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Children

Mosman Library Service has a great range of resources for children of all ages and reading levels.

All Babytimes and Storytimes are held during School Terms Only

1000 Books Before School Program

The 1000 Books Before School program is an early literacy program designed to encourage parents and carers to read with their 0-5 year olds to help them prepare for school.

It’s as simple as it sounds – read 1000 books before they start school.

It’s achievable:

  • If you read one book per day, you will finish in less than three years
  • If you read three books a day, you will finish in less than one year

How the program works:

  • To register for the program, a child’s library card is required
  • You can register in person at Barry O’Keefe Library to receive printed material or online through Beanstack
  • If using printed sheets mark, colour or place a sticker on your reading record each time you read together with your child
  • If using Beanstack, log each book you read

Please note: once you have decided between printed sheets or online tracking, you must continue with this method for the entire duration of the project.

After reaching your first milestone of 100 books read, your child will be eligible to collect a “1000 Books Before School” reading bag. For every 100 books read after that, you can collect a merit patch to go on the bag. If you are using printed record sheets, after every 100 books read you will need to bring the sheet to Barry O’Keefe Library to collect your bag and patches. Beanstack users can also come in to the library and staff will look up your accomplishments online to receive your reward.

Every book that your child completes or listens to counts. This includes stories read at Storytime sessions, day care and playgroup.

We encourage you to use the children’s collections at your local libraries. However, you can read books from anywhere and read them as many times as you want.

The program finishes once your child reaches the goal of 1000 books, starts school or turns 6.

The 1000 Books Before School program is proudly supported by the following councils: Hornsby, Lane Cove, Ku-ring-gai, Mosman, North Sydney, Northern Beaches and Ryde.

For Babies – Babytime

A lap sit session consisting of rhymes, songs, music and movement for babies aged 0-2 years old on Wednesday mornings at 10.30 am and 12 pm during school terms.

For Toddlers and Pre-schoolers – Storytime

Encourage a love of stories, books and libraries!

Tuesday Storytime - an interactive session consisting of short stories, songs and rhymes for toddlers aged 18 months to 3 years old at 10.30 am during school terms.

Thursday Storytime – an interactive session consisting of stories, songs and activities for preschoolers aged 3-5 years old at 10.30 am during school terms.

For School Aged Children 5-12

The Creation Space

It's never been a better time to drop into The Creation Space. We've begun a fresh new slate of programs, happening each day of the week for kids between 3 pm to 5 pm, Monday to Friday. Please download our latest Creation Space Drop-in programs or visit the Events Mosman website.

School Holiday and Special Events

School Holidays

Head to the events website to book for some fabulous School Holidays events for children and teens. Find out more

Youth Awards in Literature

The Mosman Youth Awards in Literature is an annual prose and poetry competition which attracts budding poets, playwrights and authors from primary and secondary schools across the state, all of whom compete for a share in the $2,000 prize pool.

For more information click here.

Online Resources for Children

Mosman Library Service has a great range of children’s eBooks, educational games and online encyclopaedias. You will need your library card to access these resources.

NSW Premier‘s Reading Challenge

The Premier‘s Reading Challenge is a special initiative of the Premier of NSW, presented by the NSW Department of Education and Training, to foster a love of literature and to encourage children to read widely for leisure and for pleasure.

Premier‘s Challenge Booklists

For more information, visit the NSW Premier‘s Reading Challenge

Last updated Monday 11 March 2024
Last updated Monday 11 March 2024