Book+Week

= __Great ideas for celebrating Book week this year __ = from [] For some people, **Children's** **Book Week** means they take their children to one of the special events at their local library. For others, it might mean they take the time to thank someone who made reading special for them - a parent, a librarian or a teacher maybe. Other people throw a party, or have a read-a-thon, or give the kids some money to buy one special book they really, really want. I don't think it matters HOW you celebrate **Children's** **Book Week**, so long as you do.
 * Revisit a selection of books you and your kids/students have enjoyed. Sometimes kids just need to re-find old favourites to fall in love with a book all over again.
 * Have a teddy bears picnic in the park and read some books to the bear friends. Honey sandwiches and fairy cakes might be a good start to the picnic!
 * Write to your favourite authors and let them know how much you enjoy their books. Don't be disappointed if they don't have time to write back - it takes ages to write a really good book.
 * Discuss: what makes us like a book? Ask everyone to write down their favourite book and why they like it. Do all the books have something in common?
 * Choose a favourite book and act it out. Or choose just one scene and make a still picture of it with a group of classmates, using your bodies as the people and props from that scene.
 * Pretend to be one a favourite character and make up some more stories for him/her to star in.
 * Create a comic about a favourite book character or book world.
 * Go through your books and see whether some books can go to younger kids. Recycling is good for the environment, it's a way of helping others, and it makes space for new books - win/win/win!
 * Use YouTube to find some videos related to great children's books, then track down the ones kids enjoy at the library or book store. Here's a lovely video narrated by Alison Lester, author of Noni the Pony. And here's another of my favourites, Owl Babies.
 * When you've found some books based on stories from other countries, read them, then discover more about that country. Can you learn some words from its language, find pictures of people who live there, learn a song or dance from that country? Throw a Book Week party where you match food to stories from other places.
 * Record yourself explaining what reading means to you, or why you think Book Week is a good thing.
 * Follow up a trip to the movies to see something like Fantastic Mr Fox with finding the book the movie was based on and reading it together. Discuss how the versions were different and which you liked best. How many book/movie combinations can you find?
 * Make your own picture book for a younger child. Draw the pictures and write the story that is in your heart, and that you think someone younger might enjoy. Will you give it to them to keep, or read it to them?
 * Dress up as a character from a story you've read. Get together with some friends and create a new story starring all of you! Or dress some of your toys as book characters. Can you make up a puppet play for them?
 * Organize a book exchange with your friends or at your school.
 * Write a 75 word review of your favourite book.
 * Make a digital book ([|read my favourite ways to do this]), or a digital poster ([|read my favourite ways to do this]) advertising books.