Every Prep student in government schools will start their education with a new library bag and bundle of books to spark the joy of reading, thanks to the Andrews Labor Government.

Minister for Education James Merlino today unveiled the new Prep bags, which are being delivered to
almost 60,000 Preps in more than 1200 schools.

Prep bags give families valuable information and resources, as well as fun activities for preppies – ensuring excellence in education from the very first day of school.

As well as five children’s books, the bags include a water bottle, a ruler, booklets, flyers and stickers that
provide valuable information and resources for Preps and their families.

Children will receive great Australian books selected by an expert panel of teachers, librarians and literacy experts, including:

• Silver Buttons, written and illustrated by Bob Graham
• The Dress-Up Box, written by Patrick Guest and illustrated by Nathaniel Eckstrom
• Where is Galah?, written and illustrated by Sally Morgan
• Hello from Nowhere, written by Raewyn Caisley and illustrated by Karen Blair
• Edward the Emu, written by Sheena Knowles and illustrated by Rod Clement.

The quality of the characters, illustrations and use of language in these books will help families to engage their children with reading and literature.

To promote inclusion, the books are also produced in braille and distributed to Prep students who are blind.

The picture on the front of the bag is the work of Ana Lívia Maiorino, who won a competition to design this year’s Prep Bag. Her design aims to encourage Prep students to make new friends and learn new things on their first day of school.