An eight-year-old combining a story with live music. Musicians filling a Raymond Island café with song. The Koala Trail, local honey, families and colourful bookmarks — and children settling into their school library
to discover their next book.
These are some of the scenes captured through Reading for Kids and Teens (RFKaT) Gippsland as East Gippsland celebrates CBCA Children’s Book Week 2026 and its theme, Symphony of Stories.
One special Book Week video features eight-year-old Aerianne McCaffery, combining reading, music and performance to celebrate
Dear Broccoli by Jo Dabrowski.
The clever picture book unfolds through a humorous exchange of letters between Frank, who definitely does not want broccoli on his dinner plate, and Broccoli, who writes back, countering his protests with humour, persuasion and some healthy food facts.
In the video, Aerianne talks about eating broccoli and the story’s healthy-eating message, before adding another ingredient
of her own — music.
Aerianne is part of the talented McCaffery Family, with her father Malcolm McCaffery actively involved in bringing music into the community and creating opportunities for children and adults to experience, participate in and enjoy music together.
Reading aloud confidently is an achievement in itself; adding live music requires concentration, timing and expression, with Aerianne beautifully demonstrating how stories, music, families and community can come together — very much in the spirit of Symphony of Stories.
From one young musician, the Symphony of Stories travelled to Raymond Island, where another RFKaT video brought together a CBCA shortlisted book, local musicians and the Koala Café’s first birthday celebration.
Musicians Ruth Bell, Terri Eskdale and Winston Galea provided the soundtrack for a feature celebrating The Frog’s First Song, written by Wiradjuri poet Jazz Money.
With its themes of belonging, friendship and finding connection through song and story, the book was a natural fit for an afternoon of music, families and community beside the Raymond Island waterfront.
With books, live music and the nearby Raymond Island Koala Trail – together with an
RFKaT Gippsland feature on Raymond Island Honey and the local Paynesville outlets
where it is sold – the celebration became a real-life East Gippsland Symphony of
Stories, connecting books with people,
place and community.
The honey feature also highlighted the Paynesville Community Craft Centre and Paynesville IGA, helping showcase the connections between Raymond Island and the wider local community.
For RFKaT volunteer Karen Fleischer, music has added another dimension to celebrating Australian children’s literature.
“In previous years I have tried to bring out the literary and artistic value of Australian children’s books,” Karen said.
“This year, Symphony of Stories gave us another wonderful ingredient — music.
“Bringing together authors, illustrators, musicians, libraries, local bookshops, schools, families and the wider community shows just how far a story can travel beyond the
pages of a book.”
Perhaps some of the most rewarding Book Week moments have been happening quietly inside school libraries.
At Lucknow Primary School, students have been using their CBCA bookmarks during library time as they explore the shelves and choose books to borrow.
Jodie Alvin from Lucknow Primary School said students loved receiving the bookmarks, particularly enjoying their artistic value in the weeks leading up to Book Week.
Featuring Briony Stewart’s colourful Symphony of Stories artwork and the CBCA Book of the Year Shortlist, the bookmarks are designed to do more than simply mark a page.
They encourage children to explore different books, authors and illustrators and
perhaps even discover inspiration for a
Book Week character outfit.
For Karen, receiving the photographs from Lucknow Primary School of children in their library, surrounded by books and using their bookmarks, was particularly moving.
“Seeing those photographs meant so much to me, because this is what the work throughout the year is really about,” Karen said.
“Seeing children in their school library, with books in their hands and using their bookmarks to help discover what they might read next — that is why we do it.”
The bookmarks are also travelling beyond school gates.
Families celebrating the Koala Café’s first birthday received them, while home-schooling families can collect CBCA bookmarks for primary-aged children from Schoolworks Bairnsdale while stocks are available.
RFKaT has also produced several videos encouraging families to think preloved when choosing Book Week outfits, with East Gippsland Shire Council mayor Jodie Ashworth joining in the fun and continuing her support for initiatives encouraging local children to enjoy books, reading and libraries.
Exploring local op shops for a Book Week character can make dressing up affordable, creative and fun, while giving clothing another life and helping reduce the amount going to landfill.
Sometimes the perfect storybook character may already be waiting to be discovered on an op shop rack.
The East Gippsland bookmark initiative has been made possible with support from Paynesville Community Opp Shop and Johnnos Op Shop, together with Schoolworks Bairnsdale, Office Choice Bairnsdale and Grinter Transport Services.
“If a bookmark helps a child open another book, discover another author or simply read for a little longer, it is doing exactly what we hoped it would do,” Karen said.
