Notables 2021

Congratulations to all CBCA Notables Authors, Illustrators and Publishers for 2021.

Notable Books in PDF

Full List

Older Readers  |  Younger Readers  |  Early Childhood  |  Picture Book  |  Eve Pownall

Book of the Year: Older Readers

Entries in this category may be fiction, drama or poetry and should be appropriate in style and content for readers in their secondary years of schooling. Ages 13-18 years.

Note: Books in this category are for mature readers and some may deal with particularly challenging themes including violence and suicide. Parental guidance is recommended

The F Team
Rawah Arja
Giramondo Publishing
ISBN: 9781925818543
Future Girl
Asphyxia
Allen & Unwin
ISBN:  9781760294373
The End of the World is Bigger than Love
Davina Bell
Text Publishing
ISBN:  9781922268822
When It Drops
Alex Dyson
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing
ISBN:  9781760505042
Deep Water
Sarah Epstein
Allen & Unwin
ISBN:  9781760877286
The Lost Soul Atlas
Zana Fraillon
Hachette Australia
ISBN: 9780734419934
When Rain Turns to Snow
Jane Godwin
Hachette Australia
ISBN: 9780734420053
Catch Me If I Fall
Barry Jonsberg
Allen & Unwin
ISBN:  9781760877613
Please Don't Hug Me
Kay Kerr
Text Publishing
ISBN:  9781922268051
Metal Fish, Falling Snow
Cath Moore
Text Publishing
ISBN:  9781922330079
Before the Beginning
Anna Morgan
Hachette Australia
ISBN: 9780734419651
Where We Begin
Christie Nieman
Pan Macmillan Australia
ISBN:  9781743535660
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London
Garth Nix
Allen & Unwin
ISBN:  9781760631246
Peta Lyre's Rating Normal
Anna Whateley
Allen & Unwin
ISBN:  9781760525309
Loner
Georgina Young
Text Publishing
ISBN: 9781922330130
Book of the Year: Younger Readers

Entries in this category may be fiction, drama or poetry and should be appropriate in style and content for readers from the middle to upper primary years. 7-12 years.

Some of the titles in this category may only be suitable for readers who are in the upper primary years as they contain mature themes, including violence. Parental guidance is recommended.

The Year the Maps Changed
Danielle Binks
Hachette Australia
ISBN: 9780734419712
The January Stars
Kate Constable
Allen & Unwin
ISBN:  9781760525026
Aster's Good, Right Things
Kate Gordon
Riveted Press
ISBN:  9780648492573
The Heartsong of Wonder Quinn
Kate Gordon
University of Queensland Press
ISBN:  9780702262821
Zoe, Max and the Bicycle Bus
Steven Herrick
University of Queensland Press
ISBN:  9780702263002
Across the Risen Sea
Bren MacDibble
Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 9781760526054
The Grandest Bookshop in the World
Amelia Mellor
Affirm Press
ISBN: 9781925972955
The Republic of Birds
Jessica Miller
Text Publishing
ISBN:  9781922268044
The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst
Jaclyn Moriarty
ill. Kelly Canby
Allen & Unwin
ISBN:  9781760875060
Worse Things
Sally Murphy
ill. Sarah Davis
Walker Books Australia
ISBN:  9781760651657
We Are Wolves
Katrina Nannestad
HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780733340888
The Secret Library of Hummingbird House
Julianne Negri
Affirm Press
ISBN:  9781925870497
When This Bell Rings
Allison Rushby
Walker Books Australia
ISBN:  9781760651947
The Mummy Smugglers of Crumblin Castle
Pamela Rushby
Walker Books Australia
ISBN:  9781760651930
Bindi
Kirli Saunders
ill. Dub Leffler
Magabala Books
ISBN: 9781925936667
Haywire
Claire Saxby
Scholastic Australia
ISBN:  9781742769196
The Fire Star
A.L. Tait
Penguin Random House Australia
ISBN: 9781760897079
Beyond Belief
Dee White
Scholastic Australia
ISBN: 9781760662516
The Book of Chance
Sue Whiting
Walker Books Australia
ISBN: 9781760651367
Her Perilous Mansion
Sean Williams
Allen & Unwin
ISBN:  9781760877361
Book of the Year: Early Childhood

Entries in this category may be fiction, drama or poetry and should be appropriate in style and content for children who are at pre-reading or early stages of reading. Ages 0-6 years.

