A critique of CBCA short listed texts 2024

I’ve had so much fun critiquing the CBCA short listed texts. My money is on the texts I’m holding. We will find out end- August, when the CBCA announce the winning texts from their official judges perspectives.

In this blog post I overview the Childrens Book Council of Australia (CBCA) short listed texts 2024 and include ideas for teachers for using them in the English classroom. I focus on English concepts that can be taught using each text, as well as ideas to authentically integrate music and the Arts into the teaching of these texts. I rank each of the texts on a Likert scale 1-10, based on the stated CBCA criteria, its usefulness to teach subject English and my overall enjoyment of the text as an educator.

The CBCA will announce their winners on 16th August. I invite you to comment on any texts you read/ teach in your classrooms, in the comments section at the end of the blogpost, so we share our views on our favourite texts from the short-listed selection. Thank you and enjoy!

Early childhood

This section is appropriate for 0-6 years, can be fiction, drama or poetry and suitable for pre-readers and early readers.

Degennaro, S. (2023). Bear and Duck are Friends. Little Hare.

This delightful text deals with the theme of friendship, and more broadly, how we all have strengths (and weaknesses). Like Bear and Duck, we are all different and that’s what makes us special. The illustrations are warm, fuzzy, and endearing, with a touch of humour. Understanding how character drives the narrative, is a focus of the text. Duck is an enthusiastic, inspired and caring friend. In contrast, Bear is cautious, somewhat clumsy and uneasy in new situations. Mapping character traits would ensure students understand that characters are descriptions of fictional persons or things, they reflect lived experience and are constructed in such a way that their individual characteristics invite an emotional response from the reader. In this text, we empathise with Bear when he cannot do as his friend does during dance class and feel happiness when we learn that Bear loves to swim.

This text could be a useful introduction to a discussion about neurodivergence. It may help to explain that some students in our classrooms see and do things differently to neurotypical classmates, and these students sometimes require support in the completion of some class activities.

English teaching points in the text include alliteration (twists, turns; slides, shuffles) and allegory (fumbled, stumbled; slipped, tripped). Text layout includes various font sizes for emphasis, story paths and vectors denoting movement. Some interesting vocabulary in the text, for example magnificant, requires frontloading prior to reading the text. There is some delightful figurative language in the text, for example Duck invites Bear to ‘close your eyes and feel the music’, and when he does, Bear feels his ‘bottom wriggle and his shoulders jiggle… and …It felt magnificent!’

Bear and duck are friends is a feelgood book to be shared and enjoyed in the early reading classroom.

Score 0-10. *Bear and Duck are Friends.*

Godwin & Denton (2023). Can you teach a fish to climb a tree? Hardi Grant Publishing.

Covershot. *Can you teach a fish to climb a tree?*

This text is useful when introducing types of sentences - especially questions, with accompanying punctuation. The illustrations are particularly humorous, with much detail to unpack through class discussion. As well, the class could devise their own questions as an innovation on the text, possibly leading to independent writing activities. The initial half of the text presents a series of nonsense questions. The teacher could ask the clarifying question, ‘Why’, as a sentence building activity, in relation to student responses, leading to modelled, guided and independent writing activities.

The second half of the book invites readers to identify all the things that the animals in the text can do - analogous to themselves. The composer is asking, ‘What are you good at? What can you do?’, inviting readers to identify the things that they like to do.

English concepts to be taught in the K/P-2 classroom using this text, could be perspective; image, symbol and connotation; and theme. When teaching perspective, we want readers to understand that personal opinion, experiences and ideas shape the way we feel about texts and authors. Opinions can be shared, developed and questioned through class discussion. When teaching image, symbol and connotation, we want readers to understand that words and images can represent more than what they represent literally, extending beyond their everyday meaning. When viewed figuratively, words and symbols can be fun. In the text, the seals flying through the air, the baby baking a cake, the hippo on a tightrope and the penguins singing opera are imaginative images that suggest things to readers. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Make a list on the IWB e.g. We can…. but we cannot…; just like the animals in the story.

A circle-time song for the early reading classroom that reinforces the main idea (theme) of this text is ‘That’s what I like’. This song teaches children about each other, fostering wellbeing, a sense of belonging and a cohesive classroom. It also builds vocabulary and oral language, pillars of effective early reading. Musically, the song develops pitch, beat and rhythm recognition through play.

Select a series of verbs e.g. sing, play, eat. Sing the song multiple times. The teacher models initially, the class repeats their words, then they choose a class member to go next and make up their own verse, which the class repeats back to them. E.g. Jess likes to eat, eat, eat, eat. Jess likes to eat, cheesy lasagne. PDF song. MP3 file.

This text is enjoyable and engaging and elicits rich discussion about individual likes (and dislikes). Can a fish climb a tree celebrates how we are all different, with varying likes and dislikes, which makes us all special.

Score 0-10. *Can you teach a fish to climb a tree?*

Goodwin, C. & Kruger, P. (2023). Grace and Mr Milligan. Marshall Cavendish International.

Grace and Mr Milligan is a narrative picture book for young children. Grace is friends with her elderly neighbour, Mr Milligan. They live near the beach. Mr Milligan has a pet goat, who dies. They are both very sad. Grace tries hard to cheer Mr Milligan, but it takes time.

The endpapers denote the cycle of life. The colourful illustrations are clear and pure. There are lots of examples of figurative language in the text, text that extends beyond its literal meaning, enriching the text (connotation, imagery and symbol). For example, ‘Mr Milligan woke to a lonely day’, ‘Charlie wasn’t himself’, and ‘There is nothing I can do (said the vet)’.

Descriptive language is an identified strength. Whooshing waves, and squawking seagulls are examples of alliteration. Students could compose descriptions of the characters in the text. They could identify their actions and investigate the illustrations to learn more about the characters’ thoughts, words and deeds. It is important to note how the illustrator supports meaning making (through facial expressions, and movement) and how these change as the narrative develops. The final double page spread would be a great writing activity where students provide the dialogue, with reference to the illustrations. I note that Mr Milligan and Grace have a new baby goat to play with.

Books are great entrees into difficult conversations in class, and this book provides an opening to talk about grief and related feelings with young children. A musical circle game that scaffolds students in talking about their feelings is How do you feel today? and accompanying MP3.

Graham, B. (2023). The Concrete Garden. Walker Books.

