27 Feb The CBCA 2025 Book of the Year – Notables announced
The Children’s Book Council Australia (CBCA) is thrilled to announce the 2025 Book of the Year Awards Notable list.
This curated list of diverse and engaging books celebrates the extraordinary talent and creativity of our Australian authors and illustrators, reflecting the vibrancy of contemporary children’s literature in this country. With themes of identity, resilience and belonging, to exploration, creativity and discovery, our Notables list captures the richness of childhood experiences. These books will resonate with young readers everywhere and ensure a rich culture of storytelling continues to thrive in Australia.’ Jo Panckridge, CBCA Board Chair.
The 2025 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Older Readers Notables are…
- A Way Home by Emily Brewin (MidnightSun Publishing)
- A Wreck of Seabirds by Karleah Olson (Fremantle Press)
- Birdy by Sharon Kernot (Text Publishing)
- Comes the Night by Isobelle Carmody (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Deep is the Fen by Lili Wilkinson (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Eleanor Jones Can’t Keep a Secret by Amy Doak (Penguin Random House Australia)
- I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang (Penguin Random House Australia)
- I’m Not Really Here by Gary Lonesborough (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Into the Mouth of the Wolf by Erin Gough (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
- The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Kate Forsyth’s Long-Lost Fairy Tales by Kate Forsyth, illustrated by Lorena Carrington (New Dawn Publishing)
- Liar’s Test by Ambelin Kwaymullina (Text Publishing)
- Look Me in the Eye by Jane Godwin (Lothian Children’s Books)
- Maria Petranelli is Prepared for Anything (Except This) by Elisa Chenoweth (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
- My Brother, Finch by Kate Gordon (Riveted Press)
- My Family and Other Suspects by Kate Emery (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Return to Sender by Lauren Draper (Macmillan Australia)
- The Skin I’m In by Steph Tisdell (Macmillan Australia)
- The Sweetness Between Us by Sarah Winifred Searle (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Thunderhead by Sophie Beer (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- White Noise by Raelke Grimmer (UWA Publishing)
- Wrong Answers Only by Tobias Madden (Penguin Random House Australia)
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The 2025 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Younger Readers Notables are…
- Aggie Flea Steals the Show by Tania Ingram, illustrated by Anne Yi (Scholastic Australia)
- Countdown to Yesterday by Shirley Marr (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra by Cassy Polimeni, illustrated by Hykie Breeze (UWA Publishing)
- Fluff: Mess Up! by Matt Stanton, illustrated by Matt Stanton (ABC Books)
- Hello Twigs, Look Who’s Grumpy by Andrew McDonald, illustrated by Ben Wood (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
- How to Break a World Record and Survive Grade Five by Carla Fitzgerald (University of Queensland Press)
- Jy Goes for Gold by Carl Merrison & Hakea Hustler Samantha Campbell (HarperCollins AU)
- The Kindness Project by Deborah Abela (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Landovel by Emily Rodda (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Laughter is the Best Ending by Maryam Master, illustrated by Astred Hicks (Pan Australia)
- The Midwatch by Judith Rossell (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
- Ming and Ada Spark the Digital Age by Jackie French (HarperCollins AU)
- Oscar vs the Grand Old Dude Named York by Ross Curnow (Walker Books Australia)
- The Other Shadow by Tania Ingram (Scholastic Australia)
- Real Pigeons Power Up by Andrew McDonald, illustrated by Ben Wood (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
- Saskia Spark-Lee: Fundraiser Fail by Rebecka Sharpe Shelberg, illustrated by Sofya Karmazina (Walker Books Australia)
