Books for genres, topics & Themes

Last updated 14 November 2022. See the latest entry.

The purpose of this section is twofold. It presents collections of children's and young adult fiction to support teacher-librarians and teachers in selecting excellent resources to support learning across the Australian Curriculum. It also aims to build lists of suggested titles to assist teacher-librarians, teachers and parents in guiding students towards a lifelong love of literature.

General

The Book Chook
Book reviews, resources, tips for parents and teachers from an Australian writer who's passionate about children's literacy, learning and literature. This blog houses a multitude of book lists, reviews and suggestions that will have you returning time and time again. Some examples:

Children's Book Daily: creating lifelong readers
Among a myriad of amazingly useful information and tips related to children's reading, this blog provides theme lists for so many of the topics you will seek for your readers. There are too many to list individually so enjoy your ride through this eclectic blog. Some examples:

Brightly
Get book recommendations, reading tips, and seasonal inspirations. Some examples:

Children’s and teens roundup: the best new picture books and novels
Dogs and jungle animals for young ones, politics and mysteries for older readers.

Biographies

12 Inspiring Memoirs and Biographies for Teens
Site provides a summary of each book with purchase links to Amazon. Most titles are available through Australian distributors. Most have an American focus but a wide variety of life situations are covered in this list. For Young Adult Readers.

Digital Technology

Teaching Digital Citizenship with Picture Story Books
Students need to be aware of the risks and dangers that exist online from an early age. Eleni Kyritsis' love for teaching through picture story books has allowed her to find a range of very supportive books to help teachers teach students about the key concepts of Digital Citizenship.

Books to Inspire Coding & Robotics
Jackie Child runs a Coding and Robotics Club in her school. She shares some of the books used to promote interest in programming and lwarning to code so that creations can happen.

Inferences and Predictions

Book List for Making Inferences and Predictions
A classroom teacher turned homeschooling mum shares her list of books she uses for guiding children to understand making inferences and predictions.

Indigenous Collections

**NEW** AIATSIS Guide to evaluating and selecting education resources

The AIATSIS Guide to evaluating and selecting education resources assists educators to critically self-reflect on their positionality and supports them to work from a foundation of integrity.

It allows teachers to ensure curriculum resources selected for teaching do not cause harm to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, but rather foster trust and build a sense of pride for all.

Educators must make conscious and critical decisions when selecting curriculum resources to ensure they reflect all children, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The Guide supports teachers to select appropriate resources for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and languages respectfully and effectively.

7 Must-Read Books By Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Authors
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and artists are taking the world by storm, bringing to light their complex history, as well as their culture’s stories and Dreamings, in both fictional and non-fictional worlds. Inspired by real-life happenings and events, these books should be added to all bookworms’ bookshelves to discover worlds they have not experienced before.

Celebrating Indigenous writers 
NAIDOC Week book lists suggested by Reading Australia, a number with supporting teaching ideas. 

Social and Emotional

Books to help kids take on challenges.
These 11 growth mindset books, chosen by Galinsky for the nonprofit First Book, can help kids with learning and attention issues feel like they can grow and succeed despite their challenges.

5 YA books that get mental illness right.
Students can find comfort in finding a representation of themselves in literature.

Read for empathy.
Teachers and parents are increasingly concerned about the potentially empathy-draining effect of social media on children, and new pressures caused by societal divisions and the rise in hate crimes. To combat this, EmpathyLab is harnessing the power of stories to build empathy, inspired by scientific evidence showing that reading can boost real-life empathy skills. 

Eight diverse children's books shaking up the nuclear family

We need diverse literature for our students, whether picture books or novels.

30 Children’s Books with LGBT Characters
Site provides a summary of each book with purchase links to Amazon. Most titles are available through Australian distributors.

Heroes and Heroines

13 Smartest Female Characters from Movies, TV, and Books
Strong female characters in different media. A list of some of the brightest and brainiest female characters from movies, TV, and books. These 13 girls are great examples of positive media role models for girls -- and for boys, too.

Motivating Readers

17 awesome book series for reluctant readers of all ages.
Bron is a blogger in the Australian parenting space. She shares a list of books that got her kids reading.

Fiction for older children reviews - adventure seen with fresh eyes
The latest children’s novels put a new spin on familiar themes.

Space

Story Time from Space

Astronauts read space books while in space. Full list of stories in the Video Library.

Refugees

Ali and the Long Journey to Australia 
Young storytellers from Noble Park Primary School, all from refugee backgrounds, have written and illustrated a beautiful tale of Ali and his journey to Australia. See the claymation video.