It’s the most wonderful Book Week time of the year

This week is offi­cially Book Week at schools and libraries across Aus­tralia. And Book Week means author vis­its — which are just as much fun for the author as they are for the kids.

Today I was out at St Fran­cis of Assisi Pri­mary School in Mill Park all day doing ses­sions with groups of grade 6 stu­dents. We were in a small hall as their new library (as seen below) is halfway to com­ple­tion. The stu­dents were all really enthu­si­as­tic and cre­ative — which was espe­cially good for the part of the ses­sion where we all write a story together. I’ll be blog­ging the short sto­ries we came up with soon.

And since it’s Book Week I asked the kids of St Fran­cis of Assisi Pri­mary School to each bring in their favourite book to show and tell me why they like it so much. Book club style! Here are just some of books that were brought in, along with the rea­sons for their favourtism.

Matilda by Roald Dahl
Because Matilda does what she wants.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kin­ney
Because it relates to a kid who doesn’t want to be at school and just wants to have fun.

Alice in Won­der­land by Lewis Car­roll
Because it has funny char­ac­ters and weird words like ‘Jabberwocky’.

Go Girl! Danc­ing Queen by Thalia Kalkip­sakis
Because I like dancing.

It’s OK I’m Wear­ing Really Big Knick­ers by Louise Ren­ni­son
Because of how she wants a boyfriend and how she relates to herself.

Specky Macgee by Felice Arena and Garry Lyon
Because he plays footy and it’s excit­ing and sporty.

Par­vana by Deb­o­rah Ellis
Because it shows how other peo­ple live in Afghanistan and the Mid­dle East.

Harry Pot­ter and the Deathly Hal­lows by J.K. Rowl­ing
Because it’s all revealed.

Scor­pia: Alex Rider #5 by Anthony Hor­rowitz
Because he finds out all about his life of spy­ing and mysteries.

Halo: Fall of Reach by Eric Nylund
Because it’s sci-fi and it’s got action.

The Guin­ness Book of World Records
Because I like see­ing peo­ple who have chal­lenged themselves.

Skul­dug­gery Pleas­ant: Dark Days by Derek Landy
Because it has lots of action and mystery.

Hat­ing Ali­son Ash­ley by Robin Klein
Because it has funny jokes and it’s soppy.

The Sim­ple Gift by Steven Her­rick
Because of the mys­tery, char­ac­ters and set­tings includ­ing train car­riages, lakes and McDonalds.

New Moon by Stephe­nie Meyer
Because Bella has to choose between two guys.

Angus, Thongs and Per­fect Snog­ging by Louise Ren­ni­son
Because it’s a funny book about a girl who wants a per­fect life.

Dear Dumb Diary by Jim Ben­ton
Because it’s about a girl who has bad luck.

Eldest by Christo­pher Paolin
Because it’s a good book about drag­ons and battles.

Sadako and the Thou­sand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
Because it’s a true story.

Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda
Because it has adven­ture and a weird hero.

Chi­nese Cin­darella by Ade­line Yen Mah
Because it’s a true story.

Cap­tain Under­pants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman by Dav Pilkey
Because it has a weird superhero.

Specky Macgee and the Bat­tle of the Young Guns by Felice Arena and Garry Lyon
Because I like footy and it’s fun reading.

Drowned Wednes­day: The Keys to the King­dom #3 by Garth Nix
Because it has inter­est­ing char­ac­ters like giant talk­ing rats.

The Dead of the Night by John Mars­den
Because it’s all action, cap­ti­vat­ing and sucks you in.

Ghost­girl by Tonya Hur­ley
Because she tries to be pop­u­lar but she dies.

Harry Pot­ter and the Philospher’s Stone by J.K. Rowl­ing
Because it’s Harry Potter!!!

The Fall: Sev­enth Tower #1 by Garth Nix
Because it’s set in a dif­fer­ent world that no one’s ever heard of before.