CBCA Shortlist 2016

Finally announced on Friday at the conference - wish I'd been able to go! Interestingly, they had it at the hotel where I attended my very first Sydney con.

Anyway, here's the list, which I pinched from children's book blog A Strong Belief In Wicker. Go on over and check it out - I think I'll be following it. 

I usually only buy the Older Reader books for my library and maybe the Younger Readers, as I work in a high school, and this year, alas, we only have two of the Older Reader books and one of the Youngers, Soon. Morris Gleitzman's books about Felix, the Jewish boy on the run from the Nazis, are very popular at my school, where none of the kids have ever even met anyone Jewish except their teacher librarian(me)! We had a student once whose surname was Cohen(hi, Dylan!) who told me he was "a little bit Jewish", but not in this generation. He was more closely related to Ned Kelly(true!). And yet, they ask for the next book in the series; when a Year 7 student saw we had After, she pounced on it saying, "Ooh, I was wanting this one! I read the others in primary school." I haven't read Soon yet; the kids have it. I will be buying the Deltora book; that series is well liked.

I've got Flywheel in ebook and am embarrassed to say I haven't read it yet. Ditto with the Eureka one. We do have a copy of that in the library, because it turned up in a display box and a student asked for it, but never read it. 

I've read only Cloudwish in that list. We do have the Vikki Wakefield book, but no - not read yet. Time to go shopping for the rest. 

I'm glad Cloudwish is on the list, but I'm sorry that In The Skin Of A Monster didn't make it. I think it deserves a spot on the shortlist. Still, it's nice that it made the Notables/longlist, and we were all thrilled that Rich And Rare got that far. It's a fabulous anthology, and not only because I have a story in it!

Book of the Year Older Readers Shortlist

The Flywheel - Erin Gough

The Pause - John Larkin

Freedom Ride - Sue Lawson

A Single Stone - Meg McKinlay

Inbetween Days - Vikki Wakefield

Cloudwish - Fiona Wood

The Book of the Year Younger Readers Shortlist

Soon - Morris Gleitzman

The Cleo Stories: A Friend and A Pet - Libby Gleeson, Freya Blackwood (illustrator)

Run, Pip, Run - J.C. Jones

Sister Heart - Sally Morgan 

Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars - Martine Murray 

Star of Deltora: Shadows of the Master - Emily Rodda

The Book of the Year Early Childhood Shortlist

Piranhas Don't Eat Bananas - Aaron Blabey

My Dog Bigsy - Alison Lester

Perfect - Danny Parker, Freya Blackwood (illustrator)

Ollie and the Wind - Ghosh Ronojoy

Mr Huff - Anna Walker

The Cow Tripped Over the Moon - Tony Wilson, Laura Wood (illustrator)

The Picture Book of the Year Shortlist

Perfect - Freya Blackwood (illustrator), Danny Parker (text)

Ride, Ricardo, Ride - Shane Devries (illustrator), Phil Cummings (text)

My Dead Bunny - James Foley (illustrator), Sigi Cohen (text)

Flight - Armin Greder (illustrator), Nadia Wheatley (text)

Suri's Wall - Matt Ottley (illustrator), Lucy Estela (text)

And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda - Bruce Whatley (illustrator), Eric Bogle (text)

The Eve Pownall Award for Information Books Shortlist

Phasmid: Saving the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect - Rohan Cleave, Coral Tulloch (illustrator)

The White Mouse: The Story of Nancy Wake - Peter Gouldthorpe

The Amazing True Story of How Babies Are Made - Fiona Katauskas

Lennie the Legend: Solo to Sydney by Pony - Stephanie Owen Reeder

Ancestry: Stories of Multicultural Anzacs - Robyn Siers, Carlie Walker (illustrator)

We are the Rebels: the Men and Women who made Eureka - Clare Wright

Crichton Award for New Illustrators Shortlist

The Underwater Fancy Dress Parade - Allison Colpoys (illustrator), Davina Bell (text)

The Cat With the Coloured Tail - Dinalie Dabarera (illustrator), Gillian Meares (text)

My Gallipoli - Robert Hannaford (illustrator), Ruth Starke (text)

Fish Jam - Kylie Howarth

Meet Weary Dunlop - Jeremy Lord (illustrator), Claire Saxby (text)

Time to get reading!