This text is in Graham’s inimitable style, which focuses on ordinary events, animals, cultural diversity and the timelessness of childhood; with accompanying clear, colourful and simple illustrations using mainly watercolour and black ink lines. Graham makes choices to position the viewer and establish relationships between the viewer and participants, evidenced in the birds’ eye view (p26), and all the parents cheering from their high-rise flats, when they saw what the children had created together at the conclusion of the text.

The text is a narrative, set in the time of Covid in a massive inner-city housing tower, where children are kept inside for long periods. The target audience is young children. Context is an important English concept in this text as readers need to consider the effect of context at this difficult time in human history. We all behaved differently during this time. We couldn’t go to school. We need to understand the context of that time to understand meaning in the text.

When the children are finally allowed out, they play in the concrete courtyard, ‘spilling out like sweets from a box’. One thoughtful mum provides a box of coloured chalks which the children use to decorate the quadrangle. Each child adds their picture to the collaborative ‘concrete garden’. Humour is embedded throughout the text, a complication arising when someone’s dog wees on a chalk flower and smudges it.

Some rich vocabulary to be frontloaded prior to reading the text aloud includes bird of paradise, alien, smudged, pondered, exotic, and caterpillar. An orientation to this text should include a discussion about how families were separated during the COVID years, and people kept in touch using technology. One mum sent a picture of the concrete garden to her mum in faraway Isfahan (Central Iran), with the caption, ‘I miss you mum’. The picture ‘crossed deserts and mountains and oceans and cities’, spreading happiness and goodwill across the world.

The theme of the text is the resilience of the human spirit which should lead to wonderful, rich classroom discussions about how class members coped at home during COVID, and what they did to keep happy and engaged; helping them to make sense of that difficult time in our shared, recent history.

Stewart, B. (2023). Gymnastica Fantastica! Lothian Children’s Books.

This engaging text, bursting with colour and movement is about an exuberant girl learning to master new gymnastic skills. Connotation, Imagery and symbol are evident in the text as the bright colours, colour imagery and movement symbolise feelings and mood, in this text happiness with a twist of resilience. The first-person narrator provides a unique and intimate perspective, allowing readers to delve into the character’s thoughts and emotions through discussion. There are two characters in the text, the narrator and her dog. These characters are composed of imagined thoughts, words and actions, many reflected in the illustrations. They drive the plot and can be identified through class discussion during class read-aloud.

Word play begins with the title, Gymnastica Fantastica. This is followed by a sizzling start to the text… ‘Quick, come and see…’, language which builds anticipation for what is to come, a writing strategy for students to try in their own writing. Word play is evident in the vocabulary. For example: superest, stretchiest, may facilitate a discussion about comparatives and superlatives and what other words ending in iest students may have come across. Word building activities to build morphemic spelling knowledge lend themselves well to this text. For example flip - flipped- flipping; and slip- slip- slipping; adding ed and ing to words.

The text is intertextual as there is reference to the action rhyme, I’m a little teapot. Activities to assist students to recognise rhyming words and build word families would be useful to reinforce phonemic awareness throughout the text. Songs, action rhymes and chants that may assist here include The Rhyme song, to the tune of The William Tell Overture.

The gym ribbon denotes movement to music, a fun activity for students to feel the rhythm of the text, active learning through play. An example of a similar activity from a Year One class can be seen, to the tune of the classical music piece, Trois Gymnopedies. Another engaging moving to music activity is Bim Bom, modelled for you here by yours truly. In fact, this text lends itself to so many fun related physical activities where students feel the rhyme and rhythm of the text, supporting fluency development. These include yoga poses for kids, jumping on mini tramps and rhythmic activities with hoops. Talent Shows are always popular, building student wellbeing, just like the child in the text.

The publishers have provided teaching notes to accompany this enchanting text, for more teaching ideas.

Germein, K & Snell, D. One Little Duck. HarperCollins.

This delightful picture book is intertextual as it is an innovation on the popular and timeless action rhyme, 5 little ducks. It differs from the traditional rhyme in that it begins at 1 (ascending), whereas the traditional counting rhyme starts at 5 (descending). Mother duck is searching for her babies but she has forgotten how to quack. Every day, she tries a new barnyard call.

This is a text for younger readers. Recommended age is 0-2 years, however many students in their first year at school (5-6 years) love this traditional rhyme, of which there are many slightly different versions as is common for texts passed down orally over time and across generations. I feel it is a text to be enjoyed, building oral confidence, a love of literature and prosody. Onomatopoeia is a feature of the text (moo-moo, hee-haw, clip-clop), which lends itself to making the sounds using a range of percussion instruments, adding meaning and enjoyment to the text. Rhyming words can be identified through the rhythm in the text:

‘Two happy friends went out one day

Under the fence and through the hay

Mother Duck said bow-wow-wow-wow,

And Sheepdog tumbled after Cow’.

In fact, this text can be sung to the traditional melody of the action song, 5 Little ducks.

A version of the traditional song can be found here. Instructions for the traditional action rhyme (words, actions and music) can be found here. This text is a great model for changing traditional nursery rhymes to form new ones through modelled, guided and independent writing.

For example, below is a text Innovation on Row, row, row, your boat….

Eat, eat, eat your tea

Any foods you pick

Always eat your vegetables

Or you might get sick! (Beveridge, 2023)

A summary of my scores for Book of the Year : Early Childhood

The Concrete Garden 9

Grace and Mr Milligan 8

Gymnastica Fantastica 7

One Little Duck 7

Bear and Duck are Friends 7

Can you Teach a Fish to Climb a Tree? 6

Picture Book of the Year

This category highlights outstanding picture books in which the story, theme or concept is unified through the illustrations.

Parker, A. (2023). Bowerbird Blues. Scholastic Australia.

This text is already famous as it was selected for the National Simultaneous Storytime 2024, to be held on 22 May at midday, where students from across the globe come together to read, an exciting event indeed.

Bowerbird Blues is a narrative, with a theme (statement about life) of ‘material possessions are not the most important things in life’.

A bowerbird collects blue things for his bower (home). After collecting many blue objects, he feels there is still something missing. True love comes calling in the form of a mate and then he is truly content.

The text has a feeling of the interractive text, Where’s Wally. Readers are invited to find various objects within the text that the bower bird has collected. Story paths in the illustrations join together action verbs, supporting beginning grammar knowledge and sentence writing.

There are many opportunities to build students’ vocabulary throughout the text. For example, other words for blue could be azure, cobalt and indigo- all colour words from the text. Some of the pages are in poetic form. Students could be invited to expand of sentence fragments to build sentences, using the illustrations as a guide. For example: A skerrick. A scrap. A piece of blue…

Synonyms for good could be arranged on a word cline from the text, with students adding additional synonyms to build vocabulary. For example: good- great- fantastic- brilliant- magnificent. Alliteration is used throughout the text, suggesting it may be the composer’s personal style. For example: swooping, snatching, scouring, scavenging… and: peeping, peering. Perhaps I will find it?

