The 2024 AATE/ALEA National Conference was held in Adelaide, on Kaurna Country, from 10–13 July. As always, the Reading Australia team had a wonderful time talking with teachers and teacher librarians about the possibilities and benefits of bringing Australian stories into the classroom.
This year we shared our booth with Australia Reads and Wakefield Press – you can read their respective write-ups on their website and in their newsletter. We also hosted a panel on finding new Australian texts for the classroom with Anna Burkey (Australia Reads), Jemma Myors (HarperCollins Publishers Australia) and Karen Yager (Hills Grammar, 2020 Reading Australia Fellow).
As part of this session, we compiled a list of recommendations from 21 Australian publishers. The list contains more than 100 new releases, hidden gems, and other books suitable for the classroom. It also covers key themes and relevant learning areas, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities from the Australian Curriculum. You can find this illustrated handout on our downloads page under ‘Publisher recommendations’, available in full OR divided into primary and secondary titles.
We were also delighted to give away two book packs for titles selected for Reading Australia in 2024. The lucky winners were Isabelle W. and Tracey C., both from South Australia. They were kind enough to share their thoughts on the titles they were most looking forward to reading with their students:
‘I was grateful to win the primary book pack from Reading Australia. I am especially excited by The Garden at the End of the World by Cassy Polimeni and Briony Stewart, and Searching for Cicadas by Lesley Gibbes and Judy Watson. These books will inspire many young authors and illustrators in my class, and I am grateful to be able to share such quality literature with my young learners. Thank you, Reading Australia, for bringing such delightful stories and illustrations to my classroom – the children will be very excited to discover these titles in our library in the coming weeks!’
– Isabelle W., SA
‘As a long-term user of the fabulous resources on Reading Australia, I am excited to read the secondary books, share them with my colleagues and students, and access the accompanying resources once they are released. I am particularly looking forward to Tracks of the Missing by Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler – our school contains students from across South Australia and they will love hearing a rural voice in the classroom. I am also intrigued by Zana Fraillon’s The Way of Dog. Thank you to Reading Australia for providing us with plenty of chapters and possibilities.’
– Tracey C., SA
The National Conference is always the highlight of our year, so we’d like to express our thanks and congratulate the South Australian organisers for another fantastic programme. We hope to see even more of you in Hobart in 2025!