The shelves at Kirrawee didn't quite look like this.
There was a tiny board book selection on two lower box-shaped shelves and
not four shelves of front facing - there were two.
My friends and I have been visiting public libraries here in Sydney. Last week we ventured south to Kirrawee to see their new library which opened in June this year. It is a lovely light filled space with several cafes right next door and in easy walking distance of the train station. We didn't venture far past the picture book and junior non fiction shelves but this library has plenty of non book related facilities.
Located at 6 Kiln Road within the South Village Shopping Centre, this state-of-the-art facility is southern Sydney’s newest library and community venue, celebrating and uplifting the area’s love of entertainment and the arts.
- Brand new collections to borrow including musical instruments, recording kits, and high quality books for all ages.
- Recording studios and a live sound room to create and capture music, film, stories and podcasts.
- A media lab and creative’s space with tools including editing software.
- Beautiful spaces to meet, study and work.
- Bookable rooms for events, such as conferences and film screenings.
Here are a handful of picture books that I enjoyed reading:
Published in 2024
A sweet friendship begins between two young girls on the first day of school. Throughout the year, they fill their pockets with everything from cookies to wiggly worms, to wonders, memories, and more as their friendship blooms.
Published in 2018
Join a multicultural celebration of unity and diverse friendships all around the world as we read and sing along with joy, love and peace! From the rivers to the mountains to the oceans and to the seas-we’ve got the whole wide world in our hands. Award-winning creator Rafael López breathes new life with his adaptation of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” as we join hands and salute all the great lands and people across all nations.
Kirkus review: This unconventional interpretation of the classic song finds a modern application with joyful illustrations that send a message of hope and power to today’s children. ... A beautiful vision of a global community.
You could think about sharing this one when you explore our 2026 CBCA Book Week slogan Symphony of Stories. Take a look
inside here.
Published in 2025
As this quiet overture builds to a full symphony, Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander and singer-songwriter Randy Preston conduct a melody of a poem. Colorful notes are played by Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet’s distinctive artwork. Surrounded by nature’s chorus and guided by words that vibrate like thunder, let the groove lead you on, until you can’t help but sing out from your soul!
You could think about sharing this one too when you explore our 2026 CBCA Book Week slogan Symphony of Stories.
Published in 2019
When Lawrence Fox’s teacher announces that students will be presenting their collections at show-and-tell, Lawrence realizes he doesn’t have anything to share. Luckily, Papa knows just what to do to help! Together, they venture into the woods. Lawrence is scared at first, but as he grows comfortable in the forest, he starts to recognize its magic, and how beautiful and unique each tree and leaf is, allowing him to gather a splendid, one-of-a-kind collection of his own.
Kirkus review: Readers will want to head out to discover a collection of their own.
This simple story about nature and finding joy in small things really touched my heart. This is a book to share with your class when you are talking about 'show and tell' and also it is one I would share with teachers in junior grades to give them an understanding that not every child can easily bring something to share with their class mates.
Published in 2024
Bookseller blurb: This gentle picture book is a celebration of a new baby's arrival, expressing all the hopes, joys, and dreams for a little one's future. The perfect gift to welcome a new baby to the world.
Very oddly this library or council area do not classify their picture books. There is no point in exploring their online catalogue to find the location of a picture book. Instead, the picture books are allocated an alphabet letter which matches the first letter of the title. This might not matter too much with a small collection such as the one at Kirrawee but in a larger library - if you have a favourite picture book author - it will be almost impossible to find the books you and your child want to read. When we asked about this the staff offered to help by identifying all the titles by an author on their online catalogue but how tedious to search for each one this way - for example think about the popular author Julia Donaldson her books would be assigned (assuming they hopefully disregard 'a, an, the') C S H G T R E W and more! It was good to see that the middle grade and junior novels were organised by author. In the adult books the library have used genre stickers - I am not a fan of this and one aspect of this that I really didn't like was the use of a sticker depicting a 'gun' as a way to show the genre of crime novels for adults. The labels came from the major library supplier Raceo. Surely there could be a better image?