Connotation, symbol and imagery is evident in the double page illustration of Sydney Harbour, containing many symbols of Sydney; inviting students to look closely to identify… the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, ferries and Luna Park to name a few. There are many opportunities to teach punctuation in this wonderful text. Look for vectors in the illustrations denoting movement.

Towards the end of the book, readers are invited to identify mathematical patterns in the bowerbird’s collection of blue. Students love making patterns and an enjoyable and useful oral language activity would be to allow students to make patterns using a range of materials then explain to the class how they are sorted.

A favourite circle game (musical lesson break) from Kodaly called Come Back Home My Little Chicks has a similar theme to this text that K/P-2 students may enjoy, focusing on rhyme and rhythm, similar to the rhythm of the story, leading to improved oral reading fluency, a pillar of effective reading instruction.

Cheong, P. (2023). Every Night at Midnight. Affirm Press.

This picture book is in the early childhood section, for children 0-6 years. On first reading, I discounted the book because of the content- it is about a boy who turns into a werewolf every night. Content that is a little scary is usually excitingly delicious, and runs shivers up your spine; however content that is too scary evokes bad dreams and worry in young children, and in my view this text teeters on the precipice of inappropriate content, even though it is a literary text and is imbued with humour. I query whether a story about werewolves is the best choice of content to fill young children with a love of literature… I then examined the text through the eyes of an early reading teacher and found many strengths, although I do not rescind what I have already stated…

The text is about a small boy who has no friends and he thinks it is because he turns into a wolf every night. He is lonely, ‘my lone howl echoes through the night’. He locates another werewolf, who shares his night-time escapades. At the same time, a new girl comes to his school and they become friends. One night, his werewolf friend falls out of the sky. The boy worries whether they are OK, however they return the next night to play. Readers are left hanging as to whether the boy knows that the new girl at school is his werewolf friend. This would be a good thing to discuss in class.

The text contains some beautiful descriptive language, like velvety paws, and a long bushy tail, which could be an introduction to building noun groups in writing. There is much repetition in the text which would assist in building reading fluency. For example, Every night at midnight, I turn into a wolf; and, This was the best (worse) day (night) ever! Additionally, teaching verbs using the text as a scaffold would be useful. For example ‘we leap, we bound, we fly, until…’

Illustrations in the text are series of boxes and basic shapes; mainly line drawings that suggest a town under the cloak of darkness. The colours in the text are mainly night-time colours- black, purple and white which contrast to the brightly lit daytime scenes at school- suggesting suspense in the night. There could be links to mathematics whereby students use a range of 2D shapes and drawing to create their own township, like in the story.

The story is a narrative and the character(s) are worthy of unpacking, identifying their imagined thoughts, words and actions. Story paths are interesting in the text layout, suggesting movement. My favourite is the double page spread where the boy turns into a werewolf. The theme of the text is friendship. The boy finds his tribe and feels like he belongs as a result.

A quick search of scary music for young children reveals a range of Halloween actions songs and rhymes, should you and your students be interested to pursue the ideas presented in the text. Classic FM have timeless pieces of musical spookiness for young children- theme songs like the Addams Family, The Twilight Zone and The Skeleton Dance, which are all great fun.

This text is not my favourite in this section however it clearly has many strengths I outlined above.

Blackall, S. (2023) If I was a horse.

Covershot. *If I was a horse*
This picture book is written from the point of view of a third person omniscient narrator. We read between the lines and assume the ‘I’ is the big brother in a family of three children. There are hints in the illustrations of a third child in the family (gumboots, place settings etc). We *think* the narrator appears on the final page, however throughout the text he is represented by a horse in the illustrations. We learn he is an imaginative child who likes having fun, is a bit cheeky, and can be disobedient to his mum. He seems to be idolised by his sister, although mum finds him difficult to handle at times.
The detailed illustrations tell us much about the setting and the characters in the book, although there is little text. The illustrations elaborate and embellish the story- providing opportunities to discuss the narrative and filling in gaps in the story through reference to the illustrations and class discussion. Point of view, representation and character seem to be the English concepts that are evident in the text.
Much of the text is a series of questions so writing sentences (commands, statements and questions) is a useful teaching activity drawing on the book as a model text, with accompanying punctuation.
From a musical lens- students may be interested to peruse Mr Ed the talking horse and enjoy learning to sing/ perform the karaoke theme song which is entrenched in the long term memory of many prior generations of children.

Jager, M. (2023). Paper-flower girl. Dirt Lane Press.

This book is one of contrasts- big, small buildings, girl, giant, flowers. Text is almost arranged in poetic form. For example:

Down there

the plain.

Up there,

the hill.

A girl is making beautiful flowers from paper. A giant call and she makes some for him. He is not happy and shoots the flowers in rockets, destroying their detailed shapes. Images of the castle (where the giant lives) are misty and mysterious. The illustrations of the girl, flowers and close-ups of the giant’s face are detailed and intricate.

I found the storyline difficult to follow. There is some interesting vocabulary, including tiresome, wend, glade, unfurled. Students could compare characters- the bullying foreboding manner of the giant compared to the skilful, quietly content paperflower girl. The text contains alliteration and word play, suggesting that words and images in the text signify more than their literal meaning. This English concept is connotation, imagery and symbol.

I feel a strength of this text lies in the illustrations. There are a number of timeless, classical musical suites that span generations and tell a powerful story to children. I was reminded of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Peter and the Wolf, as I read this text. Students may wish to listen to these classical pieces to determine the type of music (instruments of the orchestra) they would play in different parts of the story, The paper flower girl.

Hukka, N., Ghosh, R., Temple, K. & Temple, J. (2023). That Bird has Arms. Hardi Grant.

This is a text about an unusual bird who has arms. His name is Roy and he is different to all the other birds. The other birds give him a hard time because he is different. The character of Roy, the bird with arms, could be representative of any person or thing that stands out because they are different. Representation is the depiction of a person or thing in a certain way. Roy is bullied by the other birds because he is different. The other birds do not see any advantage to having arms, until a complication arises and Roy is the only one who can solve it, using his arms.

This text is a narrative, with a clear beginning, middle and end. The character of Roy, along with the other birds in the story, is made up of statements about what he says, thinks and does in the story, and how he relates to the other characters. The characters are constructed in such a way as to invite an emotional response from readers. The birds are cruel to Roy until he helps them, then they ‘change their tune’ by tweeting their praise of Roy to the world.

