Yet again, I love the CBCA’s theme for this year’S Book Week. ‘Escape to Everywhere’ encourages creativity, imagination and travelling from the comfort of your armchair.

Now, you can’t travel without a passport, can you? So, make sure your children are prepared with a passport in hand, ready to jump into the pages of the books they read during Book Week 2017.

I apologise that I don’t have a printable for you this year. We are in the midst of a move. Most of our belongings are packed away in storage boxes and computers and printers are out of order. You’ll notice that our own Book Week 2017 passports are a little makeshift. In all honesty, kids don’t mind though, especially because they’ll love creating their own passports.

What you need:

• A4 paper
• Coloured paper or card stock (or coloured manila folders)
• Scissors
• Staples
• Drawing and writing materials
• Stamp and inkpad
• Lots of books to read

How to create your Book Week Passport:

1. Fold your white A4 paper in half horizontally and vertically

2. Cut the folds to create a mini booklet

3. Cut the coloured paper/cardstock to create a cover for your booklet

4. Place the white paper pages inside the coloured cover and staple in place

5. Add a title and decorate the cover of your passport

6. Write prompts on each of the inside pages of your passport

• Title:
• Author:
• Illustrator:
• Destination:
• Form of transport:
• Travel notes:
• Plus leave a place for a visual note (illustration)

7. Escape to Everywhere by reading as many books as you can throughout Book Week and record your thoughts about your books and travels on the pages of your passport ( e.g. What you saw, what you learned, your favourite part etc.)

8. Have Mum, Dad or your teacher stamp each page of your passport to validate each of your bookish travels.

Going further:

a) Be inspired by Crichton Award winning book, The Patchwork Bike, and create your own form of transport from recycled or unused items from around your home. Get cosy inside your ‘patchwork’ vehicle to help you travel through the pages of the books you read.

b) Create your own escape space within your home or classroom, somewhere you can hide away and read.

I received a beautiful piece of book jewellery from Cammy this Mother’s Day. It’s the first bookmark I’ve ever truly used properly (I usually ditch them for dog-earring pages- oops!).

I spotted this book and bookmark beside me as I was brainstorming ideas for Book Week 2016, with this year’s theme being Australia! Story Country. With a little twist, I thought we could easily create a kid-friendly version and use the charms to give it an Australian flavour- perfect for the 2016 Book Week theme.

The result- Australia! Story Country-themed Bookmarks- I’m sure you’ll agree are absolutely stunning, and a fantastic Book Week activity for classrooms or home in 2016.

What you need:

• Cross-stitching thread (or wool) in Indigenous colours (black, red and yellow), Aussie Olympic colours (green and gold) or Australian flag colours (red, blue and white)
• Scissors
• Australia-themed charms (we found goannas, thongs, shells and dolphins at Lincraft)

How to make Australia! Story Country-themed Bookmarks

1. Cut your thread (or wool) into 40cm lengths.

2. Line the various coloured threads alongside each other and secure them together with a knot.

3. Sticky tape the end of the threads to a table or ask a friend to hold the end of the threads.

4. Plait the threads together (younger children might find it easier to twirl two pieces of thread).

5. Secure the plait by tying another knot at the end of the thread lengths.

6. Tie charms to each end of the plait.

Voila! You should have an impressive bookmark to keep your place while reading your favourite Australian stories

Ever since I was a child, my favourite part of Christmas has always been counting down the days with the help of an Advent calendar. I seem to have passed that excitement onto our children. In our home, Christmas starts with the Advent calendar. Only once we’ve opened the first day of the calendar can we begin decorating the house and Christmas tree.

When Cammy was a baby, I started wrapping Christmas books to read each day of the season and stacked them to look like a Christmas tree, but these days, now that Cammy is much more involved in creating our Advent calendars, they tend to be inspired by particular Christmas books.

This year our Advent calendar has been inspired by a new book by Jane Godwin and Anna Walker titled, What do you Wish for? Our Advent calendar will have multiple uses; as well as helping us to count down the days to Christmas, it will also feature as our Christmas table centrepiece and become our own family wishing tree.

ABOUT WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR?

