Hook into Books™ celebrates its fifth anniversary of inspiring a love for reading and storytelling.
Image: Six people sit in a half circle, holding books over their faces. In between them is a Hook into Books™ banner.
This year marked the fifth anniversary of Hook into Books™, Life Without Barriers’ annual celebration of children’s literature and the transformative power of reading. Founded on the belief that engaging children of any age in reading is one of the most powerful ways to support their language, literacy, and learning, the campaign has grown into a vibrant, nationwide movement that brings communities together through stories.
"Through the Hook into Books campaign, we are doing our bit to share our love of reading and books with families across the country," said Dale Murray, Executive Director Education.
In 2025, Hook into Books™ continued to inspire with its many activities designed to spark imagination, promote kindness, and celebrate diverse voices.
Books, buzz, and big choices!
Every year, Hook into Books™ spreads the joy of reading far and wide and this year was no exception! We carefully curated a vibrant booklist inspired by the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s 2025 Notables, featuring 30 amazing titles for children and young people aged 0 to 18.
The best part? Every child got to choose their own book, because we believe the magic of reading starts with choice. And wow, did our readers show up!
We received over 1,600 book orders from children and young people in out-of-home care and through our National Immigration Support Service (NISS).
Image: A group of people in a conference room sorting out boxes of books.
Catch-A-Reader
The beloved Catch-A-Reader activity encouraged people across Australia to 'catch' someone reading and share the moment. From cosy corners to bustling parks, readers of all ages were spotted enjoying books, reminding us that reading is not just educational, it’s joyful, social, and contagious.
"This activity is such a fun way to capture a child lost in the world of a books , a moment in time, captured forever." shared a Life Without Barriers foster carer.
Indigenous Literacy Day Team Challenge
In honour of Indigenous Literacy Day, teams across Life Without Barriers took part in a challenge that celebrated First Nations stories and voices.
The activity promoted cultural understanding and respect, while raising awareness of the importance of access to books in remote Indigenous communities. It was a powerful reminder that literacy is a right, not a privilege.
Image: A collection of books by First Nations authors displayed on a table at the Life Without Barriers Shailer Park office.
14 Days of Kindness Challenge
This year’s reading adventure took kindness to heart with the 14 Days of Kindness Challenge. Over two weeks, children, young people, carers and the Child, Youth, and Family workforce were invited to complete daily acts of kindness inspired by books and stories.
From writing thank-you notes to sharing books with friends, the challenge showed how stories can shape not only minds, but hearts.
Image: On a shelf sits an open book with a hand written note inside. The note says: Hello, Reader! Just a little note to say this book found it's way to you for a reason. May it's pages bring you joy, adventure, and maybe even a little magic. Love a fellow book lover.
Bookmarks with a voice
Across our Youth Advisory Groups (YAG) in South Australia and along the Central Coast, young people bought to life the 2025 Book Week theme, 'Book an Adventure', designing bookmarks for this year’s Hook into Books™ campaign.
Armed with watercolours, pens, collage materials and iPads, participants created designs that reflect adventure, imagination, and the freedom that comes with reading.
The bookmarks featured quotes, artwork, and messages from young people about what reading means to them.
"I feel really happy. I love how they converted my drawing and am very grateful that I got to do such a fun artwork," shared Kayla, YAG participant.
A selection of bookmarks capturing the designs of these young people were sent out in over 1,600 book packs to children and young people across the country during Hook into Books™, carrying not just colour and creativity, but the message that every young person has the right to read, and the right to be heard.
Image: Three finished bookmarks ready to be sent in the book packs.
Mini-home Libraries
This year the Children’s Book Council of Australia – Queensland Branch (CBCA) continued their support through the Kaye Throssell Community Projects, partnering with Hook into Books™ to create mini-home libraries for children and young people living in residential care across Queensland.
With strong evidence showing the benefits of having books at home, the CBCA donated 620 books, enough for each of Life Without Barriers’ ten residential homes to receive a library of 62 books.
The handover was met with excitement from residential workers, who shared how meaningful these books are for the children and young people in their care. This initiative opens doors to imagination, learning, and brighter futures.
Driving literacy forward with Toyota!
The campaign received a major boost in 2025 thanks to a new partnership with Toyota Australia. Toyota Finance’s partnership with Life Without Barriers is driven by shared values; inclusion, opportunity, and community support. Recognising the power of reading to transform lives, Toyota joined the Hook into Books™ campaign to help drive literacy forward for children and young people in care.
Image: Staff from Life Without Barriers and Toyota holding up books in the Milton office.
Teams from Toyota offices in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane came together to collect and deliver nearly 1,000 books to the Milton Life Without Barriers office, helping children and young people across Australia, one book at a time.
"Partnering with Life Without Barriers reflects our commitment to creating opportunities and supporting communities," said a Toyota spokesperson.
Image: Books being organised and stacked by volunteers.
Totally Lit! Hook into Books™ gets airtime!
Combining forces, Author Ky Garvey shared space with Australian Children's Laureate (2024-2025) Sally Rippen, to discuss Hook into Books™ on the podcast show Totally Lit.
Through her work as Children’s Laureate, Sally is traveling around the around the country and internationally to chat about the ways we can share stories and support children who might struggle to read. As part of this, Sally has spent some time chatting about her support of Hook into Books™.
Image: Collage with a photo of Ky Garvey, a photo of Sally Rippen and the Totally Lit logo.
Book champions
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our incredible supporters who help bring the joy of reading to children and young people in out-of-home care. Through generous donations of books and resources, and help spreading the word about our campaign, they help us amplify the importance of having access to books and story to empower young minds to imagine, explore, and grow.
We are deeply grateful to Children's Rights Queensland, The Children's Book Council Australia (Queensland), Dymocks Children's Charities, Magabala Books, Toyota Fleet and Finance and University of Queensland Press for standing with us in this important journey.
We also extend our thanks to our authors supporters who continue to get involved in our work and share their love of reading with our community.
Image: Staff from Life Without Barriers and Toyota holding up books in the Milton office.
As we close the book on this year’s campaign, having shared almost 2,500 books with our community, we celebrate the thousands of children, carers, supporters and partners who hooked into books with us. Whether through a shared story, a captured reading moment, donated books or a creative bookmark, each contribution helped build a more literate, inclusive, and kind Australia.
Here’s to five years of stories, and many more chapters to come!