The context of the story is a modern-day tale comprising a television quiz show and internet bullying. Values and attitudes of the characters change as events in the story unfold.

‘That bird has arms’ is a text that should elicit lively discussion about the theme of difference and what can be achieved by working together. The composer of the text conveys the message that difference should be viewed as a strength and we should celebrate difference. Viva la Difference!

A supplementary and fun musical text the supports vocabulary learning about birds, reading prosody, rhyme and rhythm; is the book, Hooray for birds (Cousins, 2016). The melody of an original song using the text in this book and accompanying MP3 can be found here.

Canby, K. (2023). Timeless. Freemantle Press.

This book is about ‘busyness’ and time, or lack of it in our lives. From the clever endpapers that invite the reader to ponder over the double and multiple meanings of many street signs (e.g. Doris Shutt Locksmith, Holly Day Travel Agent); to the idioms throughout the text all about time, the reader is enveloped in a unique literary experience. This cleverly written picture book weaves all of these idioms into a narrative, with a heavy reliance on the illustrations to piece together the storyline. Figurative language is a focus of the text.

Timeless combines zany illustrations, and vibrant artwork with playful text. The illustrations contribute significantly to the narrative. A key discussion question related to this book would be, ‘How do you find time for the things you love?’ It would be a useful mentor text for writing lessons. Students could list and unpack the meanings of all the idioms about time listed in the book, encouraging students to experiment with creative word play in their own texts.

Kelly Canby has a truly unique illustrative style. Her broad-brush strokes provide a sense of movement. Explosions of vibrant colour and use of line draw the eye throughout the text.

The main English concept would be Imagery, symbol and connotation. Encourage students to identify how language is used to enhance enjoyment of the text, and how language does not always have its literal meaning. For example, time flies, time slips through your fingers, and in no time at all warrant unpacking, focusing on meaning. Encourage students to discuss what they like and dislike in the text, and consider others’ opinions.

Character is another key concept. Identify and discuss the features and actions of Emit, protagonist, and the language (and accompanying illustrations) used to describe him and his relationship to other characters in the text.

This text would be an excellent resource for teaching figurative language, for most grades K/P-6. Students would enjoy appropriating the composer’s writing style and artwork. A quick internet search revealed Busy background music for creativity, and upbeat/ downbeat music; which may facilitate an immersive experience while students are participating in artwork or writing related to this wonderful text. Alternately students could compose their own percussion score based on the theme of busyness to perform and accompany the read-aloud!

A summary of my scores for Picture Book of the Year:

Timeless 9

Bowerbird Blues 8

That Bird has Arms 7

If I was a Horse 7

Every Night at Midnight 6

Paper Flower Girl 6

Younger readers

Entries in this category target students 7- 12 years. They may be fiction, drama or poetry.

Lloyd, F. (2023). Being Jimmy Baxter. Puffin Books

Jimmy Baxter and his mum are escaping domestic violence and settle in a new, country town. The purpose of the text is to show the resilience of the main character, Jimmy. Life throws him many curved balls; a violent, alcoholic father, an ill mother and a situation beyond his control where her has to care for his mum and drop out of school to do so. Jimmy finds work, makes friends and builds a new life, showing the resilience of the human spirit, the theme of the text.

Narrative, character and theme are obvious choices for teaching English concepts in this text. The composer, Fiona Lloyd has an interesting style where she summarises each chapter in a series of points, at the end of the chapter, in the form of ‘brain notes’, supporting meaning-making. This may be a useful ‘getting the main idea’ strategy for students to adopt in their own reading and writing, building comprehension.

I enjoyed reading Being Jimmy Baxter. I had much empathy for this boy who seemed to face more than his share of difficult life situations. Thankfully, it turned out well in the end, however it took a tragedy to do so. I question the appropriateness of the solution provided by the composer.

I thought that Fiona Lloyd was clever in her interweaving of Elvis’s songs throughout the narrative, spreading happiness, which was much-needed as overall, the plot was darkly depressing. That said, there were moments of sunshine and happiness when Jimmy developed mutually supportive friendships, sending messages to readers that we always feel better when we go out of our way to help others. Investigating further songs by Elvis, and the ideas that they contain; would be an obvious musical activity to accompany the reading of this text in-class, possibly introducing a new generation to the musical magic of Elvis.

Hayek, H. Huda was here. A&U Children.

I have found this section, Books for Younger Readers, challenging to critique as all the texts have been engaging, and rich in concepts to engage students in subject English, at the same time building a love of quality literature.

Huda was here is the second book in a series about a Lebanese family growing up in Australia. The first is Huda and me and it was also a short listed text in 2022. This book is rich in Lebanese language. Huda and her older brother are the main characters and the story is told through Akeal’s eyes. Huda is a presumptuous, inquisitive child, prone to mischief. Akeil is her somewhat unwilling partner in crime. The key elements of the text; plot, character, setting and language, work together to achieve the purpose (theme) of the text, the ultimate importance of love and family above all else. Additionally, the composer has a purpose, to build cultural awareness of a minority group living in Australia. We learn about Akeal and Huda’s family, the foods they eat, their language, their extended family and their feelings; through their thoughts, words and deeds.

Their father loses his job as a security guard because there is no crime in the area. He takes a new job in Western Australia and moves away from home. The children miss him terribly so they decide to instigate some criminal activity so his father can get his old job back. Ultimately, they get caught by police. We are captivated by the suspenseful situations they find themselves in, the humour and unveiled corruption as the narrative develops. Context, factors acting on characters that affect meaning is a consideration in this text, including cultural context.

Through a musical lens, students may wish to listen to music that builds suspense and create a soundscape with available instruments to play at key moments in the read-aloud. For example, as the children hide in the bushes and the police car comes creeping towards them, or as they are being chased by an unknown predator through the swamp at night. Soundscapes create suspense by drawing on dynamics (loud and soft) and rhythm to create a sense of urgency or tension. For example, the theme from Jaws Additionally Lebanese students may wish to share their favourite music with the class, growing cultural awareness and appreciation.

This is a great read! I recommend it for all the reasons stated above (and more!).

McDonald, A. & Wood, B. Real Pigeons Flap Out. Hardi Grant Children’s Publishing.

