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Book Week costume ideas
Book Week will be held 22nd -28th August 2015 in Australia with the theme of Books light up our world. Does this cause stress and panic for parents in their quest to help their kids with a Book Week parade costume? Don’t worry, we are here to help.
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Tips on teaching sight words
Teacher and author, Jayneen Sanders shares her tips on how to help children learn their weekly list of words and build their confidence at the same time.
![Book Week Ideas](http://web.archive.org./web/20170702124931im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/2/s/1/o/u/image.related.landscape.120x80.2s1jo.gjzqdq.png/1444094211328.jpg)
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![Reading time: Helping kids develop through the stages.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170702124931im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/3/r/c/1/j/image.related.landscape.120x80.13tcn0.gjzqdq.png/1444657873474.jpg)
Latest
![Danielle Lindemann](http://web.archive.org./web/20170702124931im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/u/3/t/2/image.related.landscape.300x200.guu3v6.png/1489031709184.jpg)
Mum gives her daughter’s princess books a feisty feminist edit
Sick of gender stereotypes, this mum decided to take matters into her own hands. So, when she came across her daughter's favourite princess book she stared making some changes of her own and the results are brilliant.
![Knox Murray](http://web.archive.org./web/20170702124931im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/o/n/n/h/image.related.landscape.300x200.gujj8q.png/1488511764259.jpg)
The 10,000 pieces of evidence that will settle the homework wars
For the first time, more than 10,000 pieces of international research have been pulled together to show NSW teachers what works - and what doesn't - in the classroom.
![Bec Judd and her son, five-year-old Oscar.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170702124931im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/6/4/2/f/image.related.landscape.300x200.gu5yan.png/1486345225639.jpg)
Bec Judd talks kids, chaos and date nights in the backyard pool!
As parents around the country sent their little ones off to school for the first time last week, one celeb-mum was right there with us – mother-of-four, radio host and speech pathologist Rebecca Judd.
![British author Richard Adams (pictured in 1978), whose 1972 book Watership Down became a classic of children's ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170702124931im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/i/p/f/v/image.related.landscape.300x200.gtippo.png/1482901371357.jpg)
Richard Adams, creator of Watership Down, dies at 96
Richard Adams struck gold in 1972 with Watership Down, his saga of a group of rabbits hunting for a new sanctuary.
![Keep the kids reading over the summer.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170702124931im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/g/e/a/a/image.related.landscape.300x200.gtf25y.png/1482890859295.jpg)
Summer reading list: ten best children’s books of 2016
It's not always easy to keep kids reading over the summer holidays. But research shows that those who stop reading over these long breaks from school are actually at risk of seeing their reading ability drop during this period. This is called the "summer slide".
![The top recommended books for teens](http://web.archive.org./web/20170702124931im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/z/y/j/7/image.related.landscape.300x200.gszu9w.png/1480468589489.jpg)
The top recommended books for teens
This category has an absolute wealth of wonderful books to ignite those sometimes flagging imaginations.
![Kids' Reading Guide for 2016/17](http://web.archive.org./web/20170702124931im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/z/6/d/3/image.related.landscape.300x200.gsz5f4.png/1480367024911.jpg)
The top recommended middle fiction books for kids
We brought you all the top selections from the Kids' Reading Guide for 2016/17 in the categories of Australian stories, picture books and junior fiction and now it's time for middle fiction, for those slightly older kids or those at higher reading levels.
![Enrolments at Sydney Catholic high schools are down for the first time in 20 years.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170702124931im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/r/d/j/a/image.related.landscape.300x200.gswvvi.png/1495065594784.jpg)
Seven ways to make your kid smarter without spending a cent
Don't blow the Christmas budget on pricey apps and educational toys. Sorting laundry and stacking the dishwasher can help pre-schoolers with their early education.
![<a href="http://www.booktopia.com.au/mad-magpie-gregg-dreise/prod9781925360066.html" target="_blank">Mad Magpie by Gregg ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170702124931im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/r/7/k/n/image.related.landscape.300x200.gsr9hw.png/1479360021947.jpg)
Best book picks from the Kids' Reading Guide: Picture Books
We've given you part one of the best Picture Books nominated by the booksellers of Australia in their Kids' Reading Guide for 2016-2017. Now it's time for part two.
![11 of the best junior fiction books](http://web.archive.org./web/20170702124931im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/q/a/j/p/image.related.landscape.300x200.gsqaie.png/1479257689894.jpg)
11 of the best junior fiction books
Featuring authors such as Anh Do, Nick Sharratt, Kim Kane and Kate Knapp, there's bound to be something here your child will love.
![Summer by June Factor, Alison Lester.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170702124931im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/n/7/i/9/image.related.landscape.300x200.gsn6vj.png/1479164439403.jpg)
15 of the best picture books for kids
It's time for the second installment of best book picks from the Kids' Reading Guide.
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