Hidden Gems

Do you like digging for treasure? Start a journey of discovery with Belle Alderman as she provides a window into the vibrant collection held by The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature. In this fascinating post Belle presents the ‘research files’ held in the collection as hidden gems. 

 

Shhhh! Here is revealed one of Australia’s best kept secrets. The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature holds 650+ ‘research files’ containing information about Australian children’s authors and illustrators. This collection began in the 1970s and continues to grow. There are literally thousands of reviews, interviews, articles, creators’ profiles and so much more. 

We have three types of research files:

·  Collection 1: contains material about authors and illustrators currently publishing Australian children’s books. These live in hanging files spanning 40 metres in a compactus. 

· Collection 2: contains material about authors and illustrators who are no longer publishing. This collection lives in two four-drawer filing cabinets.  

·  Collection 3: contains material about authors and illustrators just beginning their careers. Once they have published around 10 books or their work has generated commentary we undertake extensive research about their work and create a research file. This collection lives in three x four-drawer filing cabinets.

 

How these research files began

Back in 1974 Lu Rees, whom we claim as the NCACL’S founder, was involved with the CBCA ACT Branch. She thought it would be a good idea to collect such items for anyone interested. When this collection moved from her home to the Canberra College of Advanced Education (now the University of Canberra) in 1980, the collection held just over 1,000 Australian children’s books and 60 research files on authors and illustrators. Now in 2026, there are 650+ research files. 

 

Finding gems

We all have our favourite writers and illustrators but at NCACL we are always on the hunt for new creators. Support for budding creators includes Writers Centres throughout Australia, self-formed writers groups that encourage each other, experienced writers who offer courses, organisations like the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and centres like Book Links QLD in Queensland and Westwords in New South Wales. There are more.

 

We source many websites and databases, such as the excellent AustLit database to find material about creators’ work. Once sourced, we create one copy for research purposes, so avoid infringing copyright. Each item is labelled with one of our 30 categories of material. Voila! A new research file exists. 

 

From the collection on Narelle Oliver 

Part of the Leonie Norrington research file. Supported Dee Huxley
illustrations for two of Leonie's books

While we are doing this work we have discovered others very interested in Australian children’s literature. Many offer to help the NCACL collect material on authors and illustrators and send this material to us for our Research Files. We fondly call them our ‘Clippers’. They live all around Australia. Each Clipper for us sources material in different ways. The Book Muse has a very active reviewing blog. She collects material for her blog and then sends her paper copies of articles to us. Another clipper for us finds treasures at op shops about Australian children’s literature.

 

Interior view of Biccy's Op Shop, Brighton, Victoria

We invariably gather around as these padded paper bags and the occasional box arrives from one of our Clippers. A volunteer at our Centre goes through this material and assigns one of our 30 categories to each item. For example is the item an article by author/illustrator— label it A. Is it a Review—Label it H. Is the item a teaching guide— Label it AF and so on for each item.

 

These days we find authors and illustrators have their own websites which promote their work. We know that publishers strongly recommend their creators do just that. Here creators use a multitude of ways to promote their work. Many creators also use social media to promote their work. These too are good sources of material for NCACL’s research files.

 

The never-ending story

Recently we heard from Annette Macarthur-Onslow’s niece. She reported that Annette Macarthur-Onslow died on April 25 this year, aged 93. The niece holds all of Annette Macarthur-Onslow’s artworks for her picture books including drawings and edited drafts of her stories, correspondence with publishers – the story of the book. Would NCACL be interested in such a collection? Yes! We hold the complete works of Annette Macarthur-Onslow for young people including several in translation. Upon checking our Annette Macarthur-Onslow elderly research file, there for anyone interested is a rich, deep and fascinating collection. There are copious letters written by Annette Macarthur-Onslow, exchanges between the author and those managing our collection. There are copies of articles she wrote for journals and talks she gave around Australia. There are many reviews of her books. This research file provides rich insights into Annette Macarthur-Onslow and her work. 

 

The NCACL research files are an invaluable source of information about Australian children’s authors and illustrators over time. They provide insights into these creators’ works over time, the reception of these by the public and a deep insight into the creators themselves. Visitors from around Australia and the world visit the NCACL. Here they dive deep into the creator’s books. Those who want more pour over their research file. 

 

1st year Education students at the University of Canberra explore Freya Blackwood's
artwork files for illustrating My Two Blankest by Irena Kobold.  

The NCACL’s research files on Australian authors and illustrators began over 50 years. There are gems galore waiting for anyone interested. Perhaps one day a philanthropist will fund the digitisation of all these research files.