The text, Real pigeons flap out, is Book 11 in the hilarious series about crime fighting pigeons. An internet search reveals a world-wide following of the series. In a Q&A page on the website, Andrew McDonald shares, ‘I’d always had so much fun inventing stories, creating characters, planning plot-twists, etc. It was fun when I was at school and it’s fun now!’ This comment by the composer reminds me of so many Year 5, 6 (usually) boys I have taught who love to draw detailed book characters, then incorporate the characters they invented in accompanying stories. The genre of graphic novels is increasingly popular for this audience. The crime-fighting pigeon characters continue across multiple texts in the series.

Multiple narratives slither and snake through the text. I found it hard to follow one complete narrative, as there were so many seemingly illogical twists and turns, with no one storyline evident.

Characters have their own unique traits, possibly building a cult following, with readers identifying favourite characters. The hero of this text seems to be a twig and I note this character has its own book series. Illustrations are simple to copy, mostly pencil drawings. Many children love to draw and would find sketching the characters in the text a motivation for writing.

This text is useful for teaching style. All the texts in the series are graphic novels. Connotation, imagery and symbol indicates that words and images mean more than what they denote, extending beyond their everyday literal meaning. Meaning is also made by the size and placement of words and images on the page. Speech bubbles, a range of fonts, capitalisation, bolded text and punctuation contribute to meaning throughout the text. Students could play with style to develop their own writing style, using examples provided in the text.

There are many examples of figurative language throughout the text. For example, ‘Beagle grins like a hungry vulture’ (p182). Identifying figurative language throughout the text would be a useful teaching strategy.

Undeniably, this text has high kid-appeal. It is chaotic, cartoon-like, to be enjoyed, shared with friends and used as a model for drawing and writing about fun characters that students may create. It is not designed for study in the English classroom, in my view; although some English concepts are clearly evident in the text. It is to be read, re-read, drawn, discussed, laughed at, and shared with friends; and for these reasons this text and the whole series (ongoing, like the Treehouse) are important additions to Australian children’s literature. They foster independent reading and build a love of literature in children.

Score 0-10. *The Real Penguins Flap Out.*

Bancks, T. Scar Town. Puffin Books.

In Scar Town, the composer Tristan Bancks, delves into crime fiction genre for adolescents, and I found the text fascinating! We model sizzling starts during class writing lessons. Well, Bancks has modelled this beautifully in the opening page of the text. In it, he superbly sets the scene by sucking in the reader to a world of fear and corruption. The suspense-laden introduction could form part of the orientation to the text, after which students extrapolate what they think the text may be about. The true story of how the town of Jindabyne was flooded and moved to a new location in 1965, is related to the story outlined in this text. Australian Screen website have an interesting 2-minute video explaining the historical significance of the flooding of the old town of Jindabyne. The text, Scar Town, is underpinned by this event in Australia’s history, building knowledge at the same time as providing a great (thoroughly engaging) read.

The text is a narrative, written in first person through the eyes of protagonist Will, who lives in the town. His father was a police officer who disappeared some years before, leaving behind his mum as a reluctant manager of the town’s failing trucking business. Unbeknown to Will, his extended family have a shady past, intertwined with illegal activity.

Will and his two friends J and Dar, find a significant amount of cash, and some human remains in an old house in the old part of town, which is becoming increasingly accessible due to receding waters. The old town emerges eerily from the depths of the lake as the story progresses.

The friends are chased by unsavoury characters and the children try and escape their pursuers. An enthrallingly exciting plot develops, placing readers on the edge of their seats in suspenseful anticipation, which continues throughout the book. Which language choices used by the author situate the reader to feel this way?

English concepts well suited to teaching using this text include narrative and character, as well as genre and authority. Suggested teaching strategies include story mapping, to better understand the conventions of narrative form. Creating character charts to display in the classroom, listing language from the text that describes significant characters and their traits; make useful authoritative sources for writing.

Do students enjoy other texts in the crime fiction genre? Identify and discuss television shows they enjoy, movies, songs, comics or books that belong to this genre and what features they have in common.

The questionable actions of some of the adults and the police in the text should lead to interesting class discussions about power and what constitutes ethical behaviour. The children express their mistrust of the police, particularly in relation to the investigation of Will’s dad’s disappearance, which left more questions than answers from the point of view of his family. Talking about how authority operates within the text helps students to become constructive, critical thinkers in relation to meaning making in the text. Students may understand authority differently based on their varying perspectives and life experiences.

The three friends find a significant amount of cash- which they take some time to hand over to authorities as they are unsure whom they can trust. At the conclusion, the three friends receive a reward for solving the case. This would be a fantastic post test writing task … “ Outline a narrative where you received a significant reward for solving a crime. Describe your main characters and how you solved the case. Finally, describe how you will spend your reward and why!”

I found this book to be thoroughly unputdownable. Well suited to crime-fighters of the future and lovers of crime fiction in Years 5 and 6! Student written response to text Ruby Year 4 T2.

Wolfer, D. & Flowers, T. (2023). Scout and the Rescue Dogs. Walker Books.

This book was a pleasure to read. The target audience is students in Years 5 and 6; on the cusp of adolescence. Its purpose is to entertain, though it does have strong messages for readers, in relation to valuing what we have, treating others as you wish to be treated, being kind and the importance of friendship to keep your spirits up in challenging times.

Scout, the protagonist, has just finished her first year at boarding school. Her dad, a truckie, sent her away to school after her mum died of cancer, so he could continue to work and provide for the family. Scout and her dad are interesting characters, worthy of analysis, as they trigger emotional responses in the reader.

Dad picks her up from school in the truck, and they embark on an adventure delivering food to dog shelters around western NSW and Victoria. Food supplies are critically low due to the christmas bushfires 2021. Scout ends up finding homes for many of the rescue dogs she meets during the trip.

Genre is an English concept well-suited to teaching with this text. Scout and her dad share jokes incessantly, a popular activity for this age. Students may wish to produce their own joke book, as a class writing activity. The text contains references to crime fiction (whodunits), poetry, emails, web pages, CB radio speak, Australian folk songs and letters; a myriad of text genres with which to familiarise students. The text is peppered with similes and metaphors, the evocative comparisons adding new meaning to the text. For example ‘its like a sci-fi end of the world horror story’ (p172), referring to the destructive and devastating impact of the bushfires on people and their homes, flora and fauna. Connotation, imagery and symbol in the text embellishes the story, extending the reader beyond the literal, everyday meaning of words.

There are 22 chapters, about 10 pages per chapter. The text could be completed comfortably in a term. The text authentically links to mathematics and geography. Real place names are used and calculating time and distance travelled between towns would be a useful activity, building awareness of place (see page 152).

