Children's Book Council of Australia Notable titles for 2023

 

The word Notable might confuse you but it simply means LONG list. Here is the judging sequence for our CBCA awards.

1. In 2022 from February to late November publishers submit new Australian books for judging in six categories. Books can be submitted for more than one category:

• Older Readers
• Younger Readers
• Early Childhood
• Picture Book
• Eve Pownall (Non Fiction)
• New Illustrator

This year over 600 books were submitted across the categories.

2. Judges meet all through the year to decide which books will move through the process and we write brief reports on each book. There are three judges for each category. 

3. The judges meet in January and select their Notable titles for example in Picture Book, 25 books were selected. 

4. Next Tuesday, 28th March, the short listed books will be announced - 6 in each category. Teacher-Librarians and teachers then have until late August to explore these books before the winners and honour books are announced.

I am penning this post to share the Notable titles with you but also to make a plea. It is tempting to just focus on the short listed books in each category but the Notables are always fabulous too. Please try to find time to explore them in the category that interests you. I know you will find some wonderful gems.

 If you click this link you can see all the notables (I am not yet permitted to talk about the Picture Book list or New Illustrator because for the period 2021-23 I have been a judge). The New Illustrator category has no Notable list just a short list which will be announced next week. I used collages from Network Education Queensland for this post. Most school libraries here in Australia will already have many of these books especially if they purchase standing order titles. If you need to add any of these to your library I am sure you have your preferred supplier. 

You could also take a look at this post from Paperbark Words because Joy Lawn has interviewed (in depth) many of these Australian authors and illustrators.  This is a rich resource which you could use for your library planning over the coming months. 

Blue links in the lists below take you to my blog post about each title. 

Older Readers (Young Adult titles)

• A Little Spark - Barry Jonsberg
• Ask No Questions - Eva Collins
• Completely Normal (and Other Lies) - Biffy James
• The Greatest Thing - Sarah Winifred Searle
• Interned - Pamela Rushby
• Invisibly Grace - Avery McDougall
• The Killing Code - Ellie Marney
• Libby Lawrence is Good at Pretending - Jodi McAlister
• The Museum of Broken Things - Lauren Draper
• Neverlanders - Tom Taylor
• The Not So Chosen One - Kate Emery
• The Other Side of Tomorrow - Hayley Lawrence
• Scorpion Falls - Martin Chatterton
• Slipping the Noose - Meg Caddy
• The Stand In - Allison Rushby
• Triple Threat - Katy Warner
• Unnecessary Drama - Nina Kenwood
• We Who Hunt the Hollow - Kate Murray
• The Wearing of the Green - Claire Saxby
• What We All Saw - Mike Lucas
• Where You Left Us - Rhiannon Wilde

Younger Readers

• All Four Quarters of the Moon - Shirley Marr
• August & Jones - Pip Harry
• Big Magic - Sarah Armstrong
• The Book of Wondrous Possibilities - Deborah Abela
• The Bravest Word - Kate Foster
• Dusty in the Outwilds - Rhiannon Williams
• Evie and Rhino - Neridah McMullin
• Hedgewitch - Skye McKenna
• The Jammer - Nova Weetman
• The Last Light Horse - Dianne Wolfer
• Mikki and Me and the Out-of-Tune Tree - Marion Roberts
• Mim and the Woeful Wedding (The Travelling Bookshop #2) - Katrina Nannestad
• Ming and Flo Fight for the Future - Jackie French
• No Words - Maryam Master
• The Raven's Song - Zana Fraillon and Bren MacDibble
• Runt - Craig Silvey
• The Sugarcane Kids and the Red-bottomed Boat - Charlie Archbold
• Waiting for the Storks - Katrina Nannestad
• The Way of Dog - Zana Fraillon
• We Run Tomorrow - Nat Amoore
• What About Thao? - Oliver Phommavanh
• What Snail Knows - Kathryn Apel
• The Wintrish Girl (Talismans of Fate #1) - Melanie La'Brooy
• Xavier in the Meantime - Kate Gordon
• Zadie Ma and the Dog Who Chased the Moon - Gabrielle Wang