 

By Dr Belle Alderman AM

Director, National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature 

 

Editor’s note: I was astounded and amazed when privileged to see parts of this collection on A Magical Visit three years ago. It is meticulously documented to assist researchers and interested parties to delve into this treasure trove. 

Readers can help support this important work by  NCACL through membership and donations.

Bumps on the Road to Reading

This week, Lyndon Riggall talks about reading - from reading scores, school libraries to building a reading culture - at school and at home. Lots of points to ponder and some positives to embrace as we get over the bumps to attain a smoother road. 

It is an interesting time to be someone who is passionate about literacy in Tasmania. It seems that no sooner had we run the gauntlet of Book Week and its inevitable articles about what—if anything—is appropriate costuming, then we hit a fresh round of delicious finger-pointing as the latest batch of PISA results was shared, comparing Australian schools with those around the world. Once again, Australian reading scores are disappointingly in decline. They are above the OECD average, and PISA claims that there is a global, worrying decline evident in the data that is not specific to any one country, but to those of us who care, the downward trend in Australia is nevertheless significantly real and really significant. 

 

Well might we ask who is to blame, but although that is an interesting question, it is perhaps not nearly as interesting as another question that occurs to most people who look at the data. You see, the global trend is being bucked by some countries… as one example, alongside improvement in Maths and Science, England’s reading scores are rising. In a society that seems that it would share many of the challenges and competing demands for the attention of children that we might see in Australia, this is an impressive shift, and one I think we can learn from. Tasmania, in many ways, has been following the educational principles of England in recent years. Thanks to the Lifting Literacy initiative, there is a clear and consistent evidence-based approach to teaching reading in classrooms that seems to be working, and this, along with regular screening processes to ensure that students get the intervention they need as early as possible, is showing signs of really helping growth. These ideas are the same in English schools, with one key difference: they have been doing this kind of work for more than a decade. If we are going to see these kinds of results in Tasmania, the best thing that we can do is give these initiatives time enough to see progress. We are playing a long game.

 

There is also one potential area of success here in Tasmania that I think it still remains for us to explore with real depth: the creation and promotion of reading cultures. Teaching literacy is one thing, but it changes everything for young people if literacy is lived. One key factor that might have influenced England’s PISA results is evident in the National Literacy Trust’s latest Annual Literacy Survey in the U.K.: For the first time after several years of decline, reading for enjoyment and daily reading are on the rise, and this change was noted in both boys and girls. The Arts Council of England’s 2026 National Year of Reading slogan is, “Go All In,” with the tagline, “If you’re into it, read into it,” suggesting that rather than some kind of virtuous act of self-improvement, reading can be a bridge to the things that we really want to know more about: sport, music, fashion, gaming or anything else. It perhaps goes without saying—but for me will never actually go without saying—that access to libraries, and in particular school libraries, staffed with knowledgeable professionals, is an essential part of building this culture in our schools. Some schools in the United Kingdom don’t have libraries, it’s true, but the government has committed to ensuring that by 2029, all state schools do. Student selected reading programs seem to be falling out of favour in many countries, but in schools in England it is still very common for teachers to start with, or include in their lesson, DEAR time: Drop Everything and Read. One of the great signs of a school with a health reading culture is that when students finish work in other subjects they opt to pick up a book to fill the rest of the time they spend waiting. 

 

Young people are highly aspirational—they strive to become what they can see. I cannot tell you how many times I have sat in a professional learning session on the subject of literacy and wondered what kinds of books the facilitator might be reading; what stories shaped their childhood; what authors changed their lives. We bemoan the state of literacy in Tasmania, but are we all modeling reading culture ourselves? What is sitting on our bedside table? When someone asks us what we are reading, do we have an answer for them?

 

In the first light of a new era of igniting passion for books, one organisation I deeply admire for its contribution to creating reading cultures in Tasmania is Rosie’s Reading. Built as our own branch of the Australian edition of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, each enrolled child (birth to five) receives a specially-selected book in the mail. That this has been made possible in our home state is incredible, and I don’t doubt that over the coming years as those children reach school age we will see that it has helped changed the landscape of how our young people and their families think about reading.

 

This, I suppose, is fundamentally what I feel the need to say: that there is hope. There is an opportunity here for lives to be changed for the better. What has been achieved in England could, and would, translate just as well to Tasmania. 

 

In reading terms, we have spent a lot of our time as mechanics, poking around in engines to ensure we have a tightly-tuned vehicle that works... Progress in this regard is deeply important, and we need to continue to commit to it to see the real results that are possible. But there is a next step, too—a really exciting next step. 

 

It is important that young people can read, but then our next step is to ensure that they do.

