Welcome to the blog of the Tasmanian branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia!

Friday 22 July 2022

Getting ready for the celebrations – it’s nearly Book Week!

With just four weeks until Book Week kicks off, Loretta Brazendale is making plans for  celebrations in libraries on the north west coast of Tasmania. She shares some past costume ideas and her thoughts on shortlisted Early Childhood titles. Have you predicted a winner yet?


Well, it’s getting close to my favourite time of year Book Week!!! 

What to wear for this year’s book week is a very hard decision and I always think of a costume that I need my Mum to help make. Don’t get me wrong my Mum loves to help make and design my Book Week costumes but often comments, “I didn’t ever think I would still be making Book Week Costumes for my daughter who is nearly 36!” Good old mum! 


Thought I would share the 2 costumes I wore last year at the Burnie Library for Book Week. The Cockroach costume even caught the eye of Author Maggie Hutchings who then shared my picture on her Instagram page. 

I wish everyone a happy 2022 Book Week and good luck to all the Shortlists for this year. 



Book of the year shortlist – Early Childhood 


When the Waterhole Dries Up – Kaye Baillie (illus. by Max Hamilton). Windy Hollow Books

The tale of a little boy in the Australian outback, where its dusty and dirty and lots of Australian animals live. But the water hole has dried up, so the animals try to share his bath but spill all the water... good thing it’s raining!

Nice fast-moving story that could generate fun for younger readers. Ideal for bedtime or just before bath time. Very well illustrate with lots of local Australia wildlife. 


What Do You Call Your Grandma? – Ashleigh Barton (illus. by Martina Heiduczek). Harper Collins

A beautiful book with a double page spread of each country and its landmarks and how a child refers to their grandma in that country.
Will suit multi-cultural, diversity and Harmony Day themes.
Nicely illustrated and well written I feel older children above ages 5 and up will love it. I think the story would be too long to hold the interest of younger children. 


Walk of the Whales – Nick Bland. Little Hare / Hardie Grant

My favourite book by far for 2022! 

Great illustrations and a very meaningful story. A lesson for everyone, not just children. Easy to read and the illustrations themselves tell the story. 

I loved the whale reading in the swimming pool. I also loved the whales on bikes. They were wearing helmets! Safety first.

(Hopefully a Winner)


Amira’s Suitcase – Vikki Conley (illus. by Nicky Johnson). New Frontier 

Amira finds a sprouting seed growing inside a suitcase, she lovingly begins to nurture and look after the seed. As the seed grows and grows, so does Amira’s happiness, her friendships with the other children in the camp. A heart-warming story of children contributing what little they have for the greater good. Beautiful Illustrations.  


Jetty Jumping – Andrea Rowe (illus. by Hannah Sommerville). Little Hare / Hardie Grant

Really nice book with a good story & great illustration. Plus, it told a good story of a child conquering her fear. I would say that this story would suit children 3 years and over. 


Winston and the Indoor Cat – Leila Rudge. Walker Books

A cute, simple story. There is probably a message about understanding and accepting each other's differences. The small amount of repetition was used well. Nicely illustrated but the story didn’t really appeal to me but that might be – because I’m more of a dog lover than a cat lover. 



Loretta Brazendale | Information Services Coordinator
Burnie Library 
and West Coast Libraries including King Island | Libraries Tasmania 


Editor's note: I too think Walk of the Whales is an outstanding entry and one well suited to older readers - would have loved to see this title in the Picture Book of the Year category and do hope that secondary schools include this book in their collections as a a sophisticated picture book to engage older readers,

2 comments:

  1. Thanks Loretta. I too look forward to seeing your costume for 2022...I guess you won't be dressed as a cat.
    I also look forward to the announcement of the Shadow Judging winners at the close of Book Week. We've had 19 Tasmanian Primary, Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools judging the shortlisted titles and submitting their winner for Older Reader, Younger Reader, Picture Book and Early Childhood categories.

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  2. Thanks for these annotations. There are also judge's critiques on all categories on the National CBCA website https://www.cbca.org.au/shortlist-2022

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