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The CBCA Book of the Year Awards shortlists 2017
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) have announced their Book of the Year Awards shortlists for 2017. Congratulations to all the authors, illustrators, editors and publishers!
Here are the shortlists for each category.
Older Readers
Waer by Meg Caddy
Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley
The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon
Yellow by Megan Jacobson
Frankie by Shivaun Plozza
One Would Think the Deep by Claire Zorn
Younger Readers
Rockhopping by Trace Balla
Within These Walls by Robyn…
Our children's and YA top ten bestsellers of the week
Under the Love Umbrella by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
Frankie Fish and the Sonic Suitcase by Peter Helliar and Lesley Vamo
Florette by Anna Walker
Really Weird! (WeirDo Book 8) by Anh Do and Jules Faber
Grover Finds a Home (Grover McBane, Rescue Dog Book 1) by Claire Garth and Johannes Leak
A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee
In My Heart by Jo Witek…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
The Dry by Jane Harper
Gut by Giulia Enders (translated by David Shaw)
First We Make the Beast Beautiful by Sarah Wilson
They Cannot Take the Sky by Michael Green, Angelica Neville, André Dao, Dana Affleck and Sienna Merope
The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Between a Wolf and a Dog by Georgia Blain
Insomniac City by Bill Hayes
Lion: A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley
Translation, children's books and John Nieuwenhuizen
Hawthorn bookseller Mike Shuttleworth reflects on translation, children’s books and the work of John Nieuwenhuizen.
In Australian young adult fiction circles, the name Agnes Nieuwenhuizen is quite well known. Agnes founded the Centre for Youth Literature in 1991, was awarded a Dromkeen Medal in 1994, created several guidebooks on teenage literature, and still writes book reviews for national publications today.
Perhaps less well known, her husband John Nieuwenhuizen is a distinguished translator of fiction from Holland and Belgium. Last week…
We test out recipes from the Monday Morning Cooking Club's new cookbook
Earlier this week we roadtested different recipes from Monday Morning Cooking Club’s new cookbook, It’s Always About the Food. We invited the sisterhood to come in and select the best one and were thrilled that three members of the club (Lisa Goldberg, Merelyn Chalmers and Natanya Eskin) obliged – coming all the way from Sydney.
Here are the results of our office cook-off…
Jan Lockwood made ‘Roasted Cauliflower and Pear Salad’ (pg. 78):
I chose this recipe as I’ve…
What we're reading: Ian McDonald, Cath Crowley and Sarah Bakewell
Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films and TV shows we’re watching, and the music we’re listening to.
Jan Lockwood is reading Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley
I don’t normally read YA as there is already so much choice on adult shelves. But I was encouraged to try Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley by a colleague and I’m so glad I did. For me, this book is every bit…
An update from the Readings Foundation
The Readings Foundation assists Victorian organisations that support the development of literacy, community integration and the arts. Grants Officer Leanne Hall visited Banksia Gardens Community Services recently – one of the eleven projects being supported by the Foundation in 2017.
Banksia Gardens Community Services is an easy landmark to find in Broadmeadows because it is such an important and bustling community hub for so many people in the area. At the time of my visit, I just missed out on…
Heavy feelings, queer friendship and making comics
by Alice Chipkin & Jessica TavassoliAlice Chipkin and Jessica Tavassoli (or Tava) share the story behind their debut graphic memoir, Eyes Too Dry, which explores heavy feelings, queer friendship and the therapeutic possibilities of making comics.
Holding this book in its fully formed and thumbable state feels surreal. Mainly because this project started as a way for us to work through and reflect on 2015, a difficult period of time for both of us. In the thick of it we had struggled to find…
Five reasons we love Grover finds a Home by Claire Garth
Grover Finds a Home by Claire Garth is one of the six books shortlisted for this year’s Readings Children’s Book Prize. Here are five reasons why we think it’s brilliant.
1. It’s a heartwarming and exciting story.
From the moment we meet Grover, a hungry border collie chained up in the yard of The Man with Big Boots, we’re on his side. We go through everything that Grover experiences – his daring escape, his confusing ride to the animal shelter…
Favourite reads packaged in smaller formats
The Dry by Jane Harper
$16.99
Jane Harper’s literary thriller was named one of our top 10 crime reads of last year. It’s the story of Federal police officer Aaron Falk, who returns to his hometown to investigate a murder-suicide that is more than it seems. Managing director Mark Rubbo says: ‘I loved this book; it’s some of the best crime I’ve read in years. Rural Australia bristles with menace and desolation as terrible secrets of the past are uncovered…
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