 

We are getting better at building cars.

 

Let’s teach our kids the fun of the drive.

Lyndon Riggall is a teacher at Cressy District High School and the writer of the picture books Becoming Ellie and Tamar the Thief. Alongside Georgie Todman, he is also co-president of the Tamar Valley Writers Festival. The festival runs from October 15-19^th 2026, and this year’s line-up includes guests such as Nigella Lawson, Shaun Micallef and Hannah Kent. More information can be found at: https://www.tamarvalleywritersfestival.com.au/ You can find Lyndon at http://www.lyndonriggall.com or on social media @lyndonriggall. 

The 2026 Southern Readers Cup

CBCA Tasmania was pleased to conduct the 2026 Southern Readers Cup and appreciated the hard work of the staff at host school Dodges Ferry and the teachers and staff of the other participating schools, some of whom travelled quite long distances to attend.  It was a delight to have some smaller country schools join in and make the most of this opportunity to come together to test their reading knowledge and creative interpretations of six wonderful books.

 

It was a pleasure to be the official Master of Ceremonies at this year’s 2026 Southern Readers’ Cup, superbly hosted by Dodges Ferry staff. The four visiting schools were participating for the first time so there was a touch of the unknown, a hint of trepidation and an overall air of excitement as students from Sorell School, Austins Ferry Primary School, Dunalley Primary School and as far away as Triabunna District School, joined the Dodges Ferry team to decide this year’s winner.

 

The competition was in two parts – with the Quiz in the morning. With most teams new to this experience, the demand for recall across the six books was certainly a challenge. It was terrific to see group members sharing ideas and deciding on the best answer. The two judges, Maureen Mann and Narelle Williams, commented on how well they did attempting some tricky questions and how carefully responses were recorded.

 

Readers Cup teams from Austins Ferry, Triabunna and Dunalley

After a break for lunch and a stretch in the fresh air, the teams returned, prepared for the Creative Performance segment. Simple, clever and home-made props were included, interesting and informative PowerPoint presentations were displayed, including an entertaining movie showing time in its many forms, narrations, a rap, acting performances and a detailed and intricate diorama were on show. Some teams included more than one medium to share their understandings of one or more of the books and the audience was entertained throughout. Judges were impressed at how some teams had woven themes from different books into their presentations and others had drilled down to explore key messages in their chosen title.

 

Dodges Ferry Primary School won the Quiz component making the most of a home base advantage as the only team to have participated in the Readers Cup before - they knew what to expect! They had obviously read the books very carefully and with consideration of possible questions. Team members each received Quiz Master medals in recognition of the depth of their knowledge across the six books.

The Sorell School team members were awarded with the Creative Performance Medals for their clever play that explored various themes with Tim Tie Your Shoelaces a unifying thread that brought in key messages from other books. The audience waited with baited breath for ‘Tim’ to trip on those extraordinarily long shoe-laces!

Sorell School and Dodges Ferry with their medals.

Combining both the Quiz and the Creative Performance scores resulted in Dodges Ferry also winning the overall competition and retaining the cup for the second year.

 

Dodges Ferry Primary School with the Readers Cup

What a wonderful day! As the MC, I felt that all teams were winners. The students were engaged, supportive and had clearly gone the extra mile to do their very best work on the day. Teachers and the CBCA TAS team – MC and judges – also had a wonderful time, impressed by the hard work of the students, their collaboration, creativeness and camaraderie. Congratulations to you all.

 

Jennie Bales

MC for the day

CBCA Tasmania Committee.

Celebrating the 2026 CBCA Book of the Year Awards

Anna Davidson, one of the Tasmanian judges for the 2026 Book of the Year Awards, provides readers with a window into the prestigious national award ceremony held at the State Library of NSW. What a wonderful experience!

Friday 21 August was a big day in the Australian children’s literary world, with the announcement of the 2026 CBCA Book of the Year Awards.

As a teacher librarian, it’s always a day to eagerly anticipate; slipping out of class if necessary to check the winners at 12pm, before spending lunchtime with other passionate children’s literature enthusiasts, umming and ahhing, agreeing and disagreeing over the judges’ choices.

In 2026, however, there was a different kind of excitement for me. As one of the 2026 CBCA judges, it was the day that I, along with all the other judges, no longer had to keep the results secret!

Many of the judges were represented at the official Awards Ceremony at the State Library of NSW, and it was a delight to catch up with them in person for the first time since our judges’ deliberation conference in February.

The CBCA has worked hard to ensure that student voices are prominent in the Awards Ceremony, so it was wonderful to see students taking on the role of MCs and to hear from Shadow Judges as they shared their thoughts on the shortlisted Younger Readers and Older Readers books.