As well, there is much practical science in the text, which would be highly interesting for students in this age group. Stalagmites and stalactites, the Yarrangobilly Caves, types of whales, opals and science experiments about electricity using different vegetables (p138) are examples of some of the science links in the book.

There are so many important links to teaching English in Years 5, 6 in this text. The only authentic links to music I found was reference to the bush ballads as Scout and her father travelled through the outback. For example, reference is made to Man from Snowy River, Banjo Paterson’s famous poem (p211). Lots of the dialogue could be taught using Readers Theatre, building students’ oral fluency and aiding comprehension, drawing on drama to build meaning-making.

Scout and the Rescue dogs is an imaginative text, although much of the narrative recalls factual information about this time of Australia’s history (the Christmas bushfires), crossing the imaginary line towards an informative text. It would be useful for students to identify the historical facts in the text, and then research the accuracy of what they identified to ensure trustworthiness.

Score 0-10. *Scout and the Rescue Dogs*.

Kamaleddine, S. (2023). The Sideways Orbit of Evie Hart. HarperCollins.

Covershot. *The Sideways Orbit of Evie Hart*.

This narrative tells about Evie Hart who is learning about space at school. Her mum writes a horoscope column for a magazine and is interested in the planets and all things space. Evie’s parents are splitting up and Evie is trying hard to imagine life without her beloved stepfather.

Analogies are drawn between the planets and Evie’s life, and the changes that have been foisted upon her. Use of figurative language in the book title warrants unpacking with students. What does the title mean in relation to the text? Characters and experiences in the text reflect many students’ lived experiences. For example, shared parenting, and parents living in different towns, even different countries; necessitating travel to visit them. The dialogue between characters in the text help readers to understand that characters are composed of imagined thoughts, words and actions. The main characters have motives for their actions which invite class discussion.

Throughout the text we see protagonist Evie change and develop as a result of events in her life beyond her control, and she has to accept these changes. Students in Years 5 and 6 may identify with the changes that Evie and her family are experiencing in the text.

Drama activities like readers theatre and character hot seat, incorporating scenes and dialogue from the text, may help students to better understand the main characters and their motives as the story develops. Students may identify with characters and events in the narrative, inviting an emotional response in readers that may lead to engaging writing activities and students sharing their feelings.

Score 0-10. *The sideways orbit of Evie Hart.*

A summary of my scores for Book of the Year: Younger Readers

Scar Town 9

Scout and the Rescue Dogs 9

Huda was here 8

Being Jimmy Baxter 7

Real Pigeons Flap Out 6

The Sideways Orbit of Evie Hart 6

Eve Pownell Award

Books in this category document factual material with consideration given to imaginative presentation, interpretation and variety of style.

Racklyeft, J. Australia: Colour of Colour. Affirm Press.

Covershot. *Australia: Country of Colour.*

This beautifully colourful informative text documents Australian symbols, classified in colour families. Illustrations are watercolour, an ‘ode’ to the magnificently diverse colours of Australia. The text begins with explicit intertextuality, quoting Dorothea Mackellar’s famous poem, My country. The composer and illustrator, Jess Racklyeft, states that the text was inspired by the bright and pure light, in celebration of Australia’s striking colours.

The book extrapolates how colours can affect how we feel. Red- elicit strong emotions, passion and anger. Orange represents courage, happiness and enthusiasm. Yellow is uplifting, warming and joyful; green represents nature, growth and jealousy. Blue is a peaceful, trusting and calming hue. As well, blue can represent sadness. Finally, violet represents spirituality, bravery and creativity.

In each chapter, symbols of Australia are classified in colour families. Red represents the Red Centre, Uluru. Many scientific and geographic facts about the world heritage listed Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park are embedded in the red pages. The scientific names of a range of flora and fauna are also included throughout the text, providing opportunities to build students’ vocabulary knowledge, at the same time building students scientific and geographic knowledge.

Brown and orange represents the Purnululu Nation Park, in north-west Western Australia. These are the colours of the earth- rock, dirt and mud. Fauna and flora in this section are all coloured shades of brown and orange.

The colour yellow represents Mount Kosciuszko National Park and the flora and fauna that can be found there. Green, the colour of life, is represented by the Tarra- Bulga National Park, a cool temperate rainforest in Gippsland, Victoria. Blue represents the Great Barrier Reef and its flora and fauna; and violet represents Bruny Island, the colour/s that represent creativity. Black, white and grey informs the reader facts about Kati Thandra (Lake Eyre) in central Australia, and the flora and fauna that can be found there.

At the conclusion of the text, Jess Racklyeft articulates the audience and purpose of their text. ‘The book is dedicated to every young reader, artist and writer who picks up this book. I hope you can see, care for, and create a very colourful world around you’.

Australia: Country of Colour is an excellent resource to teach connotation, imagery and symbol. The text and images together invite students to compare pages which may add new meaning to the text. Connotation, imagery and symbol enriches a text by making words and images mean more than one thing, prompting evocative comparisons which may add new meanings to the text.

Musical and arts activities that support students’ oral language development, provide opportunities for students to discuss their feelings including finding age- appropriate examples of music and artwork that promotes opportunities to discuss their feelings. For example, ‘Sing a Rainbow’ can be taught using Auslan, representing happiness. A feelings song from Beveridge (PETAA, 2023), ‘How do you feel today?’, is a useful scaffold for students to discuss their feelings. Here is the melody and here is the PDF of the song provided for classroom use.

This text has the intention of conveying factual information in an imaginative way. I classify this text highly based on the CBCA criteria for this section.

Score 0-10. *Australia: Country of Colour.*

Martin, I. & Ridgeway, R. & Hogan, L. (2023). Country Town. Ford Street Publishing.

This text is about the history of Australia. There is a timeline of a country town (p47) and although the town is unnamed, major events in the history of Australia are chronicled, like the First Nations people living on country prior to the colonisation of Australia by the British, the World Wars and the Great Depression. There is a double page spread on each decade in the text. Illustrations are intricate and detailed, inviting readers to discuss what they see in the A4 size illustrations and what they can learn from them through an historic lens.

The picture book for older readers tells the decade-by-decade history of a fictional Australian town; from the First Nations mob living by the river crossing in the 1820s through to the present day.

The text is lexically dense, rich in important historic data. The composers, both historians, invite readers to mine illustrations to find answers to important questions. For example, (p33)… ‘Older men in the community joined the home regiment. Can you see them practising at the showground?’ This helps readers to comprehend the main messages of the text.

