The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) proudly announces the 2025 CBCA Book of the Year Awards shortlist.
730 entries were assessed by 15 judges and showcase the incredible work of 36 books, representing 19 publishers, 33 writers and 25 illustrators.
The shortlist:
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.
| A Wreck of Seabirds | Karleah Olson |
| Birdy | Sharon Kernot |
| Comes the Night | Isobelle Carmody |
| I’m Not Really Here | Gary Lonesborough |
| Into the Mouth of the Wolf | Erin Gough |
| The Skin I’m In | Steph Tisdell |
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.
| Aggie Flea Steals the Show | Tania Ingram | illust. Anne Yi |
| Fluff: Mess Up! | Matt Stanton | |
| Laughter is the Best Ending | Maryam Master | illust. Astred Hicks |
| Saskia Spark-Lee: Fundraiser Fail | Rebecka Sharpe Shelberg | illust. Sofya Karmazina |
| Tigg and the Bandicoot Bushranger | Jackie French | |
| To and Fro | Anton Clifford-Motopi |
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.
| Don’t Worry Felix | Yohann Devezy & Katharine Alice | illust. Zoe Bennett |
| Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Tooth Fairy (And Some Things You Didn’t) | Briony Stewart | illust. Briony Stewart |
| How to Move a Zoo | Kate Simpson | illust. Owen Swan |
| One Little Dung Beetle | Rhian Williams | Mark Jackson & Heather Potter |
| Spiro | Anna McGregor | illust. Anna McGregor |
| The Wobbly Bike | Darren McCallum | illust. Craig Smith |
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.
| A Leaf Called Greaf | Kelly Canby | |
| Afloat | Freya Blackwood | illust. Kirli Saunders |
| The Garden of Broken Things | Freya Blackwood | |
| The Truck Cat | Danny Snell | Deborah Frenkel |
| These Long-Loved Things | Ronojoy Ghosh | Josh Pyke |
| We Live in a Bus | Dave Petzold |
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
| Always Was, Always Will Be | Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson | |
| Design & Building on Country | Alison Page & Paul Memmott | illust. Blak Douglas |
| Flora: Australia’s Most Curious Plants | Tania McCartney | |
| I am a Magpie, I am a Currawong | Bridget Farmer | |
| Making the Shrine: Stories From Victoria’s War Memorial | Laura J Carroll | |
| South With the Seabirds | Jess McGeachin |
Award for New Illustrator
This Award aims to recognise and encourage new talent in the field of Australian children’s book illustration.
Ages 0–18 years
| A Teaspoon of Light | Nisaluk Chantanakom |
| Digger Digs Down | Huni Melissa Bolliger |
| Grow Big, Little Seed | Sarah Capon |
| Peek-a-Boo Lottie | Kristen Willis |
| Raymaŋgirrbuy dhäwu, When I was a little girl | Kylie Gatjawarrawuy Mununggurr |
| The Land Recalls You | David Cragg & Noni Cragg |