Submerged in my favourite Christmas colours of red, green and gold, this book instantly made me feel nostalgic for everything I remembered about Christmas as a child; a response that proves why Jane Godwin and Anna Walker are my favourite book collaborators. They work harmoniously to bring magic and whimsy to a story about the simple pleasures and experiences of everyday Australian families.

What do you Wish For? is inspired by a real wishing tree that can be found beside the Merri Creek walking track in Clifton Hill,Melbourne and features Ruby who recounts her Christmas experiences when she’s encouraged by her friends and family to add a Christmas wish to the community wishing tree. The story so beautifully captures the spirit of Christmas through the eyes of a child: the anticipation, the experiences, the smells, the traditions and the MAGIC OF WISHING even the wildest wishes!

But the story is bigger than the viewpoint of little Ruby. We see the residents of Ruby’s neighbourhood plan and prepare for their annual Christmas event, which includes a party, a Christmas show and a community wishing tree. The book celebrates the importance of community, togetherness and appreciating the experiences-both concrete and intangible- at Christmas time.

More details about What do you Wish For? at the end of the post.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN ADVENT WISHING TREE

You will need:

• Tree branches (or an actual Christmas tree if your prefer)
• A sturdy vase or bucket
• 24 small craft envelopes
• Numeral stickers or stamps (optional)
• 24 slips of paper (plus one extra for each member of your family/community)
• Ribbon
• Advent treats (e.g. small chocolates, stationery, jewellery etc.)
• Clear fillable baubles (one for each family/community member)
• Hole punch
• Pen

Part 1: Advent Calendar Activity Envelopes

• Begin preparing your Advent calendar by numbering your envelopes 1- 24 (We used stickers but stamping or writing the numbers would work just as well).

• Brainstorm and write 24 Advent activities on separate pieces of paper (or you can print pre-made activity cards).

• In each envelope place an Advent activity card and a treat.

• Close each envelope, punch a hole at the top and thread with decorative ribbon.

Part 2: Constructing your Wishing Tree

• Prepare your branches by placing them in a sturdy vase. Secure the branches and weight the vase by filling the base with sand, stones, dirt etc.

• Hang your envelopes on your branches, and open a corresponding envelope each day of Christmas.

(The envelopes look beautiful hanging on the bare branches, but you could also make a wishing tree by using a mini artificial tree as a table centrepiece, or by placing your envelopes on your actual Christmas tree or a tree in your backyard).

Part 3: Adding your wishes to the tree

• For the final touch to the wishing tree, invite each family member to write and hang a Christmas wish on the tree. You could write these on craft tags, but we chose to make wish baubles.

• Ask each family member to write a wish on a slip of paper and place it inside the bauble. Once the wish is secured inside the bauble, tie to some ribbon and hang from the tree.

(As well as hanging our own wishes to the tree, we plan on asking our extended family to add their wishes to the tree on Christmas Eve/Day.)

WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR BOOK DETAILS

Author: Jane Godwin

Illustrator: Anna Walker

ISBN: 9780670078110

Format: Hardback

Publisher: Penguin, Oct 2015

RRP: $24.99

PURCHASE AT THE KIDS’ BOOKSHOP

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Okay, so we’re really having fun with this year’s Book Week theme, Books Light Up Our World! This is the project for you if you’re looking for a simple craft that’s beautifully bookish.

With a few simple supplies and some magical paint, you can create yourself a special Glow-in-the-Dark Reading Bug Bookmark.

What you need:

• Cardstock
• Wooden clothes peg
• Glow- in-the-dark paint
• Googly eyes
• Glue

How to make a Glow-in-the-dark Reading Bug Bookmark

1. Cut some wings with the cardstock

2. Decorate the wings and peg with glow-in-the-dark paint.

3. Once the paint has dried, the googly eyes can be attached to the peg and the peg can be secured to the wings using glue.

4. When the glue has dried, your glow-bug will be ready to munch into a book and keep your place.

5. Shine a little light on your reading bug bookmarks before turning out the lights and watch your beautiful reading bug glow over your book.

SO EASY. SO BEAUTIFUL.

Like this post? You might also like our other Book Week ideas.

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Books Light Up Our World.

Isn’t the Book Week theme for 2015 a fantastic one?