Intertextuality and authority are English concepts that are evidenced in Country Town. There are news clippings throughout, from country (and city) newspapers and magazines. Authority is invested in this text by clearly expressed and substantiated arguments and acknowledgements. The text has credibility due to the range of evidence provided by the composers, which makes the text trustworthy. Although the illustrations are coloured pencil and ink drawings, they are intricate and detailed, and well-support the information provided in the text.

This text targets older students (Years 5, 6). It is filled with historic facts about Australia from the perspective of how a country town has grown and changed across the decades, up until present day. From a musical view, Australian songs from each era could be added to the timeline on p47 of the text, further evidence that supports the rich history shared with readers in relation to life in a fictional country town, and Australia more broadly.

Marshall, D. (2023). Eww Gross: foul facts and putrid pictures. Lost the Plot (Pantera Press Imprint).

Covershot. *Eww Gross: foul facts and putrid pictures.*

This book wasn’t for me although I acknowledge lots of students enjoy reading about gross things. The text would be useful for building vocabulary- especially synonyms for gross- grim, odious, offensive, horrid, horrible, rotten… The composer rates main facts on a grossmeter, on a scale from 1-5, and readers are invited to do similar. Readers are also invited to complete their own gross experiments. The report of Astronauts leaving 100 bags of human waste following the 6 Apollo moon landing missions absolutely disgusted me from an environmental perspective. I’d place this at the top of the grossmeter! The book contains interesting facts about space and chemistry.

Greenwood, M. (2023). Our Country: where history happened. Walker Books.

Covershot. *Our Country: where history happened.*

The book begins with a story map/ picture timeline depicting an assemblage of significant events in Australia’s history. It is an informative text, targeting Years 4, 5, and 6. It is a type of hybrid text (integrates narrative and informative text), with four levels of literacy (Greenwood, 2023). The main text is written in lyrical prose; the second in a smaller font, is an informational narrative containing historical facts. Third, is a headline, which summarises the main idea of the double page spread. Finally, the visual literacy evident in the detailed illustrations, ties together and supports the levels of text beautifully. The author, Mark Greenwood hopes the text will be used as a springboard for readers to undertake their own research, to learn more about the events in the text, as ‘we don’t have a past that is easy. Many stories don’t have happy endings. Picture books can humanise complex events’ (Greenwood, 2023). This is the composers’ perspective, the lens they invite us to view the text. They are referring to the complex, often violent events in Australia’s history. They aim to take readers back in time to experience some well-known and some little-known events in Australia’s history.

The main English concept evident in the text is Imagery, symbol and connotation. The text is peppered with cultural symbols of Australia. Students could recognise and discuss the significance of the symbols throughout the text. The colours and colour imagery in the text may symbolise feelings of mood and cultural conventions. For example, ‘The story of our country is told in stone’.

Context is a factor in this text, as we need to consider life in Australia when these events occurred to understand the context of Australia when and where these events took place. This text links with the geography and history syllabi, as it teaches about people and places around Australia and significant events that occurred in specific locales. The text focuses on the ‘where’. Each double page spread relates to a specific place where events took place. The illustrator shares that she used a range of primary and secondary source of various genres, including documentaries, newspaper, books, and talking to experts; to ensure historical authenticity of the illustrations in the text, to make time and place come alive for readers. Quality Teachers notes are available from the publisher, Walker Books.

Some of the events cameoed in the text have existing famous songs, which students may be interested to learn and perform; to cement specific historic events in their long-term memories and build cultural understanding. For example, the iconic Australian protest song, Treaty by Australian Crawl links to the Freedom Ride in 1965 and the 1967 referendum. Similarly, From Little Things Big Things Grow (Kelly & Carmody, 1991) recounts the Wave Hill Walk-off and the Vincent Lingiari story, complementing the factual narrative in the text.

The historic events are presented sensitively with some differentiation to cater for a range of learners’ reading abilities. Our Country Where History Happened recounts some well-known and some lesser-known events in Australia’s past through a sensitive cultural lens. It well- addresses the criteria for the CBCA Eve Pownell award.

Score 0-10. *Our Country: where history happened.*

Wadrill, V., Ngarnjal, D., Leaman, L., Edwards, C., Algy, C., Meakins, F., Barr, B., & Crocetti, G. Tamarra: A story of termites on Gurindji country. Hardi Grant Explore.

Covershot. *Tamarra: a story of termites*

This text is a collaboration between First Nations people and non-Indigenous people. There are more than 30 people listed as co-contributors to the text. The spectacular Aboriginal artwork seeps into your soul, the colours oozing happiness and drawing in the reader, full of symbolism.

It is an informative text about termites yet the factual narrative about gorgeous little babies being covered with crushed termite mound mixed into a paste with water, melts the heart strings and burns into memory. This cultural tradition is believed to strengthen the baby’s body and soul.

Teaching notes are available from Hardi Grant publishers. Three languages, with accompanying glossary are included in the text. These are English, Gurindji and Gurindji Kreole.

The teaching notes identify three main themes in the text, including:

Bush medicine is practised differently in different cultures
Country nurtures reciprocal relationships between humans, animals and plants.
Termites are social insects with different roles at different stages of their lives.
These could be discussion starters for students to identify what they consider the main theme of the text. A definition of theme is a statement about life, arising from the interplay of key elements of the text (NSW DoE, 2017 p32); such as plot, character, setting and language.
One of the activities in the teaching notes asks students to write story from the point of view of a termite in the text… and interesting way to address the English concept of point of view.
My absolute favourite text/ song about Termites is Tommy the termite (Wayfarers, 1992). However, this version certainly doesn’t live up to the ABC Broadcast book version (the ABC Library refused to share - although I thought we are told in television ads it is ‘our ABC’); resplendent with didgeridoos and clapping sticks. Teachers, please allow students to experiment by creating a musical score to the text, adding traditional Aboriginal percussion (or any available percussion instruments) to make their own unique music. Here’s mine! Melody and MP3 recording. My musical score includes clapping sticks (or claves, pronounced clar-vays), glockenspiels and tambourines.
I love this text, especially the cultural knowledge (and photographs) about the beautiful babies being covered with crushed termite mound by their female relatives, to make them strong. However, I did not learn as many facts as I did in other texts in this section, hence I scored it slightly lower based on stated CBCA criteria.

Score 0-10. *Tamarra: a story of termites on Gurindji country.*

Tutt, C & Hunt, M. This book thinks ya deadly! Hardi Grant Explore.