- Shower Land 1: Break the Curse by Nat Amoore, illustrated by James Hart (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Six Summers of Tash and Leopold by Danielle Binks (Lothian Children’s Books)
- Small Acts by Kate Gordon & Kate Foster (Walker Books Australia)
- Tigg and the Bandicoot Bushranger by Jackie French (HarperCollins AU)
- To and Fro by Anton Clifford-Motopi (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Tweet by Morris Gleitzman (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Twinning BFF’s (NOT) by Alexa Moses, illustrated by Sofya Karmazina (Scholastic Australia)
- We Do Not Welcome Our Ten-Year-Old Overlord by Garth Nix (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Worst Week Ever Saturday by Eva Amores, illustrated by Matt Cosgrove (Scholastic Australia)
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The 2025 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Early Childhood Notables are…
- Amid the Sand Dunes by Andrea Rowe, illustrated by Hannah Sommerville (Little Hare)
- The Big Book of Australian Nursery Rhymes by Frané Lessac (Walker Books Australia)
- Dinosaur in My Pocket by Ashleigh Barton, illustrated by Blithe Fielden (Lothian Children’s Books)
- Don’t Worry, Felix by Yohann Devezy & Katharine Alice, illustrated by Zoe Bennett (New Frontier Publishing)
- Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Tooth Fairy (And Some Things You Didn’t) by Briony Stewart Lothian Children’s Books)
- Good Hair by Yvonne Sewankambo, illustrated by Freda Chiu (Walker Books Australia)
- Happy All Over by Emma Quay (ABC Books)
- How to Make a Bedtime by Meg McKinlay, illustrated by Karen Blair (Walker Books Australia)
- How to Move a Zoo by Kate Simpson, illustrated by Owen Swan (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- I am Tree Rex! by Mo Davey (Berbay)
- Just Like You by Natashia Curtin (Walker Books Australia)
- Kittens Do Not Care for Baths by Ali Rutstein, illustrated by Niña Nill (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
- Meerkat Mayhem by Mem Fox, illustrated by Judy Horacek (Penguin Random House Australia)
- The Most Amazing Thing by Ian Hayward Robinson, illustrated by Matt Shanks (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Night Watch by Jodi Toering, illustrated by Tannya Harricks (Walker Books Australia)
- One Little Dung Beetle by Rhian Williams, illustrated by Heather Potter & Mark Jackson (Wild Dog Books)
- Over or Under? by Pip Harry, illustrated by Hilary Jean Tapper (Lothian Children’s Books)
- Reading to Baby by Margaret Wild, illustrated by Hannah Sommerville (Affirm Press)
- Sky Country by Aunty Patsy Cameron, illustrated by Lisa Kennedy (Magabala Books)
- Spiro by Anna McGregor (Scribble)
- To Stir With Love by Kate Mildenhall, illustrated by Jess Racklyeft (Simon & Schuster Australia)
- Two Turtles by Kiah Thomas, illustrated by Jake Minton (Little Book Press)
- Willow’s Gumboots by Beverly McWilliams, illustrated by Hélène Magisson (MidnightSun Publishing)
- The Wobbly Bike by Darren McCallum, illustrated by Craig Smith (Walker Books Australia)
- Worms Are Our Friends by Toni D’Alia, illustrated by Mica Purnell (Bright Light)
The 2025 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Picture Book of the Year Notables are…
- Afloat by Freya Blackwood, text by Kirli Saunders (Little Hare)
- Bernie Thinks in Boxes by Zoe Bennett, text by Jess Horn (Affirm Press)
- Dragon Folding by Lucia Masciullo, text by Christopher Cheng (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Footprint by Sally Soweol Han, text by Phil Cummings (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- For 60,000 Years by Rhys Paddick, text by Marlee Silva (Scholastic Australia)
- The Garden of Broken Things by Freya Blackwood (HarperCollins AU)
- General Waste by Michel Streich (Scholastic Australia)
- Grow Big, Little Seed by Sarah Capon, text by Bec Nanayakkara (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
- House by Charlotte Lane, text by Dan Giovannoni (Fremantle Press)
