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July 1, 2026
Last updated: July 2026
Children's Book Week in Australia runs from Saturday 22 August to Friday 28 August in 2026. It is organised by the Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA), a not-for-profit organisation with branches in every state and territory. Each year a new theme and illustrator are announced, and the CBCA Book of the Year Awards are presented. For 2026, the theme is "Symphony of Stories" and the illustrator is Briony Stewart, award-winning creator of Gymnastica Fantastica.
For preschool families, Book Week is much more than a dress-up day. Research cited by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare confirms that children read to daily at ages 2 to 3 go on to achieve higher reading scores in Year 3, even after accounting for family background. At Kings Road Long Day Preschool in Castle Hill, we use Book Week as a moment to deepen what we do every day: building language, sparking curiosity, and laying the foundations that children carry into school and beyond.
Children's Book Week is Australia's longest-running national reading event. The Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has run it since 1945, when the first Book Week was held in November of that year under the theme "United Through Books." Since then, a new theme has been announced every year.
2026 is a milestone: it marks 80 years of the CBCA Book of the Year Awards. The awards span five categories, including a dedicated Early Childhood category (created in 2001) recognising picture books for the youngest readers. During Book Week, schools, libraries, preschools, and families across Australia celebrate reading through events, author visits, and the beloved tradition of dressing up as favourite book characters.
Book Week 2026 runs from Saturday 22 August to Friday 28 August. Dress-up day is typically held on the Friday (28 August) at many schools and early learning centres, but check with your own centre for their specific plans.
The 2026 Children's Book Week theme is "Symphony of Stories." The CBCA appointed Briony Stewart, award-winning author-illustrator of Gymnastica Fantastica, as the featured illustrator. Her artwork imagines stepping inside a huge, colourful collection of stories, with wild characters from different books playing weird and wonderful instruments.
The theme invites children to think of stories as a great chorus: each voice different, each one adding to something larger. For preschoolers, this idea translates beautifully into circle time, shared reading, and storytelling play.
Book Week gives early childhood educators and families a focused moment to celebrate reading, but the habits it builds have lasting effects.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare cites longitudinal research showing that children read to daily at ages 2 to 3 score higher in reading and numeracy in Year 3 NAPLAN, even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors. Having more than 30 children's books at home at ages 2 to 3 was also positively associated with higher Year 3 scores. The Australian Education Research Organisation notes that early literacy approaches broadly increase children's learning by around four months.
Beyond test outcomes, books build vocabulary (children encounter words in books that rarely appear in everyday conversation), phonological awareness (rhyme and rhythm help children hear the sounds within words), comprehension through following a storyline, imagination through exposure to diverse characters and worlds, and social and emotional understanding as children rehearse feelings through characters safely.
These skills connect directly to what teachers look for in children starting kindergarten. For more on the milestones preschoolers develop during these years, see our guide to the developmental milestones for 3 to 5 year olds.
Reading aloud to a child, especially when the adult invites the child to respond and talk about the story, produces stronger language gains than simply reading without interaction. Researchers call this "dialogic reading": pausing to ask "What do you think happens next?" or "How does the bear feel?" turns a read-aloud into a genuine conversation.
The AIHW reports that regular shared reading builds oral language, vocabulary, understanding of how print works, phonological awareness, and alphabet knowledge. These are the same foundations the Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) describes under Learning Outcome 5: Children Are Effective Communicators. The EYLF defines literacy broadly, encompassing talking, listening, viewing, reading, storytelling, music, and creative expression, all of which Book Week encourages.
The NSW Department of Education embeds language and communication skills throughout the early learning curriculum for children from birth to 5, recognising early literacy as a core priority.
Celebrating Book Week does not require a big production. Simple habits matter most.
These activities reinforce the school readiness skills children need for kindergarten. Our complete school readiness guide for Castle Hill families explains what educators look for and how you can support your child at home.
CBCA stands for the Children's Book Council of Australia. It is a not-for-profit national organisation that promotes Australian children's literature and organises Children's Book Week each year.
Dress-up is optional and usually a highlight of the week, but it is never compulsory. Many centres and schools encourage children to dress as any book character they love. If your child is unsure, a simple prop or a favourite book tucked under the arm works perfectly.
The 2026 theme is "Symphony of Stories." The illustrator is Briony Stewart, known for her award-winning picture books including Gymnastica Fantastica. Her artwork features a colourful cast of story characters playing imaginative instruments, bursting out of the pages of their books.
Book Week celebrates books for children from birth through to teenagers. The CBCA runs award categories including Early Childhood, Picture Books, Younger Readers, Older Readers, and the Eve Pownall Award for Non-Fiction. Preschoolers fit squarely in the Early Childhood and Picture Book categories.
Visit cbca.org.au for the full 2026 shortlist, or ask your local librarian for recommendations from the Early Childhood and Picture Book categories. Castle Hill and Hills District libraries stock the shortlisted titles each year.
At Kings Road Long Day Preschool in Castle Hill, books and storytelling have been woven into the daily programme since 1989. Our Learning for Life approach, delivered across our Wallabies and Kangaroos age groups, treats language and literacy as foundations, not add-ons. Our educators read aloud with intention, ask open questions, and invite children to retell, extend, and create stories of their own, reflecting the EYLF's vision of children as effective communicators.
Book Week gives our whole community a reason to celebrate the joy of reading together. Our inclusive, multicultural group of families means we already value stories from many traditions, languages, and perspectives, very much in the spirit of a "Symphony of Stories."
Kings Road Long Day Preschool is Meeting the National Quality Standard, and our programme is built around the EYLF Learning Outcomes. The school readiness foundations that grow from early literacy are central to everything we do.
If you would like to see how we bring stories to life every day, we would love to show you. Book a tour of Kings Road Long Day Preschool, or contact us with any questions about enrolment.