Student press interviewing Jo Pankridge -
CBCA National Chairperson. Image © CBCA

It was also wonderful to see so many of the shortlisted creators in attendance. As a judge, it was a particular treat to meet authors and illustrators whose work I had spent so many months reading, discussing and debating, and to share in their joy as their books were celebrated so publicly.

Award Ceremony Convenors - Alex & Marissa
Award recipients - Anne Donaldson& Cate James
Image © CBCA

Thank you to the CBCA for putting on such a fabulous event and for bringing Australian authors, illustrators, publishers, judges, readers and, of course, students together to celebrate contemporary Australian children’s literature.

Older Reader Award recipients. Image © ACBCA

Early Childhood Award Recipients. Image © CBCA

And while the 2026 awards may have drawn to a close, the work has already begun for the 2027 CBCA judges. A new wave of incredible books is arriving in our homes, ready to be read, re-read and pored over, with plenty of time to consider their place in the ever-evolving story of Australian children’s literature.

Eleri Harris at the Award Ceremony
 Image © CBCA

Anna Davidson

Head of Library, The Hutchins School

CBCA 2026/27 Judge: Early Childhood category

Editor's note: Find out more about Tasmanian award winner Eleri Harris and Tasmanian Shadow Judges on the CBCA Tasmania blog.

And the winner is…Eleri Harris!

Eleri Harris.
Image © Bee Elton

It is wonderful to conclude Book Week with a post from Tasmanian born Eleri Harris who is the Winner of the CBCA 2026 New Illustrator Award and the Eve Pownall Honour Award for the wonderful, comical and engaging A Loo of One’s Own: A Mostly True Tale of Australia’s  First Female Parliamentarians. Eleri provides insight into her Tasmanian connections and how these influence and inform her written and artistic endeavours.

 

When my mother died suddenly in February, my brother hunkered down in my parent’s house in Hobart and began combing our family video archive to edit together grainy footage of her life for the funeral. An unexpected moment from a tape I hadn’t seen in decades has stayed with me. I’m 13 years-old and my father is interviewing me in my custard yellow bedroom, kunanyi clearly visible through the curtains. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Dad asks. Without hesitation I respond glibly, “You know, Dad. I want to write and illustrate children’s books.” I have no recollection of this moment at all and yet there it is. On tape.

Eleri as a teenager, at home in Hobart. © Jacob Harris

The last day I spent with my mother was in Devonport, at Enid Lyon’s residence, Home Hill, launching my debut picture book. Mum and I sipped tea from china cups and I talked to a small crowd about women in parliament, Enid’s life and children’s books. It’s a beautiful memory for me because I could feel how proud Mum was of me. That book, A Loo of One’s Own: A Mostly True Tale of Australia’s First Female Parliamentarians stars Tasmania’s own Enid Lyons, the first woman in the Federal House of Representatives. Set in Canberra, where I live now, it’s about feminism, democracy and toilets. While it’s the first picture book to bear my name, it’s not the first time I’ve referenced Tasmania in my work.

A Loo of One's Own. Eleri Harris. Published Allen & Unwin.

Making Nonfiction Comics.
Eleri Harris & Mirk Shay.
Published Abrams ComicArts

I’ve been a professional cartoonist for well over a decade, mostly working for an American publisher, The Nib. Among my most celebrated works include a comic about gun control and the Port Arthur massacre, deforestation in the Styx and a serialised piece called ‘Reported Missing’ about the case of Sue Neill Fraser and Bob Chappell. The same year A Loo of One’s Own came out, a book I created with my friend Shay Mirk was released called Making Nonfiction Comics: A Guide to Graphic Narrative. In that book, I set an entire chapter at Macquarie Harbour, focusing on the story of pilot whales beaching.

I haven’t lived in Tasmania full time in 20 years, but stories from the island persist in seeping into my drawings and my writing. The place is part of who I am, so it seems straightforward that it should also be in the things I make with my hands. They say to write what you know, but I would argue for me it’s also drawing what you know. Tasmania is not just ingrained in the image file in my brain, it is the foundation of that collection. When I imagine a forest, it’s a temperate rainforest filled with ferns, when I imagine a boat, it’s a yacht pulling past Cape Raul, when I imagine a mountain, it is always kunanyi.

I don’t know that my career is what the child in the video would have imagined of her life, lived now mostly on the mainland and abroad. But I think she would be pleased with my elevation of her island home.

 

Eleri Harris

Cartoonist, Journalist & Editor

W: https://eleriharris.com/

I: https://www.instagram.com/elerimai/