CBCA 2024 shortlists announced

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced its shortlist for the 2024 CBCA Book of the Year Awards.

The shortlisted books in each category, selected from the 2024 Notable Books list announced last month, are:

Book of the year: Older readers

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

Book of the year: Younger readers

• Being Jimmy Baxter (Fiona Lloyd, Puffin)
• Huda Was Here (H Hayek, A&U Children’s)
• Real Pigeons Flap Out (Andrew McDonald, illus by Ben Wood, HGCP)
• 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)

Book of the year: Early childhood

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

Picture book of the year

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

Eve Pownall Award

• Australia: Country of Colour (Jess Racklyeft, Affirm)
• Country Town (Isolde Martyn & Robyn Ridgeway, illus by Louise Hogan, Ford Street)
• Eww Gross: Foul facts and putrid pictures (Dan Marshall, Pantera)
• Our Country: Where history happened (Mark Greenwood, illus by Frané Lessac, Walker Books)
• 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)

CBCA Award for New Illustrator

• Etta and the Shadow Taboo (Jeremy Worrall, written by J M Field, Bright Light)
• Grace and Mr Milligan (Pip Kruger, written by Caz Goodwin, Marshall Cavendish)
• Hope Is the Thing (Erica Wagner, written by Johanna Bell, A&U Children’s)
• Phonobet (Kim Drane, written by Kathy Weeden, NLA Publishing)
• Raised by Moths (Michelle Conn, written by Charlie Archbold, MidnightSun)
• When You’re a Boy (Blake Nuto, Affirm).

‘These stories connect young readers to themselves and each other during a time when they feel intensely disconnected,’ said CBCA chair Wendy Rapee. ‘This year’s shortlist lays bare what matters most to young people across Australia through a rich tapestry of genres, themes, and voices, reflecting the dynamic nature of contemporary Australian children’s literature.’

The winners of the 2024 CBCA Book of the Year Awards, along with the winners chosen by children through the Sun Project: Shadow Judging program, will be announced at 12pm AEST on 16 August.

Category: Awards Local news