Book bites: a NSW Premier's Reading Challenge podcast for students

Listen @ The Arts Unit

One chapter. One book. One bite-sized reading to get you hooked! Struggling to find a book you’ll love or not sure what to read next? Take a bite-sized listen to your next favourite read! In Book bites, Australian authors read the first chapter of books featured on the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge book lists. Episodes span the 3–4, 5–6, 7–9 and 9Plus lists, so there’s something for junior fiction, middle grade and young adult readers alike. Each episode includes classroom-ready resources, making Book bites perfect for schools and curious readers everywhere.

  1. 5–6 book list - 23. Eione – Claire Catacouzinos

    Mar 29

    5–6 book list - 23. Eione – Claire Catacouzinos

    In this episode of Book bites, Claire Catacouzinos reads her short story ‘Eione’. This story was featured in Issue 5 of Orbit from The School Magazine in June 2024. All issues of Orbit feature on the 5–6 book list, so if you enjoyed this story, there’s plenty more to explore! If you read the rest of this or any other issue of Orbit, make sure you add it to your online reading record! The School Magazine team has also provided an unillustrated PDF of this story and the accompanying lesson plan, which you can access for free via the links below. Please note these replace the standard Book bitesclassroom resources.    About The School Magazine The School Magazine, Australia’s most loved and longest-running literary publication for children, has four different magazines: Countdown for Year 3Blast Off for Year 4Orbit for Year 5Touchdown for Year 6Every magazine has 10 issues published every year and features a variety of text types, including short stories, poems, plays and articles all accompanied by curriculum-aligned lesson plans and teaching resources. The School Magazine offers schools and individuals print and digital subscriptions that you can preview here: https://www.theschoolmagazine.com.au/magazines Every issue of The School Magazine features on one of the PRC book lists: Countdown: 3 –4 Blast Off: 3 –4 Orbit: 5–6Touchdown: 5–6  Visit theschoolmagazine.com.au for more information. Resources for this episode: Eione PDF text download: https://assets.theschoolmagazine.com.au/assets/OR52024_CC_Eione_SAMPLE.pdf Eione lesson plan teaching resource: https://www.theschoolmagazine.com.au/learning-resources/eione The School Magazine links Website: https://www.theschoolmagazine.com.au/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschoolmagazine/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschoolmagazine# YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theschoolmag PRC Booklists: https://online.education.nsw.gov.au/prc/booklist/home.html   Eione: Text copyright © The School Magazine 2024. First published by The School Magazine. This excerpt is used by arrangement with The School Magazine. Copyright, NSW Department of Education, 2026.

    13 min
  2. 3–4 book list - 11. When Hatchlings Take Off! (from Countdown) – Claire Catacouzinos

    Mar 29

    3–4 book list - 11. When Hatchlings Take Off! (from Countdown) – Claire Catacouzinos

    In this episode of Book bites, Claire Catacouzinos reads her article 'When Hatchlings Take off'. This story was featured in Issue 7 of Countdown from The School Magazine in 2023. All issues of Countdown feature on the 3–4 book list, so if you enjoyed this article, there’s plenty more to explore! If you read the rest of this or any other issue of Countdown, make sure you add it to your online reading record! The School Magazine team has also provided an unillustrated PDF of this article and the accompanying lesson plan, which you can access for free via the links below. Please note these replace the standard Book bites classroom resources. About The School Magazine The School Magazine, Australia’s most loved and longest-running literary publication for children, has four different magazines: Countdown for Year 3Blast Off for Year 4Orbit for Year 5Touchdown for Year 6Every magazine has 10 issues published every year and feature a variety of text types, including short stories, poems, plays and articles all accompanied by curriculum-aligned lesson plans and teaching resources. The School Magazine offers schools and individuals print and digital subscriptions that you can preview here: https://www.theschoolmagazine.com.au/magazines Every issue of The School Magazine features on one of the PRC book lists: Countdown: 3 –4 Blast Off: 3 –4 Orbit: 5–6  Touchdown: 5–6  Visit theschoolmagazine.com.au for more information. Resources for this episode: When Hatchlings Take Off! Full text PDF: CD-07-2023-CC-when-hatchlings-take-off-sample-text.pdf When Hatchlings Take Off! Lesson plan: theschoolmagazine.com.au/learning-resources/when-hatchlings-take-off Website: https://www.theschoolmagazine.com.au/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschoolmagazine/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschoolmagazine# YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theschoolmag PRC Booklists: https://online.education.nsw.gov.au/prc/booklist/home.html When Hatchlings Take Off: Text copyright © The School Magazine 2023. First published by The School Magazine. This excerpt is used by arrangement with The School Magazine. Copyright, NSW Department of Education, 2026.

    8 min

About

One chapter. One book. One bite-sized reading to get you hooked! Struggling to find a book you’ll love or not sure what to read next? Take a bite-sized listen to your next favourite read! In Book bites, Australian authors read the first chapter of books featured on the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge book lists. Episodes span the 3–4, 5–6, 7–9 and 9Plus lists, so there’s something for junior fiction, middle grade and young adult readers alike. Each episode includes classroom-ready resources, making Book bites perfect for schools and curious readers everywhere.