Book an Adventure: The Magic of Reading in the Early Years

August 20, 2025

At Grow Early Education, we believe that reading with children is one of the richest learning experiences you can have. It’s because of this that the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s National Book Week is one of our favourite weeks on the calendar.

This year, Book Week is celebrating 80 years with the theme “Book an Adventure.” To honour the occasion, we’re discussing the importance of reading for children aged 0-5 and sharing some of the ways you can turn your bedtime routine into a rich learning and story-led adventure.

From birth to five years, reading with children is an important part of their developmental journey, helping to foster language skills and cognitive abilities while building a life-long love of reading and learning. Reading with children also encourages language development, problem-solving and critical thinking skills, and boosts children’s imaginations.

Research has found that the disparity between children’s vocabularies could be upwards of 1.4 million words, depending on how frequently they are read to. It is estimated that children who:

  • Are never read to will learn 4,662 words
  • Are read to once or twice a week will learn 63,570 words
  • Are read to three to five times a week will learn 169,520 words
  • Are read to every day will learn 296,660 words
  • Or, if read five different books a day, will learn 1,483,330 words by the time they turn five.

For children under five, every rhyme, story, or picture book adds up, helping your little one build a richer, stronger vocabulary that they can carry through school and life.

One of the easiest ways you can introduce regular reading to your child’s day is through bedtime routines, but a bedtime story doesn’t have to be all about “winding down”. Reading to children creates magical moments where imagination and language thrive. Here are some ways you can turn bedtime routine into story-led learning adventure.

  • Create a reading ritual: Set aside 10-15 minutes each night for story time – dim the lights snuggle up, and start reading. Predictability can help children settle and knowing what to expect can make them feel excited.
  • Let your child choose the adventure: Offer a small selection of books each night for your little one to choose from. Having ownership over what they read helps children feel more engaged.
  • Embrace the theatrics: Using props such as toys or puppets, and adding voices and sound effects can make the story sound like it's coming alive, adding more excitement and depth for the child.
  • Connect storytelling to reality: After the book, take the time to ask some questions, such as “what adventure would you go on if you were in this story?” or “which character would you like to be?” These additional prompts help extend your child’s imagination as well as their language and comprehension skills.
  • End the story time with some calm reflection: Ask your child to close their eyes and imagine themselves in the story world as they drift off to sleep. This bridges reading with dreaming, setting children up for an even more magical bedtime.

Just as stories can spark adventure at bedtime, Book Week allows children to bring these adventures to life across our childcare centres.

One of the most exciting parts of Book Week at our centres is seeing the children bring their favourite characters to life! From pirates and princesses to astronauts and dragons, dressing up gives children a chance to step into the world of their story and make the adventure their own. It’s a joyful, imaginative way to connect with books and characters while building confidence, creativity, and a love of storytelling. At Grow Early Education, our Educators love to join in the fun too! Dressing up alongside the children allows us to celebrate stories together and model creativity and imagination. Whether it’s becoming a fairy, a brave knight, or a quirky storybook character, our Educators help turn Book Week into a shared adventure, showing that reading and play can be magical at any age.

Book Week is a special time for children and families to celebrate the magic of reading. At Grow Early Education, we love creating adventures through stories, dress-ups, and imaginative play, helping every child discover the joy of reading and the worlds that await in every book.

Follow us on Facebook to see how our Grow Early Education centres are embracing this year's Book Week theme, “Book an Adventure”!

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