Teachers, if you are here, we already know that you love Australian stories. With this recently launched database, curated by the lovely team at the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature, you can explore or revisit hundreds of engaging written texts to share with your students.  

The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature (NCACL) has produced a freely available resource to champion picture story books for students in Year 5 through to secondary school. Encompassing a wide range of literary and artistic styles, the collected titles in the Picture Books for Older Readers database will assist teachers in addressing many complex and contemporary topics in the classroom. 

There are presently 258 books in this free database, and titles will continue to be added. These picture books were selected as they can be read on several levels and interpreted differently depending on the audience. They can also be suitable for more than one audience at once simultaneously and assist students in becoming competent in image analysis and identifying storytelling devices.

Each entry in the database includes an annotation, subjects, hyperlinked free resources to extend the book and relevant Australian Curriculum (Version 9) links. The NCACL has also provided suggestions for educators using these rich texts here.  

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