The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced their Book of the Year Awards shortlist for 2014! Congratulations to all the authors, illustrators and publishers.

The winners of this year’s awards will be announced in Canberra on Saturday 16 August 2014, which marks the beginning of Children’s Book Week (16-22 August). The theme for this year’s Book Week is ‘Connect to Reading’.

Here is the full shortlist:

Older Readers

• The Incredible Here and Now (Felicity Castagna, Giramondo)
• Life in Outer Space (Melissa Keil, HGE)
• The First Third (Will Kostakis, Penguin)
• Fairytales for Wilde Girls (Allyse Near, Random House)
• Wildlife (Fiona Wood, Pan)
• The Sky so Heavy (Claire Zorn, UQP)

Younger Readers

• Violet Mackerel’s Possible Friend (Anna Branford, illus by Sarah Davis, Walker Books)
• Song for a Scarlet Runner (Julie Hunt, A&U)
• A Very Unusual Pursuit (Catherine Jinks, A&U)
• My Life as an Alphabet (Barry Jonsberg, A&U)
• Light Horse Boy (Dianne Wolfer, illus by Brian Simmonds, Fremantle Press)

Early Childhood

• I’m a Dirty Dinosaur (Janeen Brian, illus by Ann James, Viking)
• Baby Bedtime (Mem Fox, illus by Emma Quay, Viking)
• Banjo and Ruby Red (Libby Gleeson, illus by Freya Blackwood, Little Hare)
• Kissed by the Moon (Alison Lester, Viking)
• The Swap (Jan Ormerod, illus by Andrew Joyner, Little Hare)
• Granny Grommet and Me (Dianne Wolfer, illus by Karen Blair, Walker Books)

Picture Books

• The Treasure Box (Margaret Wild, illus by Freya Blackwood, Viking)
• King Pig (Nick Bland, Scholastic Press)
• Silver Buttons (Bob Graham, Walker Books)
• Parachute (Danny Parker, illus by Matt Ottley, Little Hare)
• The Windy Farm (Doug MacLeod, illus by Craig Smith, Working Title Press)
• Rules of Summer (Shaun Tan, Lothian)

Eve Pownall Award for Information Books

• Jeremy (Christopher Faille, illus by Danny Snell, Working Title Press)
• Ice, Wind, Rock (Peter Gouldthorpe, Lothian)
• Jandamarra (Mark Greenwood, illus by Terry Denton, A&U)
• Yoko’s Diary: The Life of a Young Girl in Hiroshima (ed by Paul Ham, ABC Books)
• Meet… Captain Cook (Rae Murdie, illus by Chris Nixon, Random House)
• Welcome to My Country (Laklak Burarrwanga and family, A&U)

Crichton Award for New Illustrators:

• Big Red Kangaroo (Graham Byrne, text by Claire Saxby, Walker Books)
• The Bloodhound Boys Book 1: The Great Blood Bank Robbery (Andrew Cranna, Walker Books)
• I’ve An Uncle Ivan (Ben Sanders, Thames & Hudson)
• The Nerdy Birdy (David Snowdon, text by Danielle Wheeldon, self-published).

You can read more about the CBCA shortlist for 2014 here.