Category - Award Winning

Looking for a compelling, gentle narrative to grab middle readers? Award winning Steven Herrick achieves that beautifully in Pookie Aleera, a story about every day children living in a country town. Pookie Aleera had us from the very beginning.

The vastness, the isolation and the uniquenss of Australia's landscape lends itself to many practical problems to be solved - not least how people managed to get their mail, arm chairs, and petrol supplies into their homes! Tom the Outback Mailman provides a glimpse into the not so distant past, telling the story of one particular man who solved that problem for countless people, including how he approached a particular soggy problem!

This is the first picture book I've come across which is set firmly in the Torres Strait Islands, and boy is it a good one! Bakir and Bi is an intriguing story from publishers Magabala Books. Immersed in the Torres Strait Islands, it has much to offer its older readers in terms of language, knowledge, culture and a fascinating story.

Black Dog by Levi Pinfold is a beautiful picture book about fear, about over coming fear. It's also a picture book with a wonderfully large, feel good dose of old fashioned charm emanating from those delightful illustrations.

Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan is a hauntingly beautiful novel. Totally unique with a compelling storyline, it's an absorbing piece of speculative fiction. 

Do you know a little person who just LOVES to feed the ducks at the pond? Then this one is a must read. Just Ducks is a creative picture book from Nicola Davies which elegantly combines fiction and non-fiction, neatly integrating some wonderfully valuable duck-ish titbits. What a great way to learn.

The Secret Hen House Theatre is an engrossing debut novel from writer Helen Peters. This novel, ideally suited to readers aged 10+, has a timeless quality to it. Helen Peter's wonderful narrative - the tone, atmosphere, sense of adventure - evokes fond memories of the novels I devoured when I was younger.

** Congratulations to Meg for winning the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award 2013 for Ten Tiny Things ** Ten Tiny Things is a fabulous picture book from Meg McKinlay. The deceptively simple storyline encourages its little readers to take note of all the little things that surround them - you'll be walking every where after devouring this one!

Operation Eiffel Tower is an intriguing story from Elen Caldecott. She writes from a child's point of view with skill, humour and empathy.

'I know I'm not an ordinary ten-year-old kid.' 'ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds.' Wonder by R J Palacio, has attracted much attention, including The Waterstones Children's Book Award 2013. Palacio has approached a delicate issue - the facial disfigurement of 10 year old August - with a high level of sensitivity and power. She has created a novel which has much to offer.