What’s wonderful about this theme is its potential for numerous interpretations, but each interpretation leads back to the point that books have a huge impact on people.

I’ve created a divine craft activity that interprets ‘light’ both literally and figuratively as having an impact on individuals; Making paper bag lanterns that feature illustrations from our favourite picture books, or from picture books that have had an impact on us ( I just wish the photos in this post did justice to how beautiful these lanterns are in real life.)

These book-themed paper bag lanterns are quite simple to make, creating the perfect project for the classroom or home during Book Week.  They can be made independently by children in middle and upper primary levels, but adult assistance is needed for children in pre-school and lower primary.

What you need for a book-themed paper bag lantern:

• A paper bag (paper bags in a variety of shapes, colours and sizes are all suitable)
• A photocopy of a favourite picture book illustration or character (please don’t go cutting your favourite books!)
• Scissors
• Washi tape
• A battery-operated LED tea light.

Note: You are breaching copyright if you copy illustrations for purposes other than for personal use.

How to make a book-themed paper bag lantern:

Choose a paper bag large enough to fit your chosen illustration.

Trim your illustration so that it can be slipped inside the paper bag.

Draw and cut a window from the front side of the paper bag. Ensure this window is slightly smaller than the illustration (Younger children will need help from an adult  to begin cutting the window).

Place the illustration cut-out into the paper bag with the illustration facing out. Position it over the window you have cut from the paper bag and secure it in place with washi tape (the beauty of washi tape is that the illustration can be easily adjusted if you don’t position it correctly at first).

Place a battery-operated tea light inside the paper bag (It is important to use a battery operated candle because paper bags are obviously highly flammable and it is not safe for children to play or use naked flames).

These are two paper bag lanterns Cammy made on her own, featuring two of her favourite book characters… one old and the other very new. Billie B Brown, the kindergartner was made with limited help, and Brave Squish Rabbit (whose actual book cover glows in the dark) was made by Cammy independently.

Turn off the lights. Watch and enjoy your favourite illustration or picture book character light up your world.

We made paper bag lanterns featuring our favourite, classic picture book characters.

We made paper bag lanterns featuring 2015 CBCA shortlisted books that we love (Scary Night and The Cleo Stories).

We made paper bag lanterns using illustrations we thought would light up perfectly.

…and then we couldn’t stop.

They keep the kids company while reading their favourite books.

They light up our fireplace when we don’t have kindling for a fire.

For more ideas, try:

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Now that I’m a school mum, school holidays mean so much more than ever!

I’ve missed Cammy and I want to make up for things we no longer have time for during the school term. But, I also want to take inspiration from the much-loved book, Today We Have No Plans, spending slow days at home to give Cammy the opportunities again to play freely and without structure or time limitations.

I’m just a little worried that the winter weather might rain on our parade.

I’ve put together a few ideas we’ve featured at My Little Bookcase over the years for those of you like me, who are looking for inspiration to keep the kids happy, entertained and engaged on cold and rainy days.

EASY-TO-SET-UP INDOOR PLAY

10 Ideas for Playing with Books

Using Books to Create Small World Play Scenes

Archaeological Choc-Chip Dig

Office Play

Indoor Discovery Trail

Set up a Pretend Bookshop

Aussie Animal Fine and Gross Motor Games

Story Skittles

WRITING AND STORIES

365+ Fun Ways to Write

Write to Fairies

Story Stones

Sticky Storyboard Telling

Shadow Puppet Show

DIY Puppet Theatre

FUN WITH PLAYDOUGH

Number Cookbook Play

Playdough Pavlova Mat

Sugar Plum Fairy Lolly Shop

CRAFT

Make your own Snuggle Pot and Cuddlepie

DIY Washi Tape

Make and care for your own Pretend Pets

BAKING

Lamington Wombats

ANZAC Biscuits

An Invitiation to Cook

OUTDOOR WINTER FUN

Bear Hunt Picnic

Mud Kitchen Recipe Book

Painting with Mud

Become Environmental Print Explorers

Kite Making and Flying

BIG PROJECTS

Hungry Caterpillar Necklace

Publish and Launch a Book

Dine with a Book Character

Magic Faraway Tree Afternoon Tea

Make a Recipe Journal

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