The CBCA 2024 Book of the Year Shortlist Announced

Exciting news just in from the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) who have announced the CBCA Awards Short List.

The CBCA is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run organisation that aims to engage the community with literature for young Australians.

Regarded as Australia’s most prestigious children’s literature award, the CBCA Book of the Year is presented in six categories: Older Readers, Younger Readers, Early Childhood, Picture Books, the Eve Pownall Award and the CBCA Award for New Illustrator.

The Shortlist and the Notables List are a great place to start if you’re looking for reading ideas for young children up to teens and as they have all been rigorously assessed you can be sure that they will hit the spot. It’s also a great idea to familiarise yourself with the short-listed books as many schools and libraries will incorporate them into their CBCA Book Week celebrations.

The Shortlist for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards 2024 is below. Congratulations to all CBCA Shortlist authors, illustrators and publishers.

Did your favourite kids and YA reads make the list?

Book of the Year: Older Readers (Ages 13-18)

• A Hunger of Thorns by Lili Wilkinson (Allen & Unwin)
• Grace Notes by Karen Comer (Hachette)
• Inkflower by Suzy Zail (Walker Books)
• Let’s Never Speak of This Again by Megan Williams (Text)
• The Quiet and the Loud by Helena Fox (Pan Macmillan)
• Two Can Play That Game by Leanne Yong (Allen & Unwin)

See the full shortlist for Older Readers here.

Book of the Year: Younger Readers (Ages 7-12)

• Being Jimmy Baxter by Fiona Lloyd (Puffin)
• Huda Was Here by H. Hayek (Allen & Unwin)
• Real Pigeons Flap Out by Andrew McDonald, illustrated by Ben Wood (Hardie Grant)
• Scar Town by Tristan Bancks (Puffin)
• Scout and the Rescue Dogs by Dianne Wolfer, illustrated by Tony Flowers (Puffin)
• The Sideways Orbit of Evie Hart by Samera Kamaleddine (HarperCollins)

See the full shortlist for Younger Readers here.

Book of the Year: Early Childhood (Ages 0-6)

• Bear and Duck are Friends by Sue deGennaro (Hardie Grant)
• Can You Teach a Fish to Climb a Tree? by Jane Godwin, illustrated by Terry Denton (Hardie Grant)
• Grace and Mr Milligan by Caz Goodwin, illustrated by Pip Kruger (Marshall Cavendish International)
• Gymnastica Fantastica! by Briony Stewart (Hachette)
• One Little Duck by Katrina Germein, illustrated by Danny Snell (HarperCollins)
• The Concrete Garden by Bob Graham (Walker Books)

See the full shortlist for Early Childhood readers here.

The Picture Book of the Year

• Bowerbird Blues by Aura Parker (Scholastic)
• Every Night at Midnight by Peter Cheong (Affirm)
• If I Was a Horse by Sophie Blackall (Hachette)
• Paper-flower Girl by Mateja Jager and Margrete Lamond (WestWords)
• That Bird Has Arms by Ronojoy Ghosh, Niharika Hukku, Kate Temple & Jol Temple (Hardie Grant)
• Timeless by Kelly Canby (Fremantle Press)

See the full shortlist for Picture Book of the Year here.

Eve Pownall Award (Ages 0-18)

• Australia: Country of Colour by Jess Racklyeft (Affirm)
• Country Town by Isolde Martyn & Robyn Ridgeway, illustrated by Louise Hogan (Ford Street Publishing)
• Eww Gross: Foul Facts and Putrid Pictures by Dan Marshall (Pantera Press)
• Our Country: Where History Happened by Mark Greenwood, illustrated by Frané Lessac (Walker Books)
• Tamarra by Violet Wadrill, Topsy Dodd Ngarnjal, Leah Leaman, Cecelia Edwards, Cassandra Algy, Felicity Meakins, Briony Barr & Gregory Crocetti (Hardie Grant)
• This Book Thinks Ya Deadly! by Corey Tutt, illustrated by Molly Hunt (Hardie Grant)

See the full shortlist for the Eve Pownall award here.

CBCA Award for New Illustrator

• Etta and the Shadow Taboo by Jeremy Worrall and Jared Field (Hardie Grant)
• Grace and Mr Milligan by Pip Kruger and Caz Goodwin (Marshall Cavendish International)
• Hope is the Thing by Erica Wagner and Johanna Bell (Allen & Unwin)
• Phonobet by Kim Drane and Kathy Weeden (NLA Publishing)
• Raised by Moths by Michelle Conn and Charlie Archbold (MidnightSun Publishing)
• When You’re a Boy by Blake Nuto (Affirm Press)

See the full shortlist for New Illustrator here.