Saturday, 23 August 2025
State Library of New South Wales
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC

In a society that loves celebrating anniversaries which mark out our lives in decades - in years all of which end with zero - it is particularly propitious that we are here celebrating the 80^th anniversary of the Children’s Book Council.  

It is an important anniversary; in itself celebrating an organisation whose work is central to a modern and changing society, embedding literacy in society by the publication and promotion of books - without which literacy would not be enhanced – indeed, without which literacy would languish. 

The symbol for an 80^th anniversary is, of course, oak which could not have been more appropriate, symbolising wisdom and something which is long-lasting.  And, of course, paper, the essential medium through which books come to the reader, comes from wood.

Being a natural reader for the whole of my own number of decades, I know what I like and what excites me. In particular, I look for good prose. Importantly, however, books still do for me what they did for me when I was a child – they take me to other places, into other worlds and in the quietude of reading, they provide a sanctuary from the bustle of everything else around.

That love of reading has to start as a child.  Which is why this 80^th anniversary says so much of why children’s books are so important. There are some children’s books which have endured through these decades or longer.  Norman Lindsay’s Magic Pudding, published in 1918, is still in print over 100 years later.^[1]

Books, as you know, fuel a child’s imagination whilst at the same time ensuring that literacy is grounded at an early age.  Books move a child from their own world so that they can see a wider world, giving them a perspective of what is around them. 

Books create an engagement between the child and the reader.

Books build empathy and concern for the characters in the book. Books are a stepping stone in the art of communication. 

Indeed, as I was thinking about my remarks today, it seemed that there was not a single aspect of the human spirit from a child’s earliest days which is not touched by reading.  And to read, one needs a book. And as the State Library increasingly opens its doors to little ones, they will have their own sanctuary here in the middle of the city in which to read and explore ideas or simply to ‘give over’ to beautiful words and illustrations.  

It also seems to me that as we confront a world which is AI driven, literacy, and therefore reading will become even more important – because it is only by reading that one develops analytical skills, learns to ask question, learns to wonder what could be different.   

So, our authors who have always created a world of wonderment for our little and not-so-little ones are even more critical as we all navigate this brave new world. 

Looking backwards for a moment over these past 80 years, what has struck me is the explosion of Australian children’s books which cut across all aspects of Australian life, from the diversity of its peoples, to its landscape, the environment, and our unique animals that open the eyes of our little ones and enable them to  love and identify with what is around them – so that they can grow up as aware and articulate young people and adults. 

It is in this context that we are fortunate and, indeed, privileged as a community that we have a national body dedicated to promoting this ‘wealth’ of Australian books and reading - including through schools and libraries - and especially to what one regional NSW study estimates is the 4% of Australian families who do not possess children’s books in the home.^[2]

Another of the exciting developments over the past 80 years is in the publishing of children’s books by First Nations authors and illustrators who have generously shared their rich ancestral heritage to provide stories of Country, culture and community. I note Dub Leffler’s first picture book that he wrote and illustrated - Once There Was a Boy - was published by the award-winning Broome-based Indigenous publishing house, Magabala Books, which has been publishing now for over half of the life of the Children’s Book Council.^[3]

The vibrancy of Australian children’s books, the storytelling magic conveyed through text and illustration, is something the world has also realised. In 2018, Creative Australia undertook the first mapped study of Australian publishing over a 10-year period. It found that of its international rights sales, more than half (54%) were Australian children’s books, with 21% representing picture books, 27% young reader and 6% young adult fiction.^[4]

For all that the Children’s Books Council of Australia - and Australian authors and illustrators - have given Australian children, and all that you will give over the next 80 years: Thank you.

[1] https://www.lib.uts.edu.au/whats-on/exhibitions/the-magic-pudding-celebrating-100-years-of-the-australian-childrens-classic#

[2] Claire Galea, Serje Robidoux, Andrea Salins, Clayton Noble & Genevieve McArthur (22 Apr 2024): ‘The Impact of Shared Book Reading on Children and Families: A Study of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Tamworth, Australia,’ Journal of Research in Childhood, page 9:

https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2024.2322731

[3] https://www.magabala.com/pages/about-us - Magabala Books was established in 1984

[4] https://creative.gov.au/research/success-story-international-rights-sales-australian-authored-books-2008-2018