Programs - Children
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Story Time at Westfield Penrith
Who: 2-5 year olds and their parent/carer
When: Tuesday 1 April | Session 1: 10am | Session 2: 10.30am
Session 3: 11am | Session 4: 11.30am
Where: Ground Level, Centre Court, Westfield Penrith.
Tickets: Free. Bookings are essential.
Click here to book now
Eric Carle Story Time Spectacular at The Joan
Who: 2-5 year olds and their parent/carer
When: Wednesday 2 April | 10.30-11.30am
Where: Borland Foyer, The Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre
Tickets: Free. Bookings are essential.
Be spellbound as you immerse yourself in the magical world of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and enjoy some fun and interactive games and craft. Come dressed up as your favourite Eric Carle character for your chance to win our ‘Best Dressed’ prize. Perfect for the young and the young at heart. Spaces are limited and bookings essential.
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The Art of Literary Alchemy Drawing Workshop with Charmaine Ledden-Lewis
Who 8-12 year olds
When: Tuesday 15 April | 10.30-11.30am
Where: Peter Goodfellow Theatrette, Penrith City Library
Tickets: $10 per child attending. Bookings are essential.
Charmaine will cover topics such as transforming words to imagery, exploring imagination, interpretation and tools of the trade. She will demonstrate her process, and the students will create their own illustrations under her guidance.
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Living Stories Workshop 10 - 15 years
Who: 10-15 year olds
When: Tuesday 22 April | 3.30-5pm
Where: Peter Goodfellow Theatrette, Penrith City Library
Tickets: Free. Bookings are essential.
Do you love writing? This workshop is for you.
Join our free creative writing workshops hosted by WestWords and WestLit Libraries. Learn the skills you need to craft a short story and poem in these workshops hosted by professional writers.
These workshops are held as a part of the 2025 Living Stories Western Sydney Writing Prize. In its 5th year, Living Stories is open to residents of Western Sydney and Wingecarribee Shire, offering an opportunity at publication and cash prizes from a pool of over $12,000.
This year, participants are asked to respond to the theme: Only I can say. Write your entry at our workshops. Then choose to submit for your chance at a cash prize and publication!
Entries, either a short story/narrative non-fiction (up to 500 words) or a poem (up to 25 lines) and are open to residents from the 14 LGAs across four age groups: 10 - 12 years; 13 - 15 years; 16 - 18 years; and adults (18+).
To enter, and for more information, please visit: www.westwords.com.au/living-stories
Living Stories is presented by WestWords, WestLit Libraries, Create NSW, the James N. Kirby Foundation, Arab Bank Australia, and Australian Catholic University.
The 16 years and over workshop will be facilitated by Will Kostakis.
Presenter Bio
Katharine Rogers is a multidisciplinary storyteller who crafts stories with words and images for audiences of all ages. She is an award-winning filmmaker whose short films have screened at global festivals, cinemas worldwide, and on Virgin’s In-Flight Entertainment. Katharine worked as Digital Producer at ABC Kids for five years where she wrote and directed content for broadcast and online. Published in 2022, her debut picture book Cockatoo Magic appeared on the Kids Best Seller list at Better Read Than Dead, Newtown.
Kids Crafternoon with Na'ama Atzmon Simon
Who 5-10 year olds
When: Thursday 24 April | 2-4pm
Where: Peter Goodfellow Theatrette, Penrith City Library
Tickets: $10 per child attending. Bookings are essential.
No refunds or exchanges.
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STEAM Club
Who: 8-12 year olds.
When: Thursdays 13, 20, 27 March & 3 April | 4-5pm
Where: St Marys Library
Tickets: $30 per child for 4 weeks. Bookings are essential.
Week 1 - Programmable Robotics - work in teams to code a program for a Sphero robot.
Week 2 - Kitchen Chemistry Workshop - combine your inner chemist and chef as we explore clever chemistry experiments you can do at home, using common kitchen cooking ingredients and household items. Presented by Children's Discovery.
Week 3 - Explore the Library's Children's Discovery Spark Boxes + STEAM Kits + Brick Building - choose your own activity for this session selecting from a variety of STEM experiments or brick challenges.
Week 4 - Waste2ART Workshop - ignite your inner Litter-Leonardo da Vinci, Salvager Dali, and Reuse Rembrandt by creating a unique artwork made from post-consumer waste items. Presented by Penrith City Council's Waste and Resource Recovery Team.
Participants must commit to the four week program.
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Baby Time - New day in 2025!
Who: 0-2 year-olds and their adult carer.
When: Weekly during school term time. Recommencing 11 February 2025.
St Marys: Tuesdays | 9.30-10am
Penrith: Wednesdays | 9.30-10am
St Clair: Thursdays | 9.30-10am
Tickets: Free. Bookings not required.
Our library children's team welcomes 0-2 year olds, their parents and carers to Baby Time every week during term time to sing, rhyme and play together.
For more information call 02 4732 7891 or submit a request at my.penrith.city.
Toddler Time - new day and time in 2025!
Who: 1-3 year-olds and their adult carer.
When: Tuesdays during school term time. Recommencing 11 February 2025. | 9.30-10am
Where: Penrith City Library
Tickets: Free. Bookings not required.
Come along for an energetic half an hour of stories, music, play, and fun!
Toddler Time is designed for toddlers to engage in singing, stories, movement, language, and play and is a great introduction to the library. Perfect for children aged 1 – 3 years and their caregivers.
For more information call 02 4732 7891 or submit a request at my.penrith.city.
Story Time
Who: 2-5 year-olds and their adult carer.
When & Where: Weekly during school term time. Recommencing 11 February 2025.
St Marys: Tuesdays | 10:30-11:30am
Penrith: Wednesdays | 10:30-11:30am
St Clair: Thursdays | 10:30-11:30am
Tickets: Free. Bookings not required.
Our library children's team welcomes 2-5 year olds, their parents and carers to Story Time where we enjoy fun stories, songs and crafts every week during term time. Throughout the year we include a range of bilingual stories and languages to our regular sessions celebrating the diversity of our community.
For more information call 02 4732 7891 or submit a request at my.penrith.city.
Toy Library
Who: 0-8 year-olds and their families
When: Available during library opening hours
Where: Penrith City Libraries.
Plus, enjoy a great selection of board games for older children and teens.
Browse and borrow at all library branches during library opening hours, then take them home to play. Toys are cleaned thoroughly before and after use on return to the library.
Click to view full Terms and Conditions (pdf)
For more information call 02 4732 7891 or submit a request at my.penrith.city.
Toy Library Outreach Service
We specialise in providing toys for children with disability and high support needs. Featuring switch-adapted, sensory and educational toys, children will delight in making them function through lighting up, playing sounds and movement. Through hands-on play, they can build valuable problem-solving, coordination, reasoning, numeracy, literacy and fine motor skills.
Referrals are required to access this service.
For more information call 02 4732 7891 or submit a request at my.penrith.city.
Story Box Library
Members of Penrith City Libraries can now access Story Box Library for free!
Story Box Library offers a range of free content directly to library members on any device with internet connection for pre-school to upper primary students. Have story time any time with a range of actors, comedians, sportspeople, musicians, authors, illustrators, TV presenters, performers, students, grandparents, activists and educators – each sharing their unique voice.
Story Box Library also offers at-home-activities and short films featuring authors and illustrators to inspire young minds.
Download the app today or start exploring here: https://storyboxlibrary.com.au/login?library_id=19268