The winners of the 2017 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards have been announced.
Established in 1946, the annual CBCA Book of the Year Awards aim to: promote quality literature for young Australians, support and encourage a wide range of Australian writers and illustrators of children’s books, and celebrate contributions to Australian children’s literature.
Book of the Year: Older Readers
By: Claire Zorn
Sam stared at the picture of the boy about to be tipped off the edge of the world: the crushing weight of water about to pummel him. Sam knew that moment exactly, the disbelief that what was about to happen could even be possible. The intake of breath before the flood.
Sam has always had things going on in his head that no one else understands, even his mum. And now she’s dead, it’s worse than ever.
With nothing but his skateboard and a few belongings in a garbage bag, Sam goes to live with the strangers his mum cut ties with seven years ago: Aunty Lorraine and his cousins Shane and Minty.
Despite the suspicion and hostility emanating from their fibro shack, Sam reverts to his childhood habit of following Minty around and is soon surfing with Minty to cut through the static fuzz in his head. But as the days slowly meld into one another, and ghosts from the past reappear, Sam has to make the ultimate decision … will he sink or will he swim.
Book of the Year: Younger Readers
By: Trace Balla
The story of an eventful hike in Gariwerd (the Grampians), from the creator of the multi-award-winning Rivertime.
Join Clancy and Uncle Egg on a rambling, rockhopping adventure in Gariwerd (the Grampians), to find the source of the Glenelg River. A story about following your flow, and the unexpected places you may go.
Book of the Year: Early Childhood
By: Johanna Bell, Dion Beasley (Illustrator)
In this lively follow-up to Too Many Cheeky Dogs, the camp is invaded by all kinds of cheeky feral animals who are finally chased away by the resident cheeky dogs.
At Canteen Creek where we live, there are cheeky dogs everywhere. But when the cheeky goats, donkeys, buffaloes and camels make mischief in the camp, the dogs just lie there – until those pesky animals really go too far. Then the cheeky camp dogs roar into action!
The Picture Book of the Year
By: Bob Graham
The extraordinary touches a seemingly ordinary moment of family life, in this tender, heart-warming story from the award-winning Bob Graham.
From multi-award winning author-illustrator Bob Graham comes a tender, touching story of family life, perfect for sharing when a new baby is on the way. Francie and her mum, who is expecting a baby girl, are driving home from Grandma’s in the heavy rain. When they’re still far from home, they stop for a picnic. And as the car steams up, Francie presses her little finger on the window, spelling out “Daddy” and “Mummy” and leaving one space free, ready and waiting for the name of her soon-to-be sister…
A beautifully observed celebration of the way inspiration can, and often does happen in the most ordinary and unlikely of places.
The Eve Pownall Award for Information Books
Amazing Animals of Australia’s National Parks
By Gina M Newton
With its enticing and colourful design and its fascinating information, this is a book that children will want to pore over either at home, in the classroom or on a road trip.
This book brings together 55 national parks, selected across all Australian states and territories, and over 120 animals. It is divided into seven sections according to habitat (woodlands and grasslands; forests; rainforests; arid zones; mountains; wetlands and waterways; coasts, oceans and islands), each including a number of national parks and a selection of the fish, reptiles, frogs, birds and mammals that inhabit them. At the end of the book is a section on ‘little critters’ beetles, spiders, butterflies, grasshoppers, bugs and so on.
Each habitat section opens with photographs of the featured national parks and a description of the habitat. Each animal has its own page, which has a stunning colour photograph of the species, a map of its distribution range, its conservation status and scientific information about the species.
The information is divided into the following sections: ‘Fast Facts’ gives you all the vital statistics, such as size, lifespan and number of young; ‘Where Does It Live?’ tells you where in Australia you can find the species and provides details about its home; ‘What’s Its Life Like?’ tells you a bit about how the animal moves, behaves, eats and has young; and ‘Interesting Info’ has quirky and fascinating facts.
Crichton Award for Debut Illustrator
By Maxine Beneba Clarke and Van T Rudd
What’s the best fun in the whole village? Riding the patchwork bike we made! A joyous picture book for children by award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke.
When you live in a village at the edge of the No-Go Desert, you need to make your own fun. That’s when you and your brothers get inventive and build a bike from scratch, using everyday items like an old milk pot (maybe mum is still using it, maybe not) and a used flour sack. You can even make a numberplate from bark, if you want. The end result is a spectacular bike, perfect for going bumpity-bump over sandhills, past your fed-up mum and right through your mud-for-walls home.
A delightful story from multi-award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke, beautifully illustrated by street artist Van T Rudd.
This post was originally published on Booktopia
How to get involved in the Books to Love book club
Do you want join an online community of like minded readers?
Every month, the Now to Books to Love will share a book, then discuss it chapter by chapter as a community in a very special Facebook group.
You can receive 30% off the paper back version of Sour Heart until December by using the code: nowtolove and clicking here.
There’ll be opportunities to connect with authors AND more special member’s discounts – all coming very soon, watch this space.
