Book Week & Parade 2026

It was wonderful to see the sun shining brightly over the Primary Playground for our annual Book Week Parade! The aim of Book Week is to celebrate Australian children’s literature, honour local authors and illustrators, and nurture a lifelong love of reading and storytelling.

In the lead-up to Book Week, many girls have been exploring the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s (CBCA) shortlisted titles during their weekly library lessons. The full 2026 CBCA shortlist can be viewed here. Classes have been critiquing this quality literature and voting on their favourite titles. Students’ love of literature is palpable, and this year they have been particularly fond of Run by Sarah Armstrong in the Younger Readers category, Dear Broccoli by Jo Dabrowski and Cate James in the Picture Book category, and Derek by Anne Donaldson in the Early Childhood category.

This year’s Book Week theme, Symphony of Stories, reminds us that every story has its own unique voice and that, together, stories create a wonderful celebration of imagination, creativity and connection. Our very own symphony of stories at the Book Parade included students dressed as their favourite book characters, including Ella from The Ella Diaries, Friday Barnes, Nanny Piggins, Clementine Rose, Ella from Ella at Eden, Harry Potter and Alice from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland — along with many more wonderful costumes and literary favourites.

It was lovely to have student representatives from every year level take on a speaking role during the occasion. Our Year 6 students, Maya Clark, Ella Hyland, Kaylee Wang, Ava Grange and Zoe Hepple, played an important role in the event, with Maya and Ella acting as our student MCs, Kaylee and Ava managing the music, and Zoe presenting the Acknowledgement of Country. Special thanks to Nikita Ng (Kindergarten), Arabella Wilson (Year 1), Alana Swamy (Year 2), Martha Andrews (Year 3), Ada Murphy Wood (Year 3), Lily Lee (Year 4), Emily Button-Kwan (Year 4), Scarlett Africh-Bechara (Year 4) and Charlie Whitfield (Year 5) for speaking so confidently about their most treasured books and book character costumes.

A highlight of this year’s event was the book-themed musical item, performed by students from Kindergarten to Year 4. The girls sang and performed actions to When You Open a Book by Tom Kirkham and Matthew Crossley, creating a joyful celebration of the power of books and music.

The grand finale featured our Year 6 Dr Seuss inspired creations, followed by our teachers, many of whom embraced the theme by dressing as favourites from the Little Miss and Mr Men series.

It gave me great pleasure to announce the winning classes for the 2026 Premier’s Reading Challenge, with both 4P and 4J achieving a wonderful 100% participation rate. It was an outstanding achievement to have 251 of our 280 Primary students complete the Challenge.

Thank you to everyone who helped make our Book Week Parade such a joyful celebration of books, reading, creativity and community. It was incredible to see the primary school come together to celebrate the stories that inspire us all.

Karen McBride
Primary Teacher Librarian