Bear in Space
Deborah Abela
ill. Marjorie Crosby-Fairall
Walker Books Australia
ISBN:  9781760651510
Busy Beaks
Sarah Allen
Affirm Press
ISBN:  9781925972948
Coming Home to Country
Bronwyn Bancroft
Hardie Grant Children's Publishing
ISBN:  9781760501921
What Do You Call Your Grandpa?
Ashleigh Barton
ill. Martina Heiduczek
HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN:  9780733340864
Shapes and Colours
John Canty
Berbay Publishing
ISBN:  9780648529187
Soon
Libby Gleeson
ill. Jedda Robaard
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing
ISBN:  9781760501235
I'll Always Be Older Than You
Jane Godwin
ill. Sara Acton
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing
ISBN:  9781760129781
Who's Your Real Mum?
Bernadette Green
ill. Anna Zobel
Scribble Kids' Books
ISBN:  9781925849493
Me and My Boots
Penny Harrison
ill. Evie Barrow
Hardie Grant Children's Publishing
ISBN:  9781760502331
No! Never!
Libby Hathorn & Lisa Hathorn-Jarman
ill. Mel Pearce
Hachette Australia
ISBN:  9780734418906
Ruby Red Shoes: My Wonderful Grandmother
Kate Knapp
HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN:  9781460758885
Australia Under the Sea 1, 2, 3
Frané Lessac
Walker Books Australia
ISBN:  9781760652272
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Anemone is not the Enemy
Anna McGregor
Scribble Kids' Books
ISBN:  9781922310118
There's No Such Thing
Heidi McKinnon
Allen & Unwin
ISBN:  9781760877279
Respect
Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson
ill. Lisa Kennedy
Magabala Books
ISBN: 9781925936315
We Love You, Magoo
Briony Stewart
Penguin Random House Australia
ISBN:  9781760896904
This Small Blue Dot
Zeno Sworder
Thames & Hudson Australia
ISBN:  9781760761110
Bin Chicken
Kate & Jol Temple
ill. Ronojoy Ghosh
Scholastic Australia
ISBN:  9781743830048
Pink!
Margaret Wild
ill. Judith Rossell
HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN:  9781460757499
Ten Little Figs
Rhiân Williams
ill. Nathaniel Eckstrom
Walker Books Australia
ISBN:  9781921977312
Picture Book of the Year

Entries in this category should be outstanding books of the Picture Book genre in which the author and illustrator achieve artistic and literary unity or, in wordless picture books, where the story, theme or concept is unified through illustrations. Ages 0-18 years. (NB. Some of these books may be for mature readers).

