100 Stories Before School

100 Stories Before School Through the early childhood centres, mainly 3 and 4 year old children experience “100 stories “ in the last 2 terms of the year.

100 Stories before school is an Australian early literacy project encouraging families through their early education centre and local library to read 100 stories together in the last 2 terms before starting school. The 100 stories before school project, based in Blacktown ,Sydney, is an exciting new partnership between families, early childhood professionals and librarians. This provides an easy m

odel for families similar to the New South Wales Premiers Reading Challenge, which starts from the kindergarten level at school. These books are available for families to read at home either through the centre or the local library. Families can add even more books to their own list. All families will be provided with a copy of the list and literacy information. As the majority of the books will be available at the library, parents will easily access books there. Library information such as Storytime and baby/toddler rhyme time will be given to families. These stories may be in traditional book format or accessed though the World Wide Web. A range of stories have been chosen including: Aboriginal, alphabet, Australian authors and illustrators, award books e.g. from Children’s Book Council of Australia, fun, homemade, iconic, maths concepts, multicultural, non fiction, rhythmic/rhyming, traditional tales, video (read online) and wordless. Books have been chosen in consultation with Max Webber library and Children First educators and a careful range of experts including Paul MacDonald- Beecroft Children’s Bookshop; Trevor Cairney literacy expert- University of NSW; Judith Ridge Western Sydney Children’s Literature Officer, Westwords Project; booklists from the NSW Premiers Reading Challenge, Children’s Book Council of Australia and Let’s Read. Sue Pearce collated the list, former project coordinator of the Early Words Project. Information will be provided to early childhood educators to add to the richness of the story reading. This may include: activities, Internet sites, author and illustrator information. The local library has been most helpful in planning to loan books to the early childhood centre as they build their own book library over time. The early childhood centre also hopes to take all children to visit the library. A blog and Pinterest site will also allow access to more activities and information about the books.

Good choices here
10/04/2026

Good choices here

This week's books are books you can sing!

Singing stories builds language, listening skills, memory and makes books extra fun to share together. Have any other good books you love singing? Share them in the comments below!

• Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes written by Eric Litwin and illustrated by James Dean
• Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Matt Shanks
• The Big Book of Australian Nursery Rhymes by Frané Lessac
• Accidentally Kelly Street by written and Illustrated by Briony Stewart with lyrics by Tim O'Connor from Frente!
• One Little Duck written by Katrina Germein and illustrated by Danny Snell
• The Wonky Donkey written by Craig Smith and illustrated by Katz Cowley

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Frané Lessac - Books and Art Walker Books Australia Simon & Schuster Australia Scholastic Australia HarperCollins Children's Books Australia The Children's Book Council of Australia

Gosh this is a great list. A mixture of books for younger and both older favorites. My favorite- probably Press Here- wh...
22/12/2025

Gosh this is a great list. A mixture of books for younger and both older favorites. My favorite- probably Press Here- when you read this to children they become so involved and it’s great fun.

Back in 2010, a death knell in the New York Times declared that picture books were “No Longer a Staple for Children.” Many achievement-focused parents were sending their kids straight to chapter books, and when they did buy books, online, and away from helpful booksellers and librarians, they tended to fall back on familiar old favorites, usually Seuss or Sendak. But far from dying, the industry rallied, even publishing a manifesto—and a revolution that was quietly underway before that NYT article has flourished out into the open. Not just with more diverse books, either, but with books that reinvent the whole form.

To celebrate this revolution, Slate set out to figure out which are the best picture books published since 2000, surveying more than a hundred experts—authors, illustrators, editors, booksellers, librarians, academics—about their favorites. We read 200 picture books ourselves, to make our final determinations. The result is our list: The 25 Greatest Picture Books of the Past 25 Years. It’s full of innovative, subversive, delightful, moving, and hilarious gems, but it’s also a miniature history of children’s literature in the 21st century. https://slate.trib.al/vrNjrDz

Whoever reads it will make a difference
21/12/2025

Whoever reads it will make a difference

Reading to children before bed has powerful effects on brain development and emotional health. Dads who read regularly help expand vocabulary at a remarkable pace, while moms who read reduce stress and create a sense of calm. These simple habits support cognitive and emotional growth simultaneously.

Vocabulary growth happens because listening to stories introduces new words and sentence structures. Children learn language patterns, comprehension, and expression through consistent exposure. Even brief daily reading sessions significantly increase the speed at which children acquire words and develop communication skills.

Stress reduction occurs through the comfort and bonding associated with bedtime stories. Hearing a familiar voice, feeling the presence of a parent, and engaging in a predictable routine lowers cortisol, the stress hormone, and supports emotional regulation. This creates a positive environment for both learning and rest.

Small, consistent reading sessions create lasting impacts. They strengthen parent-child connections, improve brain development, and enhance emotional wellbeing. The habit requires little time but provides enormous returns, demonstrating that thoughtful daily interactions are some of the most powerful tools for raising confident, healthy, and resilient children.

13/04/2025
A review of a new take on the story of the Wolf and seven little goats led me to look up the author Timothy Knapman- who...
12/03/2025

A review of a new take on the story of the Wolf and seven little goats led me to look up the author Timothy Knapman- who is so very talented at the range of the 60+ books he has written .I'll put his website in the comments.

Timothy Knapman (text) and Jean Jullien (illustrator), The Greedy Wolf, Walker Books, January 2025, 48 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN […]

Freemantle Press has a new baby bedtime book which is colourful and rhyming.You can read a section .
10/03/2025

Freemantle Press has a new baby bedtime book which is colourful and rhyming.You can read a section .

The third book in the Say series, this new board book comes from award-winning author Renae Hayward, and celebrates the wonderful world of baby bedtimes. Exploring all the things babies love to do as they get ready for bed — from bedtime stories to massages from mum — the simple, high-contrast i...

Clear and practical information about literacy strategies for educators for the preschool years.
25/02/2025

Clear and practical information about literacy strategies for educators for the preschool years.

Developmentally appropriate activities focused on foundational reading skills can help young children have fun while they learn.

Empathy lab, from the UK has developed an empathy resource book list , and associated information for 3-11 year olds (...
25/02/2025

Empathy lab, from the UK has developed an empathy resource book list , and associated information for 3-11 year olds ( and another one for older children) which is based on empathy.It is very well worth looking at and I have checked a few books and they are available in Australia. This would be a valuable resource both for families, educators and librarians.

The 2025 Read for Empathy collection is here! Download the FREE guides to discover the 70 expertly-selected books, curated to build empathy.

And more toddler techno!
10/02/2025

And more toddler techno!

Hers a techno remix- If you're happy and you know it clap your hands!thx to Mother Goose on the Loose for the link!
10/02/2025

Hers a techno remix- If you're happy and you know it clap your hands!
thx to Mother Goose on the Loose for the link!

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