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A Book Treasure Hunt

Kids in Australia are finding cool books in unusual places!

Animation of books emerging from a kangaroo’s pouch, the Sydney Opera House, a crocodile’s mouth, and more.

© Olga Kurbatova/Dreamstime.com, © Rimma Rimma/Dreamstime.com; Animation Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Kids in Australia are finding hidden treasures! Thousands of books have been hidden all over a town called Braidwood for anyone to find.

The books are hidden in places like trees, bushes, and shop windows. They’re placed inside a plastic bag with a note that says, “You are the lucky finder of this book. Read it, enjoy it, and then re-hide it for someone else to enjoy.” 

Kids who find a book are asked to write their name inside the front cover before hiding it again. Then it’s easy to see how many people found and enjoyed each book.

Courtesy of Samantha Dixon

The idea for this treasure hunt came from Samantha Dixon, who lives in Braidwood. Dixon is a mom who knows how much fun it can be to find hidden surprises. For a while, there were painted rocks hidden around Braidwood for kids to find. Dixon thought, “What if we hid books instead?”  Now, many kids are having a great time finding, reading, and hiding books. 

“It’s lovely to watch the little kids’ faces when they find the books,” Dixon told Australia’s ABC News. “It’s a bit magical.”

NEWS EXTRA!

Black History Month

A GIF that scrolls through the portraits of many well known and influential Black Americans

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-ppmsca-08978, LC-USW3-001546-D, LC-USZ62-127236, LC-USZ62-27663); Addison N. Scurlock—Michael Ochs Archives, Kean Collection—Archive Photos, © Michael Ochs Archives, Evan Agostini/Getty Images; Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C. (object no. 2009.50.2); PRNewsFoto/XM Satellite Radio/AP Images; AP Images;  NASA; National Archives, Washington, D.C. (2803441); Pete Souza—Official White House Photo; Animation Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

February is Black History Month in the United States. Want to read more? Check out the January 31 edition of In the News!

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Fun Fact

Three covers from the Book Scavenger series on top of a map with a magnifying glass

Macmillan Publishers, © Bakhtiar Zein/Dreamstime.com; Photo illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Do you know about the Book Scavenger stories? This series (group of books) by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman is all about kids who use clues to look for hidden books!

Little Free Libraries

Governor Tom Wolf (CC BY 2.0); Paul Sableman (CC BY 2.0); © Linda Williams/Dreamstime.com; Carol Jacobs-Carre (CC BY-SA 2.0); Infrogmation of New Orleans (CC BY 2.0)

Read Across America Week starts on March 2, 2023. A library is a great place to find a book. But did you know that not all libraries are buildings?

All over the world, people are building Little Free Libraries. A Little Free Library is a small cabinet or box that people can put outside their homes and fill with books. Anyone can take a book or leave a book! 

Check out the slideshow to see some creative ways people have set up their libraries.

Books Are the Best!

David Stokes; Photo composite Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

How can you find something great to read? You might want to look for a book that won the Newbery Medal. This award is given to one book each year.

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Word of the Day

unearth

Part of speech:

verb

Definition:

: to find or discover (something) that was hidden or lost

Definitions provided by
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