Create My Book Challenge

Create My Book Challenge Create My Book Challenge was established in 2022. A platform for to explore the author in them.

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Grandmother Christine
17/06/2026

Grandmother Christine

Happy Monday
14/06/2026

Happy Monday

Grandmother Christine ❤️
14/06/2026

Grandmother Christine ❤️

Did you know that Adelaide boasted the first free Children's Library in Australia, and that it was run by a woman? The n...
14/06/2026

Did you know that Adelaide boasted the first free Children's Library in Australia, and that it was run by a woman? The non-lending library opened on the ground floor of the Institute Building in 1915, with former school teacher Miss Annie Whitham appointed superintendent. Annie was also the first university graduate, male or female, to join the library staff. The library was open on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays from 2-5, with all 50 seats taken every Sunday. Once a month on Saturday, the place was packed for a special reading hour. An early lecture series for kids, on everything from 'Fishes that make nests' to 'Wanderings in Paris' attracted up to 1000 applications! In 1917, a reporter from The Register noted that the idea had come from America and was being considered by other states. "Reading cultivates reflection," the reporter wisely wrote, "and reflection produces thoughtful men and women." A visitor from NSW was also high on praise: "In the city library I found a lovely little institution called a children's library. This was filled with all the sweet, healthy literature that delights the boy and girl. They had little seats and little tables and a little lady attendant, as proud of her library as if all the children in it were her own."

Annie Whitham, for introducing a generation of South Australian children to reading, we salute you!

And at our gorgeous State Library of South Australia right now, you'll find a new children's exhibition Pull Pop Push - revealing the magic of pop-up books. It's on until late January.

📷Sadly, I can't find a portrait of Miss Whitham, however this might be her below as it’s taken from a 1915 pamphlet on the library.
📒 State Library: https://tinyurl.com/26fpxem4

Lainie Anderson Author

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