CBCA 2020 Notable Books announced

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced its list of Notable Books for 2020.

The books in each category are:

Older readers

• The Man in the Water (David Burton, UQP)
• Devil’s Ballast (Meg Caddy, Text)
• The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling (Wai Chim, A&U)
• The Boy Who Steals Houses (C G Drews, Hachette)
• The Last Balfour (Cait Duggan, HarperCollins)
• How It Feels to Float (Helena Fox, Pan)
• Ghost Bird (Lisa Fuller, UQP)
• The Honeyman and the Hunter (Neil Grant, A&U)
• Aurora Rising (Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff, A&U)
• It Sounded Better in My Head (Nina Kenwood, Text)
• Monuments (Will Kostakis, Lothian)
• All That Impossible Space (Anna Morgan, Lothian)
• Promise Me Happy (Robert Newton, Penguin)
• Angel Mage (Garth Nix, A&U)
• When the Ground is Hard (Malla Nunn, A&U)
• Four Dead Queens (Astrid Scholte, A&U
• Invisible Boys (Holden Sheppard, Fremantle Press)
• This Is How We Change the Ending (Vikki Wakefield, Text)
• Take the Shot (Susan White, Affirm Press)
• Impossible Music (Sean Williams, A&U)

Younger readers

• A Great Escape (Felice Arena, Puffin)
• Detention (Tristan Bancks, Puffin)
• Mr Walker and the Dessert Delight (Jess Black, illus by Sara Acton, Puffin)
• The Days of in Between (Peter Valentine Fenton, Scholastic)
• Pirate Boy of Sydney Town (Jackie French, HarperCollins)
• As Happy as Here (Jane Godwin, Lothian)
• How to Make a Movie in 12 Days (Fiona Hardy, Affirm Press)
• The Little Wave (Pip Harry, UQP)
• Hapless Hero Henrie (Petra James, illus by A Yi, Walker)
• Winston and the Wondrous Wooba Gymnastics Club (Tamsin Janu, Scholastic)
• A Different Land (Paul Jennings, illus by Geoff Kelly, A&U)
• The Thing About Oliver (Deborah Kelly, Wombat Books)
• Songbird (Ingrid Laguna, Text)
• Maddie in the Middle (Julia Lawrinson, Fremantle Press)
• The Dog Runner (Bren MacDibble, A&U)
• Catch a Falling Star (Meg McKinlay, Walker)
• The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Lucerne (Katrina Nannestad, HarperCollins)
• The Glimme (Emily Rodda, illus by Marc McBride, Scholastic)
• Sick Bay (Nova Weetman, UQP)
• The Secrets of Magnolia Moon (Edwina Wyatt, illus by Katherine Quinn, Walker)

Early childhood

• Cat and Dog (Jonathan Bentley, HGE)
• Little Puggle’s Song (Vikki Conley, illus by Hélène Magisson, New Frontier)
• A Stack of Alpacas (Matt Cosgrove, Scholastic)
• We’re Stuck! (Sue deGennaro, Scholastic)
• Ivanhoe Swift Left Home at Six (Jane Godwin, illus by A Yi, A&U)
• Leaping Lola (Tracey Hawkins, illus by Anil Tortop, New Frontier)
• I See, I See. (Robert Henderson, A&U)
• The Hole Idea (Beth & Paul Macdonald, illus by Nathaniel Eckstrom, Book Trail Press)
• The Book Chook (Amelia McInerney, illus by Connah Brecon, Scholastic)
• Let Me Sleep, Sheep! (Meg McKinlay, illus by Leila Rudge, Walker)
• Baz & Benz (Heidi McKinnon, A&U)
• One Runaway Rabbit (David Metzenthen, illus by Mairead Murphy, A&U)
• Little Bird’s Day (Sally Morgan, illus by Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr, Magabala)
• Bat vs Poss (Alexa Moses, illus by Anil Tortop, Lothian)
• When Billy Was a Dog (Kirsty Murray, illus by Karen Blair, A&U)
• Meerkat Splash (Aura Parker, Puffin)
• You Might Find Yourself (Tai Snaith, Thames & Hudson)
• Sleep Tight, Platypup (Renée Treml, Puffin)
• My Friend Fred (Frances Watts, illus by A Yi, A&U)
• Goodbye House, Hello House (Margaret Wild,illus by Ann James, A&U)