Early Childhood

• Backyard Beasties - Helen Milroy
• Beside the Sea - Kerri Day
• Bev and Kev - Katrina Germein
• Clementine's Treasure - Annie White
• Come Over to My House - Eliza Hull and Sally Rippin
• The Echidna Near My Place - Sue Whiting
• Ella and the Useless Day - Meg McKinlay
• Emergency! Emergency!: Vehicles To The Rescue - Rhiân Williams
• The Garden on Red Gum Road - Phil Cummings
• How Do You Say I Love You? - Ashleigh Barton
• Jack's Jumper - Sara Acton
• Jigsaw: A Puzzle in the Post - Bob Graham
• Lionel and Me - Corinne Fenton
• Market Day - Carrie Gallasch
• My Shadow is Purple - Scott Stuart
• Please Handle with Care - Coral Vass
• Polly's Grand Party Plan - Jane Godwin
• Rainbow Days - Margaret Hamilton
• Ship Ahoy! Box Boy - Mal Webster
• Snap! - Anna Walker
• Thank You Rain! - Sally Morgan
• This Little Joey - Renee Treml
• Where the Lyrebird Lives - Vikki Conley

Picture Book

• 11 Words for Love - Maxine Beneba Clarke
• A Job for Kingsley - Gabriel Evans
• Accidentally Kelly Street - Briony Stewart
• Amma's Sari - Michelle Pereira
• Be Careful, Xiao Xin! - Sher Rill Ng
• Crumbs - Shane DeVries
• Dirt by Sea - Tom Jellett
• Egg - Harrison Vial
• Farmhouse - Sophie Blackall
• Frank's Red Hat - Sean E Avery
• Jigsaw: A Puzzle in the Post - Bob Graham
• Jørn’s Magnificent Imagination - Nicky Johnston
• Koala Ark - Stephen Michael King
• My Strange Shrinking Parents - Zeno Sworder
• Open Your Heart to Country - Jasmine Seymour
• Our Dreaming - Dub Leffler
• Paradise Sands: A Story of Enchantment - Levi Pinfold
• Piano Fingers - Caroline Magerl
• Summer Blue - Marjorie Crosby-Fairall
• Tiny Wonders - Sally Soweol Han
• Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness - Matt Ottley
• What to Say When You Don't Know What to Say - Hilary Jean Tapper
• When You're Older - Judy Watson
• Where? - Phil Lesnie
• Whisper on the Wind - Jess Racklyeft

Eve Pownall Non Fiction

• A Is for Australian Reefs - Frané Lessac
• A Shorebird Flying Adventure - Jackie Kerin
• Amazing Animal Journeys - Jennifer Cossins
• Charlie's Swim - Edith Wright
• Come Together: Things Every Aussie Kid Should Know about the First Peoples - Isaiah Firebrace
• Deep: Delve Into Hidden Worlds - Jess McGeachin
• The Echidna Near My Place - Sue Whiting
• Grub - Sandra Severgnini
• The Happiest Boy on Earth: The incredible story of The Happiest Man on Earth - Eddie Jaku
• Hello Every Body!: From Hairy to Bald, Tall to Small, This Book Has Got It All! - Samantha Curcio
• In an Artist's Garden: A Seek-and-Find Book - Claire Orrell
• Kind - Jess McGeachin
• The Marvellous Manner of Water - Philip Bunting
• Naturopolis - Deborah Frenkel
• Oceans of Plastic: Understanding and Solving a Pollution Problem - Tracey Gray
• Off to the Market: A celebration of markets, cooking, and fresh food - Alice Oehr
• On the Trail of the Plains-wanderer: A Precious Australian Bird - Rohan Cleave
• Opal and Dart - Vianne Brain
• Peregrines in the City - Andrew Kelly and Sue Lawson
• Votes for Women!: The story of Nellie, Rose and Mary - Mark Wilson
• The Voyage of Whale and Calf - Vanessa Pirotta
• Where Do Babies Come From? - Heath McKenzie
• Wild Australian Life - Leonard Cronin
• Wonders Under the Sun: A Collection of Daytime Creatures - Tai Snaith
• The World's Most Ridiculous Animals - Philip Bunting