Peter Gouldthorpe, ‘The boy felt water swirling about his feet’, published in First light by Gary Crew (Lothian Books, 1993)
State Library Victoria announces Story Island: an adventure in pictures, a beautiful touring exhibition and reading experience for young children designed to promote early literacy skills and the joy of children and parents reading together.
Travelling to public libraries throughout Victoria from June 2016 – January 2018, Story Island draws from the world-renowned Scholastic Dromkeen Children’s Literature Collection held at State Library Victoria, and brings together works from some of Australia’s favourite children’s book authors and illustrators to create a visually striking and interactive exhibition.
Julie Vivas, ‘Possum magic animals in parade formation’, merchandise illustration for Possum magic by Mem Fox (Omnibus Books, 1983)
Story Island features four custom-made pods which evoke stories of the bush, the city, bath and bed time and offer children a space for reading, imaginative sharing, learning and exploring stories and pictures together with their parents or carers.
State Library Victoria CEO, Kate Torney, said she was delighted to work with Public Libraries Victoria Network to bring this exhibition to Victorian libraries.
“This special exhibition is a lovely experience for children and parents. It also gives parents and carers good ideas for how to develop a child’s literacy from infancy, which is so important. It’s a fine example of the critical work public libraries do in fostering a love of books and reading in children.”
Elise Hurst, ‘Hopping on a tourist bus’, in The elephants’ big day out (Lothian Books, 2003)
Throughout the exhibition questions and activities are suggested to encourage discovery and exploration with friends and family. The exhibition is also accompanied by a children’s exhibition booklet and activities for children and carers as-well-as book lists for children 0-8 years.
Story Island: an adventure in pictures opens at Realm (Ringwood) Library on 10 June and will travel to twelve regional libraries and galleries across Victoria until 20 January 2018.
Exhibition locations and dates:
Realm (Ringwood) Library 10 June – 23 July 2016
Glenroy Library 29 July – 10 September 2016
Yarram Library 16 September – 29 October 2016
Wonthaggi Library 5 November – 13 December 2016
Frankston Library 19 December – 4 February 2017
Braybrook Community Hub 10 February – 25 March 2017
Warracknabeal Library 31 March – 13 May 2017
Newcomb Library 19 May – 8 July 2017
Kerang Library14 July – 26 August 2017
Castlemaine Library 1 September – 14 October 2017
Craigieburn Library 20 October – 2 December 2017
Sunshine Library 8 December 2017 – 20 January 2018
Story Island: an adventure in pictures, a free exhibition, is a joint initiative of State Library Victoria and Public Libraries Victoria Network.
