CBCA 2024 Notable Books announced

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced its list of Notable Books for 2024. The list acts as the longlist for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards.

The books in each category are:

Book of the year: Older readers

• Blind Spot (Robyn Dennison, Text)
• Borderland (Graham Akhurst, UWAP)
• Eleanor Jones Is Not a Murderer (Amy Doak, Penguin)
• Eta Draconis (Brendan Ritchie, UWAP)
• Grace Notes (Karen Comer, Lothian)
• A Hunger of Thorns (Lili Wilkinson, A&U Children’s)
• I Am the Mau and other stories (Chemutai Glasheen, Fremantle)
• If You Tell Anyone, You’re Next (Jack Heath, Scholastic)
• Inkflower (Suzy Zail, Walker Books)
• The Isles of the Gods (Amie Kaufman, A&U Children’s)
• Let’s Never Speak of This Again (Megan Williams, Text)
• Nightbirds (Kate J Armstrong, A&U Children’s)
• One Song (A J Betts, Pan)
• Picasso and the Greatest Show on Earth (Anna Fienberg, A&U Children’s)
• The Quiet and the Loud (Helena Fox, Pan)
• The Sinister Booksellers of Bath (Garth Nix, A&U Children’s)
• Stuck Up & Stupid (Kate Rice & Angourie Rice, Walker Books)
• This Time It’s Real (Ann Liang, Penguin)
• Two Can Play That Game (Leanne Yong, A&U Children’s)
• We Could Be Something (Will Kostakis, A&U Children’s)
• We Didn’t Think It Through (Gary Lonesborough, A&U Children’s)

Book of the year: Younger readers

• Aggie Flea Is Not a Liar (Tania Ingram, illus by Anne Yi, Scholastic)
• Being Jimmy Baxter (Fiona Lloyd, Puffin)
• Dirrarn (Carl Merrison & Hakea Hustler, illus by Dub Leffler, Magabala)
• Evie Dreams Big (Matt Stanton, ABC Books)
• The Great Gallipoli Escape (Jackie French, HarperCollins)
• Harriet Hound (Kate Foster, illus by Sophie Beer, Walker Books)
• Huda Was Here (H Hayek, A&U Children’s)
• Meet Me at the Moon Tree (Shivaun Plozza, UQP)
• Ming and Hilde Lead a Revolution (Jackie French, HarperCollins)
• The Mud Puddlers (Pamela Rushby, Walker Books)
• Pearly and Pig and the Lost City of Mu Savan (Sue Whiting, illus by Rebecca Crane, Walker Books)
• The Power of Being Odd (Matt Stanton, ABC Books)
• Real Pigeons Flap Out (Andrew McDonald, illus by Ben Wood, HGCP)
• Running With Ivan (Suzanne Leal, HarperCollins)
• Saving Charli (Di Walker, Scholastic)
• Scar Town (Tristan Bancks, Puffin)
• Scout and the Rescue Dogs (Dianne Wolfer, illus by Tony Flowers, Walker Books)
• The Sideways Orbit of Evie Hart (Samera Kamaleddine, HarperCollins)
• So That Happened… But Maybe You Already Knew That (Tami Sussman, Walker Books)
• Sunshine on Vinegar Street (Karen Comer, A&U Children’s)
• Uncle Xbox (Jared Thomas, Magabala)
• The Unlikely Heroes Club (Kate Foster, Walker Books)

Book of the year: Early childhood

• Anchored (Debra Tidball, illus by Arielle Li, Exisle)
• Bear and Duck Are Friends (Sue deGennaro, Little Hare)
• Big Dog Is a Big Help (Sally Rippin, illus by Lucinda Gifford, HGCP)
• Can You Teach a Fish to Climb a Tree? (Jane Godwin, illus by Terry Denton, HGCP)
• The Concrete Garden (Bob Graham, Walker Books)
• Duckling Runs Away (Margaret Wild, illus by Vivienne To, A&U Children’s)
• Grace and Mr Milligan (Caz Goodwin, illus by Pip Kruger, Marshall Cavendish)
• Gurril, Storm Bird (Trevor Fourmile, illus by Jingalu, Magabala)
• Gymnastica Fantastica! (Briony Stewart, Lothian)
• Hair! (Mike Dumbleton, illus by Lucinda Gifford, Little Book Press)
• In the Rockpool (Andrea Rowe, illus by Hannah Sommerville, HGCP)
• Ladybirds Do Not Go to Day Care (Ali Rutstein, illus by Niña Nill, HGCP)
• The Little Things (Penny Harrison, illus by Hannah Sommerville, HGCP)
• Nedingar: Ancestors (Isobel Bevis, illus by Leanne Zilm, Fremantle)
• One Little Duck (Katrina Germein, illus by Danny Snell, HarperCollins)
• Our Mob (Jacinta Daniher & Taylor Hampton, illus by Seantelle Walsh, Ford Street)
• Ruby’s Repair Cafe (Michelle Worthington, illus by Zoe Bennett, New Frontier)
• Run Pups Run (Kerri Day, illus by Nicky Johnston, Windy Hollow)
• Shadow Catchers (Kirsty Murray, illus by Karen Blair, A&U Children’s)
• These Little Feet (Hayley Rawsthorne, illus by Briony Stewart, Albert Street Books)
• The Trees (Victor Steffensen, illus by Sandra Steffensen, HG Explore)
• We’re Moving Away (Niña Nill, HGCP)
• The Wheelbarrow Express (Sue Whiting, illus by Cate James, Walker Books)
• When I’m Big (Karen Blair, Puffin)
• Where Will the Sleepy Sheep Sleep? (David Metzenthen, illus by Jonathan Bentley, A&U Children’s)