Picture book

• Ella and the Ocean (Lian Tanner, illus by Jonathan Bentley, A&U)
• Hello Lighthouse (Sophie Blackall, Orchard)
• Liarbird (Laura Bunting, illus by Philip Bunting, Scholastic)
• Rodney (Kelly Canby, Fremantle Press)
• Dear Grandpa (Kate Simpson, illus by Ronojoy Ghosh, A&U)
• Mallee Sky (Jodi Toering, illus by Tannya Harricks, Walker)
• Mr Chicken All Over Australia (Leigh Hobbs, A&U)
• Nop (Caroline Magerl, Walker)
• I Need a Parrot (Chris McKimmie, Ford Street)
• Three (Stephen Michael King, Scholastic)
• The Good Son: A story from the First World War, told in miniature (Pierre-Jacques Ober, illus by Jules Ober & Felicity Coonan, Walker)
• Let Me Sleep, Sheep! (Meg McKinlay, illus by Leila Rudge, Walker)
• Baby Business (Jasmine Seymour, Magabala)
• Queen Celine (Matt Shanks, Walker)
• Windcatcher: Migration of the short-tailed shearwater (Diane Jackson Hill, illus by Craig Smith, CSIRO Publishing)
• The Gift (Michael Speechley, Puffin)
• Lottie and Walter (Anna Walker, Puffin)
• Tilly (Jane Godwin, illus by Anna Walker, Scholastic)
• Little Bird’s Day (Sally Morgan, illus by Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr, Magabala)
• One Tree (Christopher Cheng, illus by Bruce Whatley, Puffin)

Eve Pownall Award for information books

• Australia’s Amazing Dinosaurs (Australian Geographic)
• Playing with Collage (Jeannie Baker, Walker)
• The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals (Sami Bayly, Lothian)
• Argh! There’s a skeleton inside you! (Idan Ben-Barak, illus by Julian Frost, A&U)
• Australian Sea Life (Matt Chun, HGE)
• The Ultimate Animal Counting Book (Jennifer Cossins, Lothian)
• Explore Your World: Weird, wild, amazing! (Tim Flannery, HGE)
• Searching for Cicadas (Lesley Gibbes, illus by Judy Watson, Walker)
• Under the Stars: Astrophysics for bedtime (Lisa Harvey-Smith, illus by Mel Matthews, MUP)
• Beauty (Sandra Kendell, Windy Hollow)
• Now and Then (Fiona Levings, Forty South Publishing)
• Australian Backyard Earth Scientist (Peter Macinnis, NLA Publishing)
• Born to Fly (Beverley McWilliams, illus by Timothy Ide, MidnightSun)
• A Hollow is a Home (Abbie Mitchell, illus by Astred Hicks, CSIRO Publishing)
• Wilam: A Birrarung story (Aunty Joy Murphy & Andrew Kelly, illus by Lisa Kennedy, Walker)
• Trouble in the Surf (Stephanie Owen Reeder, illus by Briony Stewart, NLA Publishing)
• Young Dark Emu: A truer history (Bruce Pascoe, Magabala)
• Yahoo Creek: An Australian mystery (Tohby Riddle, A&U)
• Cooee Mittigar: A story on Darug songlines (Jasmine Seymour, illus by Leanne Mulgo Watson, Magabala)
• Kulinmaya! Keep listening, everybody! (Kunmanara Williams, A&U).

The Notable Books list acts as the longlist for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards. The shortlist will be announced on 31 March, and the winners on 21 August.

For more information about the CBCA Awards, see the CBCA website.

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