploring their imaginations. 

The Final Chapter SMH Good Weekend Magazine opinion piece by Greg Callaghan

Sydney Morning Herald 

(Subscriber link)

"By far the most troubling thing I learnt while researching this story is the decline of school libraries in public schools, both in their number and standard of facilities. ... 

The decline of school libraries sends a huge message to kids that reading isn't valued ... Yet time and time again school libraries have been shown to play an important role in notching up literacy. If we care about literacy and student wellbeing, a simple first step is to ensure that every child, no matter their postcode, 

has access to a well-resourced school library."

I sincerely wish I could print this quote as a huge banner and post it to so many school Principals who, in recent times, have completely downgraded their school library, the library budget, staffing and position of the Teacher-Librarian.

My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything has made some very thoughtful and important comments after reading this article from our Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper today (5th July 2025) but I felt moved to comment too.

The article was entitled The Final Chapter? and is written by Greg Callaghan a senior writer and the Acting editor with Good Weekend. His heading is 

"Stubbornly low literacy. A steep fall in recreational reading. A rise in numbers of students unable to finish whole texts. ... The decline in reading poses a risk to us all."

Here are some parts of the newspaper article that resonated with me:

I love the use of the term 'longform reading'. This goes back to one of my constant topics - TIME. Kids can only build their reading stamina to tackle longer books when they practice, and practice takes time! Reading for Pleasure is a new buzz term but really that should have always been our goal in schools. We teach children to read but they also need to discover that this activity is wonderful and magical and joyful and insightful and filled with riches. 

Greg also mentions 'the quality of our reading habits' and this echoes another topic I have talked about previously. Hundreds of books are now published every year (for adults and for children). Our children deserve the BEST books we can offer them. The person who can source these books and gather them all together in one place for very easy access by all readers is the Teacher-Librarian. By the best books I once again want to rage against 'celebrity authors'.  As an aside I was utterly dismayed this week to see a ridiculous 'celebrity' title has been short listed for the Speech Pathology awards here in Australia. Take a look at my second post about this. 

I spoke recently at a conference and my topic was 'Building field knowledge'. My aim was to inspire the group of Teacher-Librarians to build and expand their own field knowledge. We are so lucky here in Australia to have access to the best books not just our Australian titles but the best of the UK, US, Canada and New Zealand. The person best placed to put wonderful books into the hands of students and teachers and parents too, is the Teacher-Librarian.

Another quote from Greg Callaghan: "Compounding the malaise has been a decline in recreational reading across all ages. ... This is of special concern because of the example it sets for kids."  Years ago my school library had an event for our Grade 6 boys and their dads. One purpose of this was to encourage the dads to read with their son and also to be seen reading. Role models are powerful. Your child probably follows your football team or enjoys the sports you once played - that is because you are their role model. This also harks back to another 'hobby horse' of mine - READ TO YOUR BABY (sorry to shout).

And this leads me to another quote from this article: 

"Reading early as a child is a key predictor of success as an adult and both teachers and parents play a role in this. ... Parents exert the single most powerful influence on their kids' reading habits ... if children see adults around them reading for their own enjoyment, they'll learn that reading is valued" 

and I would add your child will see reading as a fun activity and  also more importantly just a natural part of life not some extra separate thing that is only for school. I penned a series of posts about this topic here. 

Check out my post about needing a "reading revolution"

Thanks to Greg Callaghan for his interesting opinion piece. I do hope it is read widely and I desperately hope he is wrong to say this is the final chapter - thank goodness for his question mark - so no it is not the final chapter but there is no need for more debating about this topic it is time to act for our children and as Greg suggests also for our world.