Picture book of the year

• Anchored (Arielle Li, written by Debra Tidball, Exisle)
• The Black Cockatoo with One Feather Blue (Eloise Short, written by Jodie McLeod, Wollemi Press)
• Bowerbird Blues (Aura Parker, Scholastic)
• City of Light (Heather Potter & Mark Jackson, written by Julia Lawrinson, Wild Dog)
• The Concrete Garden (Bob Graham, Walker Books)
• Desert Jungle (Jeannie Baker, Walker Books)
• Dorrie (Tania McCartney, HarperCollins)
• Every Night at Midnight (Peter Cheong, Affirm)
• The Garden at the End of the World (Briony Stewart, written by Cassy Polimeni, UQP)
• Good Morning, My Deer! (Sophie Beer, written by Mel Amon, Scribble)
• If I Was a Horse (Sophie Blackall, Lothian)
• Ladybirds Do Not Go to Day Care (Niña Nill, written by Ali Rutstein, HGCP)
• Leaf-light (Trace Balla, A&U Children’s)
• Little Treasure (Jennifer Goldsmith, written by Chanelle Gosper, Lothian)
• The Lucky Shack (Jennifer Falkner, written by Apsara Baldovino, Working Title)
• Mizuto and the Wind (Luisa Gioffre-Suzuki, written by Kaye Baillie, MidnightSun)
• Paper-flower Girl (Mateja Jager, written by Margrete Lamond, WestWords)
• Plague (Bruce Whatley, written by Jackie French, Scholastic)
• Raised by Moths (Michelle Conn, written by Charlie Archbold, MidnightSun)
• Satin (Lorena Carrington, written by Sophie Masson, MidnightSun)
• Stay for Dinner (Michelle Pereira, written by Sandhya Parappukkaran, HGCP)
• That Bird Has Arms (Ronojoy Ghosh & Niharika Hukku, written by Kate Temple & Jol Temple, HGCP)
• Timeless (Kelly Canby, Fremantle)
• World (Anna Read, written by Martine Murray, Parachute Press)
• Your Head’s Not the Place to Store Problems (Stephen Michael King, written by Josh Pyke, Scholastic)

Eve Pownall Award

• All About the Heart (Remi Kowalski, illus by Tonia Composto, Berbay)
• Australia: Country of Colour (Jess Racklyeft, Affirm)
• Australian Animals: From beach to bush (Brentos, Affirm)
• Australian Backyard Birds (Myke Mollard, Woodslane)
• Bidhi Galing (Anita Heiss, illus by Samantha Campbell, S&S)
• Caroline (Mark Wilson, Windy Hollow)
• Country Tells Us When… (Tsheena Cooper, Mary Dann, Dalisa Pigram-Ross & Sheree Ford, trans by Yawuru Ngan-ga Language Centre, ILF)
• Country Town (Isolde Martyn & Robyn Ridgeway, illus by Louise Hogan, Ford Street)
• Democracy! (Philip Bunting, HGCP)
• Eat My Dust! (Neridah McMullin, illus by Lucia Masciullo, Walker Books)
• Eww Gross: Foul facts and putrid pictures (Dan Marshall, Pantera)
• The Forgotten Song: Saving the regent honeyeater (Coral Vass, illus by Jess Racklyeft, CSIRO Publishing)
• High (Jess McGeachin, Welbeck)
• How We Came to Be: Creatures of camouflage and mimicry (Sami Bayly, Lothian)
• Last Man Out (Louise Park, Wild Dog)
• Our Country: Where history happened (Mark Greenwood, illus by Frané Lessac, Walker Books)
• River to Bay: Victoria’s maritime history (Carole Wilkinson, illus by Prue Pittock, Wild Dog)
• Songlines: First Knowledges for younger readers (Margo Neale & Lynne Kelly, illus by Blak Douglas, Thames & Hudson)
• Tamarra (Violet Wadrill, Topsy Dodd Ngarnjal & Leah Leaman, illus by Cecelia Edwards, Cassandra Algy, Felicity Meakins, Briony Barr & Gregory Crocetti, HG Explore)
• This Book Thinks Ya Deadly! (Corey Tutt, illus by Molly Hunt, HG Explore)
• Universal Guide to the Night Sky (Lisa Harvey-Smith, illus by Sophie Beer, Thames & Hudson)
• Wildlife Compendium of the World (Tania McCartney, HG Explore)
• Wildlife of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (Myke Mollard, Woodslane)
• Wollemi: Saving a dinosaur tree (Samantha Tidy, illus by Rachel Gyan, CSIRO Publishing)
• The World’s Most Atrocious Animals (Philip Bunting, HGCP).

The shortlists for the 2024 CBCA Book of the Year Awards will be announced at noon on Tuesday, 19 March.

Category: Awards Local news