The State Library of Western Australia provides access to a number of great online resources for kids. These are listed below and are free to access from home or at your public library with your local Western Australian public library or State Library membership card. Everyone in Western Australia, including children, may join their public library. Check with your local library to find out what the membership requirements are. You can find your nearest library using the Find a Library.
Better Beginnings encourages responsible use of eResources with young children. For advice on using media responsibly with your child and information about current screen time guidelines, please refer to our Tech Tips for Families flyer.
Learning with Busythings has never been so silly! Busythings is an online resource for the early years with over 150 activities designed to help children develop problem solving, numeracy, communication and language skills. Great for school readiness and younger ones starting out with online learning.
Story Box Library is a beautiful online reading room, a place where the wonderful world of Australian children's literature comes to life as stories are read for children via video clips. Story Box Library provides the audience with a vibrant, interactive experience via a diverse range of storytellers, each sharing past and present book titles.
Borrow Box is an award-winning Australian app that enables Western Australian public library and State Library members to browse and borrow bestselling eBooks and eAudiobooks on your device through digital loans. Although you can browse children's eBook and eAudiobook titels on Borrow Box, this site is not filtered and parents/carers are advised to monitor their child's usage of this website.
The OverDrive eReading Room just for kids provides a safe and easy eBook borrowing experience for families. Kids can browse, sample, place holds and borrow eBooks and eAudiobooks appropriate for their age range and reading level.
If you would like to become a member of the State Library of Western Australia please click here.
The State Library of Western Australia has a wonderful eResources page that can link you to eBooks, eMagazines, Apps and education eResources.
If you would like to become a member of your local public library and see what wonderful books and services they offer please click here.
These online resources are licensed under a State-wide agreement through the State Library of Western Australia and are available for personal use from home to all Western Australian public library and State Library members.
Recommended Apps for Parents
Better Beginnings includes information about the Bright Tomorrows and Beacon apps in each of their reading packs. Both apps have been developed by Telethon Kids Institute researchers and are free to download.
The Bright Tomorrows app, developed at the Telethon Kids Institute, aims to assist parents of children aged 0-5 years to support their child to develop the building blocks of these critical skills. The app includes over 1000 tips for activities that parents can do with their child to help them learn and practice their essential life skills. These fun and interactive ideas for learning can be woven into everyday moments like bedtime, bathtime and mealtime.
Beacon is a cyber safety educational app designed to keep parents and carers up-to-date with trusted, tailored information, to help keep their kids safe online. designed specifically for parents as a personalised, one-stop-shop for reliable information about the online world. It arms parents and carers with the knowledge they need to confidently help navigate their children’s digital behaviour and reduce harms we know are associated with being online.
