Young Readers Engaging with Books

As the school year draws to a close, this week’s post highlights some of the exciting programs that CBCA Tasmania has promoted and supported throughout 2025 that encourage students to connect and engage with reading through the exploration of great books. 

Young Tasmanian readers have had some amazing opportunities  in 2025 to engage with books in a shared environment. 

Leading up to Book Week in August, 10 groups of Tasmanian students were enrolled in the Book of the Year Shadow Judging program. This program see the students read, review and judge the books that have been shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards. This year Tasmania had groups judge Older Readers, Younger Readers, Early Childhood and Picture Book categories. Groups use the same criteria that the adult judges use to review the titles and then vote on which book they consider should be the winner in that year. This year the Shadow Judges (SJ) selected Birdy (Older Readers), Laughter is the Best Ending (Younger Readers), Spiro (Early Childhood) and The Truck Cat (Picture Book). Only Laughter is the Best Ending and The Truck Cat matched the Book of the Year Winners chosen by the Adult Judges. You can read some of reviews written by the Shadow Judges in the Term 4 CBCA Tasmania Newsletter, which will be available shortly on the CBCA Tas website. You can also see some of the creative responses these students posted to the Shadow Judging website (and specific Tasmanian SJ responses linked at the bottom of this blog.

Some examples of St Thomas More's responses
Published on CBCA website (see link at the end of post)

Young readers throughout Tasmania also had the opportunity to be involved in Readers’ Cup competitions throughout 2025. The Readers’ Cup competition is facilitated by different groups with support from CBCA Tasmania. Competitors read a selection of six titles, and then meet to answer quiz questions based on these titles and then perform a creative response to one or more of the titles.

In May, the Northern Primary Readers’ Cup had 17 schools meet and compete. Read all about it in a previous post! 

17 primary teams engage in the Northern Readers' Cup quiz.

In September two teams (another two had to withdraw) competed in the Northern Secondary Readers’ Cup. On December 10 there will be a planning meeting to plan for 2026 Northern Secondary Readers’ Cup. If you would like to attend this meeting, please email tas@cbca.org.au by COB on December 8 for information.

Dodges Ferry winning team

In October the Southern Primary Readers’ Cup returned after a few years recess. Only two schools competed but reportedly had a wonderful time and both have offered to host the 2026 competition. St Therese’s Catholic School hosted and won the creative challenge; Dodges Ferry Primary School won the Quiz and were overall winners.

In November Devonport Readers’ Cup had 10 teams compete at Latrobe. This cup is run by Toast For Kids Charity’s, Steve Martin, with the support of local councils, SEA FM and CBCA Tas. Teams of students from Devonport, Latrobe & Sheffield competed in what was considered to be the best competition in the nine year history of the Cup. SEA FM Radio Quiz Champions – Nixon Street Primary School won the Quiz component, Sheffield District High School the Creative Challenge and Hillcrest Primary School as the overall winners (highest score for quizzes and creative challenge).

Teams presenting their creative challenges

These two programs provide wonderful opportunities for young readers to engage deeply with texts and share a literary experience. They are enabled through the active involvement of teachers and teacher librarians.

Shadow Judging Creative Responses 2025

Hutchins School https://shadowjudging.cbca.org.au/creative-response/henry-w-hutchins-fluff-costume/

St Thomas More’s Catholic School https://shadowjudging.cbca.org.au/?s=St+Thomas+More

 

Felicity Sly 

Retired teacher-librarian and CBCA Tas 2025-2026 committee member

Shadow Judging at Hutchins: From Tooth Fairies to Bandicoot Bushrangers

This year several schools in Tasmania participated in the CBCA 2025 Shadow Judging program and this week’s post shares the experiences of students from The Hutchins School with three groups of students engaging with one of short list categories. Thanks to Anna Davidson for involving her school and providing insights into the value and outcomes of the work undertaken by these students.

This year, Hutchins was delighted to take part in the CBCA Shadow Judging program. With three enthusiastic teams across different age groups, our students embraced the challenge of reading, evaluating and voting on the CBCA shortlisted books.

Our youngest team, the ELC Lunchtime Book Club, explored the Early Childhood shortlist. Whilst One Little Dung Beetle was a favourite, after much discussion, this group cast their final vote for Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Tooth Fairy (and Some Things You Did Not)—a choice that sparked plenty of giggles and curiosity.

Overall, shadow judging gave our students the chance to see books through new eyes, strengthen their critical reading skills, and experience the joy of contributing to the wider literary community. We are grateful to the CBCA for providing this opportunity and cannot wait to take part again in 2026.

Meanwhile, a small but dedicated group of Year 4 and 5 readers tackled the Younger Reader shortlist. Meeting every Monday lunchtime with hot chocolate and biscuits, they worked their way through six shortlisted novels. 

This group relished the challenge of reading within a set timeframe and often found themselves debating fiercely about which book should be crowned the winner. In the end, they chose Tigg and the Bandicoot Bushranger, deciding that while Fluff: Mess Up! was a strong contender (and group favourite), Tigg carried more literary weight and would stand the test of time. 

As a teacher, it was inspiring to watch students move beyond personal preference and use the judging criteria to evaluate the books. Many students reflected that they enjoyed being pushed outside their comfort zones, encountering books they might not have chosen on their own.

To celebrate their efforts, some of our shadow judges enjoyed a special excursion to the Hobart Bookshop during Book Week, where they helped choose new books for our library collection. All groups also came together for a lively pizza party, watching the official CBCA Book of the Year announcements and comparing their decisions with other shadow judges across Australia. While not all their favourites won medals, students valued the experience of being part of a national conversation about books.

Overall, shadow judging gave our students the chance to see books through new eyes, strengthen their critical reading skills, and experience the joy of contributing to the wider literary community. We are grateful to the CBCA for providing this opportunity and cannot wait to take part again in 2026.

Anna Davidson
Head of Library, The Hutchins School
W: https://www.hutchins.tas.edu.au/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheHutchinsSchool

Editor’s note: What a rewarding and engaging activity for these students. You can find out more about the program on the CBCA website at  https://shadowjudging.cbca.org.au/ including videos on this year’s winners and on how to get involved. Find out more: https://shadowjudging.cbca.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2025-Shadow-Judging-Program-Information.pdf