01 September 2023
Book Week is about the joy of reading. If you look at the mission of the Children’s Book Council of Australia – you can see how relationships, literacy, and identity can be transformed and shaped by the world of stories:
Children’s Book Council of Australia mission: to connect communicate, celebrate, and advocate for the value of stories.
In the Early Years we hope to recreate some of the magic that can come when you suspend disbelief and step into the pages of a book. Paddington Bear was our guide into the imaginative power of story when we went on a Paddington Picnic in the Secret Garden on Monday 21 August. Boys made their own marmalade sandwiches and went on an adventure to the deepest, darkest Peru to discover Paddington’s missing jars of marmalade.
Story is the bedrock of communication – it is an ancient part of societies – and engrained in our sense of belonging. Think of the power of fairy tales and fables across generations, the rock art of First Nations cultures, the power of Bluey on our collective cultural currency.
The Fig and Peppercorn Rooms are exploring the art, purpose and structure of story using the language of light, dance, and paint. These multi modal forms of expression open up worlds of knowledge, learning, and exploration. Currently their stories are exploring concepts of night and day and the land, rivers, and skies.
I look forward to seeing where these stories take the boys in the coming weeks.
Holly Baulderstone
Head of Early Years