Nature Book Week

Use the map below to find an event near you, with more to be announced! 

Nature Book Week officially runs from 10-18 October, but some events may fall outside these dates. 
Want to be part of Nature Book Week 2026? Fill out the form today.

Fill out the form below to stay up to date on Nature Book Week 2026. 💚📖

Questions? ➡️ [email protected] 

Why do you believe young children in particular need to read books about the natural world?

Shannon: We live in a time where screens often outnumber trees in a child’s line of sight, and yet the natural world is one of the most powerful teachers we’ll ever know. Books about nature help children slow down, notice, wonder, ask why?, and feel connected to the wider world around them. They aren’t just stories on a page. Books about nature are invitations to care, to empathise and to explore. When young readers fall in love with a river, a kookaburra or a wattle tree on a page, they start to cherish and protect those things in real life too. That’s a kind of literacy—ecological literacy—that our future really needs.

What were some of your favourite nature-themed books growing up?

Shannon: I’ll always have a soft spot for the books that first opened up the wild world to me. Animalia by Graeme Base absolutely dazzled me. It made the natural world feel intricate, abundant and worth lingering over. Every page was an invitation to look closer. And Charlotte's Web gently but awakened me to the possibility of profound connection between humans and animals.

We can’t, however, rely on nostalgia alone to nurture today’s readers. Children’s literature is a living, breathing ecosystem, and Australia is bursting with contemporary creators doing this work beautifully right now. If we only champion the classics, we risk starving the future. We need to keep placing new stories, diverse, urgent, joyful stories about our land and wildlife,  into children’s hands.

Because somewhere on a bookshelf today is the next Animalia or the next Charlotte’s Web just waiting to awaken wonder in a whole new generation.

What wild places, or wildlife encounters, have had the biggest impact on you in your life?

Shannon: Standing before Uluru at dawn is something that settles into your bones. There’s a hush and a reverence in that early light. You become acutely aware of time, of story, of the ancientness of land. It’s not just a beautiful place; it’s a place that asks you to be still and to listen. That experience reshaped how I think about belonging, and how I talk to children about Country, care and respect.

And then drifting quietly along the Yellow Water Billabong in Kakadu National Park, watching jabirus step delicately through the reeds, crocodiles sunning on muddy banks, the water reflecting that vast Top End sky,  that felt like stepping into a living storybook. The biodiversity, the rhythm, the hum of life everywhere you looked. Wild places don’t shout for attention. They reveal themselves slowly, generously, if you’re prepared to notice.

Both of those experiences taught me the same thing I try to pass on to children: awe is a powerful teacher. When we feel wonder, we feel responsibility. And when we feel responsibility, we begin to care.

What are you excited to bring to the role of Nature Book Week Ambassador?

Shannon: I want to spark joy around nature storytelling through creativity, curiosity and celebration, and not just in classrooms, but in living rooms, backyards and parks. I love teaming picture books with creative projects that help children do as well as read- whether that’s drawing birds they’ve seen, making bark rubbings, or inventing tiny stories about mossy logs. I’m also excited to champion authors and illustrators who weave truth and wonder together so beautifully, because the more we celebrate these voices, the more kids will see nature as a friend, not a backdrop.

Why should people get involved in Nature Book Week this year?

Shannon: Because Nature Book Week is a literal and metaphorical breath of fresh air! It’s a chance to press pause on screens, step outside with a good book, and let young minds fall in love with the world that sustains us. Books are doorways, and what better place to open a door to than into the bush, the beach, the sky, or the deep blue sea? Whether you’re a parent, a teacher, a librarian or someone who just adores stories, joining in means you’re helping kids build empathy, joy and respect for life on Earth. How good is that?

What are some really easy ways for teachers to incorporate Nature Book Week into their planning for October 2026?

Shannon: Keep it simple, sensory and joyful! Pick one lovely nature-themed picture book from the shortlist and weave it into three mini activities across the week:
 🌿 Day 1: Read it aloud together. Ask kids to share predictions and wonder aloud.
 🎨 Day 2: Do a tiny art-making response inspired by the story (leaf rubbing, watercolour sky, felt-tip creature drawing).
 📚 Day 3: Take the book outside and read under a tree or on the grass, let nature be the backdrop and inspiration.

It doesn’t need to be complicated. It just asks you to be present, curious and ready to notice the small wild wonder right where you are.

Dr Jen Martin spent many years working as a field ecologist until she decided the most useful thing she could contribute as a scientist was to teach other scientists how to be effective and engaging communicators. To that end, she founded and leads the University of Melbourne's acclaimed Science Communication Teaching Program.

Jen also practises what she preaches: for nearly 15 years she’s been talking about science each week on 3RRR, Australia’s largest community radio station, she writes a popular science blog, is a member of the Science Gallery Melbourne Leonardos and writes for CSIRO's Double Helix Magazine. She was named the 2019 Unsung Hero of Science Communication.

Children working with Stone Country Creations. Image: In kind from Nawarddeken Academy.

As part of Nature Book Week the Wilderness Society is working with First Nations communities and schools, like the Nawarddeken Academy in Arnhem Land and Deadly Science, to give the fantastic nature books we received for consideration a good home.

“The Nawarddeken Academy is thrilled to be receiving a donation of books from The Wilderness Society. Being located on an Indigenous ranger base in west Arnhem Land, we have limited access to quality printed texts that embrace the natural environment,” says Olga Scholes, Nawarddeken Academy Executive Officer.

Corey Tutt CEO and Founder of Deadly Science says the donation of books is “Incredible! Books are freedom. To provide these Deadly books to our students is just amazing. Who knows, maybe this might be the thing that helps our students find their deadly passion.”