Sometimes Cake
Tamsin Ainslie
text. Edwina Wyatt
Walker Books Australia
ISBN: 9781760650421
The Biscuit Maker
Liz Anelli
text. Sue Lawson
Walker Books Australia
ISBN:  9781760650438
I Saw Pete and Pete Saw Me
Evie Barrow
text. Maggie Hutchings
Affirm Press
ISBN:  9781925972825
The Unwilling Twin
Freya Blackwood
HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN:  9781460757536
Wolfred
Nick Bland
Hardie Grant Children's Publishing
ISBN:  9781760505660
Give Me Some Space
Philip Bunting
Scholastic Australia
ISBN:  9781760972356
Not Cute.
Philip Bunting
Scholastic Australia
ISBN: 9781760972387
Who Am I?
Philip Bunting
Scholastic Australia
ISBN:  9781743835043
Wombat
Philip Bunting
Scholastic Australia
ISBN:  9781760972370
Littlelight
Kelly Canby
Fremantle Press
ISBN:  9781925815764
Norton and the Bear
Gabriel Evans
Berbay Publishing
ISBN:  9780648785132
Ellie's Dragon
Bob Graham
Walker Books Australia
ISBN:  9781406387629
Diamonds
Armin Greder
Allen & Unwin
ISBN:  9781760877040
Sing Me the Summer
Alison Lester
text. Jane Godwin
Affirm Press
ISBN:  9781925972924
Colin Cockroach Goes to Caloundra
Chris McKimmie
Ford Street Publishing
ISBN: 9781925804546
Jelly-Boy
Christopher Nielsen
text. Nicole Godwin
Walker Books Australia
ISBN:  9781760651237
How to Make a Bird
Matt Ottley
text. Meg McKinlay
Walker Books Australia
ISBN:  9781925381894
Your Birthday Was the Best!
Felicita Sala
text. Maggie Hutchings
Affirm Press
ISBN:  9781925972535
The Fire Wombat
Danny Snell
text. Jackie French
HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN:  9781460759332
Anisa's Alphabet
Hannah Sommerville
text. Mike Dumbleton
MidnightSun Publishing
ISBN:  9781925227574
My Shadow is Pink
Scott Stuart
Larrikin House
ISBN: 9780648728757
Girl from the Sea
Jane Tanner
text. Margaret Wild
Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 9781760524302
Hello Jimmy!
Anna Walker
Penguin Random House Australia
ISBN: 9781760893422
Good Question: A Tale Told Backwards
Annie White
text. Sue Whiting
Walker Books Australia
ISBN: 9781760650841
Who's Your Real Mum?
Anna Zobel
text. Bernadette Green
Scribble Kids' Books
ISBN: 9781925849493
Eve Pownall Award

Entries in this category should be books which have the prime intention of documenting factual material with consideration given to imaginative presentation, interpretation and variation of style. Ages 0-18 years.

The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Dangerous Animals
Sami Bayly
Hachette Australia
ISBN: 9780734420015
Azaria: A True History
Maree Coote
Melbournestyle Books
ISBN:  9780648568407
The Daddy Animal Book
Jennifer Cossins
Hachette Australia
ISBN:  9780734419873
The Mummy Animal Book
Jennifer Cossins
Hachette Australia
ISBN:  9780734419897
Dry to Dry: The Seasons of Kakadu
Pamela Freeman
ill. Liz Anelli
Walker Books Australia
ISBN:  9781760650285
Strangers on Country
David Hartley & Kirsty Murray
ill. Dub Leffler
National Library of Australia
ISBN:  9780642279552
There's a Zoo in my Poo
Felice Jacka
ill. Rob Craw
Pan Macmillan Australia
ISBN: 9781760783044
Little Lon
Andrew Kelly
ill. Mark Jackson & Heather Potter
Wild Dog Books
ISBN:  9781742035970
Saltie Mumma
Sandra Kendell
Windy Hollow Books
ISBN:  9781922081889
Hold On! Saving the Spotted Handfish
Gina M Newton
ill. Rachel Tribout
CSIRO Publishing
ISBN: 9781486311842
Australia's Wild Weird Wonderful Weather
Stephanie Owen Reeder
ill. Tania McCartney
National Library of Australia
ISBN: 9780642279637
Will the Wonderkid: Treasure Hunter of the Australian Outback
Stephanie Owen Reeder
National Library of Australia
ISBN: 9780642279521
Shirley Purdie: My Story, Ngaginybe Jarragbe
Shirley Purdie
Magabala Books
ISBN:  9781925936131
Kookaburra
Claire Saxby
ill. Tannya Harricks
Walker Books Australia
ISBN: 9781760651060
Matthew Flinders - Adventures on Leaky Ships
Carole Wilkinson
ill. Prue Pittock
Wild Dog Books
ISBN:  9781742034935