Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award

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Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2017

winner (Eve Pownall Award for Information Books) y separately published work icon Amazing Animals of Australia's National Parks Gina Newton , Canberra : National Library of Australia , 2016 12065953 2016 single work non-fiction children's

With its enticing and colourful design and its fascinating information, this is a book that children will want to pore over-either at home, in the classroom or on a road trip. This book brings together 55 national parks, selected across all Australian states and territories, and over 120 animals. It is divided into seven sections according to habitat (woodlands and grasslands; forests; rainforests; arid zones; mountains; wetlands and waterways; coasts, oceans and islands), each including a number of national parks and a selection of the fish, reptiles, frogs, birds and mammals that inhabit them. At the end of the book is a section on 'little critters'-beetles, spiders, butterflies, grasshoppers, bugs and so on. Each habitat section opens with photographs of the featured national parks and a description of the habitat. Each animal has its own page, which has a stunning colour photograph of the species, a map of its distribution range, its conservation status and scientific information about the species. The information is divided into the following sections: 'Fast Facts' gives you all the vital statistics, such as size, lifespan and number of young; 'Where Does It Live?' tells you where in Australia you can find the species and provides details about its home; 'What's Its Life Like?' tells you a bit about how the animal moves, behaves, eats and has young; and 'Interesting Info' has quirky and fascinating facts. (Source: Publication Summary)

Works About this Award

Canberra Author Wins Children's Book Council Award for Story about Nine-year-old Bridge Enthusiast Sally Pryor , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 19 August 2016;
'The story of a nine-year-old boy who rode hundreds of kilometres on horseback to see the Sydney Harbour Bridge has won a major prize at the Children's Book Council of Australia awards. ...'
The Children's Book Council of Australia's Book of the Year Awards: the Winners Your Kids Must Read Linda Morris , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 19 August 2016;

'There is a paradox in Australian children's literature and it is this: in an age where the young are attached to the very digital devices predicted to crucify the printed book, children's book publishing is in robust health. Not surviving but thriving.'

'Children's book sales have been on the rise on the back of vibrant stories from Mem Fox, Jackie French and Bob Graham and many others. ...'

2016 CBCA Book of the Year Award Winner and Honour Books 2016 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time , August 2016;
Wonder in Words Linda Morris , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 20-21 August 2016; (p. 6)
Writers in Final Lap for Gold Medal Deborah Bogle , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 21 May 2016; (p. 25)
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