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

Friday, 7 February 2025

Celebrating 80 years of CBCA

This year, and into 2026, the Children’s Book Council of Australia is celebrating 80 years of Australian stories. What a proud and dynamic time this has been for children’s book publishing with some significant highlights shared here.


2025 marks 80 years since CBCA commenced in Australia, with the aim to promote and foster quality literature for children. The first Book of the Year was awarded in 1946, to Leslie Rees’ book Karrawingi the Emu (illustrated by Walter Cunningham and published by John Sands). Nan Chauncy Award winner, Mem Fox (2017) mentions, (in her award speech), about the joy of reading Leslie Rees’ books whilst living in South Africa as a child, and then being able to meet him in person, on her return to Australia as an adult. 


Celebrations will continue into 2026 as we commemorate 80 years of the Awards. In 1946 (and previous years) there were few books being published specifically for children, and it is of note that in 1952 an additional category (Picture Book of the Year) was established; perhaps the awards sparked interest in writing for children. In 1982 the Book of the Year Award was separated into Younger Readers and Older Readers categories. In 1988 the Eve Pownall (non-fiction) and New Illustrator Awards commenced; and finally in 2001 Early Childhood category was first presented. You can view the list of these awards on the CBCA website.


CBCA is also well known for the quality merchandise created each year to support the Children’s Book Week theme: in 2025 we are invited to Book an Adventure! (with artwork by Jess McGeachin). As well as the usual items, you are able to purchase a ‘passport’ for you/your child/your students to record a year of adventures. There will be more merchandise lines added to the website soon – so maybe wait a bit if you intend to buy! If you have not done so already, you can access your free year planner on the home page of the CBCA website.


Each year many schools and public libraries celebrate Children’s Book Week by hosting dress-up days/parades. A wonderful way to bring books to life.

In recent years CBCA has also commenced Shadow Judging of the Book of the Year Awards. Schools register to judge the shortlisted books in one of the categories and based on the same criteria used by the Book of the Year Judges, they nominate the book they deem worthy of the Award. These are now announced at the same time as the Book of the Year Awards. We witnessed at the 2024 Book Week celebration at Government House the depth to which these young people consider their choice.


What is your favourite title that has won a CBCA Award? Ivan Southall’s Ash Road won in 1966. In 1967 I was in Grade 4 at school in Hobart when the Black Tuesday bushfires swept through southern Tasmania on the first day of term. When I came across this book in Grade 6 it took no imagination to identify with the children’s experiences. In my first year as a teacher-librarian, I was thrilled when Ruth Park’s Playing Beattie Bow won. I also recall the excitement when Robin Klein and Emily Rodda suddenly appeared in the short lists in 1983 and 1984.

I look forward to February 25 when the notables are announced and March 25 when the shortlists are announced.


Felicity Sly is Treasurer of CBCA Tasmania, and a recently retired teacher-librarian.


Editor’s note: Thanks Felicity, you have certainly jogged my memories and provided inspiration for the celebrations to come. I too loved Playing Beattie Bow. 

My pick in my first year as a teacher librarian way back in 1984 was Bertie and the Bear by Pamela Allen – a book that still delights today as a read aloud AND, of course, Possum Magic by Mem Fox. This year also heralded the introduction of Penny Pollard in Penny Pollard’s Diary, by Robin Klein. The original cover was perfect!!!!

Thursday, 30 January 2025

Are you a reader?

Happy new year to all our readers, and welcome back to another year of the CBCA Tas blog. Thanks to Maureen Mann for starting the year with a challenge to examine our own reading commitment.


As this new year begins, my social media seems to have been filled with book related items. Many of them I ignored, but every so often something piqued my interest. Are you a reader of books or listener of audiobooks? 


We all read every day but it’s frequently not sustained reading. Our reading ranges from the incidental of signs and notices in our everyday lives. It includes the time, (and for so many) it’s probably too long, on social media. Or all the reading we do within our working days, while looking at screens. 


But reading a book or listening to an audiobook requires us to concentrate for a much longer period. So, this time I am focussing on some of the things I have found, hoping to inspire the less frequent readers among you to do more.


100 Things We’ve Lost to the Internet by Pamela Paul, published 2021. The title intrigued me and so I thought of some of the things I have lost. These include: the excitement of seeing photos just back from the developer; hard copy newspapers every day; not making eye contact with people outside: everyone is glued to their device; maps and atlases for serendipitous travelling. 

A review by Kate W in booksaremyfavouriteandbest lists them all with her comments. What have you lost? 

 

66 days to learn to love reading again, an article published in the online Guardian newspaper, by the Australian journalist Doosie Morris (8 January, 2025), encourages those who have lost the mojo for reading in a sustained way. She says that all one needs is just under 10 weeks to change your habits. 


The CBCA Tas Facebook page reposted Mike Lucas’s Book Week poem, celebrating 80 years of the CBCA Book of the Year Awards. It’s the first I have seen of many which will celebrate this year’s milestone. 


Brisbane Libraries are encouraging children to register to create their own library display. Each month someone is chosen as Kid Librarian. What a fantastic idea. Wish I had thought of it while I was still working. What theme would you choose to highlight, even though you’re probably not a kid librarian?


Libraries Tasmania recently released the most popular books of 2024, over several categories, and for physical as well as eLibrary items. Does this kind of list help you in your reading journey? If you haven’t already seen it, have a look here


Do you have a new year reading goal? Is your aim to read more than you did last year? Or expand your reading beyond your normal choices? 


And finally, a few books which I have enjoyed recently.

Maureen Mann
Retired teacher librarian and avid reader