- The Land Recalls You by David Cragg & Noni Cragg, text by Kirli Saunders (Scholastic Australia)
- A Leaf Called Greaf by Kelly Canby (Fremantle Press)
- Listen, Hippo! by Gabriel Evans (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Night Watch by Tannya Harricks, text by Jodi Toering (Walker Books Australia)
- Stickboy by Matt Ottley, text by Rebecca Young (Scholastic Australia)
- The Space Between by Jess McGeachin (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Then and Now by Datsun Tran (Slingshot Books)
- These Long-Loved Things by Ronojoy Ghosh, text by Josh Pyke (Scholastic Australia)
- Three Dresses by Wanda Gibson (University of Queensland Press)
- Tilly in a Tangle by Monty Lee, text by Margrete Lamond (Dirt Lane Press)
- The Truck Cat by Danny Snell, text by Deborah Frenkel (Bright Light)
- Two Turtles by Jake Minton, text by Kiah Thomas (Little Book Press)
- Walking Together by Dub Leffler, text by Coral Vass (Scholastic Australia)
- We Live in a Bus by Dave Petzold (Thames & Hudson Australia)
- Why I Love Christmas by Tom Jellett, text by Michael Wagner (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Words That Taste Like Home by Michelle Pereira, text by Sandhya Parappukkaran (Bright Light)
The 2025 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Eve Pownall Award Notables are…
- All About the Brain by Gabriel Dabscheck (Berbay)
- Always Was, Always Will Be by Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson (Magabala Books)
- Anti-Racism Kit by Sabina Patawaran & Jinyoung Kim, illustrated by Emma Ismawi (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
- Australia’s Baby Animals by Jess Racklyeft (Affirm Press)
- Before the Mountain had a Name by Fiona Levings (Forty South Publishing)
- Come Together Again by Isaiah Firebrace, illustrated by Jaelyn Biumaiwai (Hardie Grant Explore)
- Design & Building on Country by Alison Page & Paul Memmott, illustrated by Blak Douglas (Thames & Hudson Australia)
- Extreme Animal Facts by Jennifer Cossins (Lothian Children’s Books)
- Flora: Australia’s Most Curious Plants by Tania McCartney (NLA Publishing)
- Follow Your Gut by Ailsa Wild & Lisa Stinson, with Briony Barr & Gregory Crocetti, illustrated by Ben Hutchings (Scribe Publications)
- I am a Magpie, I am a Currawong by Bridget Farmer (Black Cockatoo Books)
- The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Extinct Animals by Sami Bayly, illustrated by Sami Bayly (Lothian Children’s Books)
- Into the Ice: Reflections on Antarctica by Alison Lester & Coral Tulloch (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Making the Shrine: Stories From Victoria’s War Memorial by Laura J Carroll (The Crossley Press)
- Now for the Good News by Planet Ark Environmental Foundation, illustrated by Sarah Wiecek (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Plantabulous! More A to Z of Australian Plants by Catherine Clowes, illustrated by Rachel Gyan (CSIRO Publishing)
- Seed to Sky: Life in the Daintree by Pamela Freeman, illustrated by Liz Anelli (Walker Books Australia)
- Sensational Australian Animals by Stephanie Owen Reeder, illustrated by Cher Hart (CSIRO Publishing)
- South With the Seabirds by Jess McGeachin (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Sunny Finds His Song by Catherine Storey & Penny Watson, illustrated by Sarah Matsuda (Wet Season Books)
- Too Many Tigers by Monica Reeve (Forty South Publishing, Tasmania)
- Unreal by Kate Simpson, illustrated by Leila Rudge (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Walking the Rock Country in Kakadu by Diane Lucas & Ben Tyler, illustrated by Emma Long (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Wedge-tailed Eagle by Claire Saxby, illustrated by Christina Booth (Walker Books Australia)
- When the World Was Soft by Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation, illustrated by Alex Mankiewicz (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
Download a .pdf withbook covers here: CBCA Book of the Year Notables (7mb)