Covershot. *This book thinks ya deadley!*

This informative text informs readers about notable Indigenous Australians. The author, Corey Tutt, overviews ‘The people mentioned in these pages are some of the changemakers who have impacted my life so far…”. The content is divided into categories including music, film and television, visual arts, literature, journalism, education, science health and sport. The largest categories are education and sport, which may reflect the interests of the author, who has an education background in STEM. The views purported in the text are those of the composer. No evidence or criteria is provided for the selection of specific people in the text.

Over 70 notable Indigenous Australians are reviewed in the text. Although it is impossible to overview them all, some I read with interest were: Brooke Sutton, a visual artist whose spectacular artwork adorns the new Indigenous All Stars rugby league jerseys. I had the pleasure of working with Kylie Captain in education in western Sydney and was impressed when I read Kylie currently supports schools in Aboriginal education, a much-needed authentic consultative service. Adam Goodes’ stance against racism on 24 May 2013, included calling out a 13-year-old girl for shouting a racist comment at him as he ran towards the touchline. The act divided the country and unfortunately Goodes left football in September 2015, citing continued racist vilification as the reason for ending his sporting career. Many Australians stand with Adam Goodes and the stance he took in calling out unacceptable racism. His enduring legacy against racist language and behaviour lives on, through his children’s books and charity work in the GO Foundation, supporting Aboriginal children and youth with scholarships and opportunities to succeed.

I would teach context and genre English concepts using this informative text, in Years 5 and 6, possibly Year 7 as well however this is not my targeted teaching area. In context, the author ‘s purpose is clear- to celebrate Aboriginal changemakers and foster Aboriginal cultural pride in all children. Each of the notable Australians overviewed in the text, have their own unique context, as well as a shared culture relating to beliefs, customs, language and values.

Through the lens of genre, this informative text can be identified through particular features and structures. Each double page spread has an illustrated, life-like drawing of the person featuring a brief history of their life and an outline of how they changed or are changing Australian society in a positive way. The genre of this text is similar to a series of real-life documentaries about famous Indigenous Australians, in a text medium. It could be used as a reference text to research and discover more about Aboriginal people as students come across them in mainstream media.

Any report writing or multimedia presentations students create using this text could be embellished with Aboriginal music and Aboriginal instrumental soundtracks. The music chapter in the text lists current Aboriginal artists that many students already know and love, and other students may wish to investigate further.

Score 0-10. *This book thinks ya deadly!.*

A summary of my scores for Book of the Year: Eve Pownall Award

Australia: country of colour 9

Our Country: where history happened 9

Tamarra: as story of termites on Gurindji country 8

This book thinks ya deadley 7

Country Town 7

Eww Gross: foul facts and putrid pictures 5

New Illustrator

This category is for new illustrators, where their illustrations form a significant part of the book’s narrative or information content.

Worrall, J. (2023). Etta and the Shadow Taboo. Bright Light (Hardi Grant Children’s Publishing imprint).

The illustrator, Jeremy Worrall, a Ngarabal/ Gomeroi multimedia artist, uses intricate line designs and an earthy colour palette (red, orange, brown, black) to add depth and support the narrative.

The book tells about a Gamilaraay tradition, shadow avoidance. In the text, a child steps on her sister’s shadow and their sister (Baawaa) becomes angry. The Spirit Tree informs her that personal space needs to be respected, both our own and other’s. ‘Do not step on people’s shadows’, the tree advises.

Score 0-10. *Etta and the Shadow Taboo.*

Kruger, P. (2023). Grace and Mr Milligan. Marshall Cavendish International.

Illustrator Pip Kruger employs a lovely, folk-art type style in the illustration of her first childrens’ picture book, beautifully captures the essence of friendship, safety and love. Her clear and colourful illustrations are filled with happiness (and sadness), joyfulness and action.

Wagner, E. Hope is the thing. Allen & Unwin imprint.

The theme of this text is hope for the future and it focuses on renewal following the bushfires on Australia’s east coast, January 2020.

Erica Wagner’s artwork is collage-based, created from recycling her old artworks and sketches, repurposing previous works, some from long ago, giving them new life through creative expression.

Intertextuality features in this text as Emily Dickinson’s poem ‘Hope is the Thing with Feathers’ (1891) was an underpinning of the text. The composer and illustrator together reframed the message- inserting a story within the story of a creative, bird-loving child with binoculars, papers and scissors – exploring visual storytelling in the text, as do the composer and illustrator together in the creation of ‘Hope is the thing’.

Erica states that she loosely paints her backgrounds then finds paper from a range of sources that she carefully cuts with scissors and scalpel. Then she collates them to make spectacular collages depicting the theme of creative renewal, matching the words in the text. The resultant collages are awe-inspiring, adding deep meaning to the text.

Drane, K. (2023). Phonobet. NLA Publishing.

Kim Drane is a 2D animator and illustrator. Kim’s illustrations in Phonobet are mainly comprised of layered 2D shapes, arranged on a page to create endearing scenes and characters. Children are smiling and the (mainly) primary colours are clear and bright. The book exudes happiness.

The text more broadly is about teaching early reading through phonics, intertwined in a clever narrative. Kim’s illustrations are fun filled, which come alive on the page, drawing in readers.

Conn, M. (2023). Raised by Moths. MidnightSun Publishing.

Illustrator Michelle Conn draws children with emotion all over their faces, capturing the wonderment and joyfulness of childhood. Two children meet on the ferris wheel at a fair, and trade personal secrets about their upbringing. It is a highly unusual storyline- a boy is raised by moths. It leads to a fascinating tale about human babies being raised by animals.

The illustrations add layers of depth and meaning to the unusual story line which creates even more magic to this enchanting tale. Thie illustrator, Michelle Conn, creates her digitally enhanced illustrations using pencil and watercolour. The boy’s pink and purple clothes may signify magic. His new friend is dressed in green, which may represent a contrast between the characters. She is more earth-bound. The book cover and endpapers remind the reader of night skies and silver moths slipping and sliding around the main character into the night.

The illustrations and text are both fascinating and highly commendable.

Nuto, B. (2023). When you’re a boy. Affirm Press.

The author-illustrator Blake Nuto embeds his illustrations with feelings of calm and mindfulness, his particular focus in education. This is evidenced by his peaceful natural scenery in the text, including forests, rivers and mountains. Strong brush strokes, and use of light and shade highlight his strong illustrative style.

A summary of my scores for Book of the Year: New Illustrator

Hope is the thing 9

Raised by Moths 8

When you’re a boy 8

Grace and Mr Milligan 7

Etta and the shadow Taboo 7

Phonobet 6