CBCA 2026 Book of the Year Awards Notables

The CBCA Notables for 2026 have been announced! This list has been chosen from 736 entries. There were 223 picture book entries, 181 Younger Reader entries, 144 Early Childhood entries, 77 Eve Pownall entries, 73 Older Reader entries and 38 New Illustrator entries. Wow! Good luck to everyone, I think its going to be hard this year.

Older Reader

Catch, Sarah Brill (Allen & Unwin) 
Cruel is the Light, Sophie Clark (Penguin Random House Australia) 
Darkest Night, Brightest Star, Barry Jonsberg (Allen & Unwin) 
Drift, Pip Harry (Lothian Children’s Books) 
The Edge of Everything, Miranda Luby (Text Publishing) 
Eleanor Jones is Playing with Fire, Amy Doak (Penguin Random House Australia) 
The Foal in the Wire, Robbie Coburn (Lothian Children’s Books) 
Golden, Jade Timms (Text Publishing) 
How to Be Normal, Ange Crawford (Walker Books Australia) 
The Locked Room, Adam Cece (Penguin Random House Australia) 
A Murder is Going Down, Kate Emery (Allen & Unwin) 
Never Thought I’d End Up Here, Ann Liang (Penguin Random House Australia) 
Ngurra Home, Carl Merrison & Hakea Hustler (Magabala Books) 
Of Flame and Fury, Mikayla Bridge (Macmillan Australia) 
The Pull of the Moon, Pip Smith (UWA Publishing) 
The Set-Up Girl, Sasha Vey (Allen & Unwin) 
Tenderly, I Am Devoured, Lyndall Clipstone (Penguin Random House Australia) 
This Season’s Draft, Jason Gent (Allen & Unwin) 
This Stays Between Us, Margot McGovern (Penguin Random House Australia) 
Unhallowed Halls, Lili Wilkinson (Allen & Unwin) 
We Saw What You Started, Carla Salmon (Pan Australia) 
The Worst Perfect Moment, Shivaun Plozza (Walker Books Australia) 

Younger Readers

Chickenpox, Remy Lai (Allen & Unwin) 
Creature Clinic, Gavin Aung Than (Figment Books) 
Frances Bloom, Katrina Nannestad, illustrated by Marina Zlatanova (ABC Books) 
Ghost Guitar, TJ DOOM, illustrated by Nahum Ziersch (Penguin Random House Australia) 
The Hits and Misses of Melody Moss, Helen Dallimore (Penguin Random House Australia) 
How to Sail to Somewhere, Ashleigh Barton (Lothian Children’s Books) 
Inked, Karen Wasson, illustrated by Jake A Minton (Figment Books) 
Into the Bewilderness, Gus Gordon (Figment Books) 
Jungle Escape, Nathan Luff (Walker Books Australia) 
The Keeper of the Octopus, Neridah McMullin (Walker Books Australia) 
Little Bones, Sandy Bigna, illustrated by Tamlyn Teow (University of Queensland Press) 
The Making of Martha Mayfield, Jo Dabrowski (Affirm Press) 
Moonboy, Anna Ciddor (Allen & Unwin) 
The Paperbark Tree Committee, Karys McEwen (Text Publishing) 
Promises and Other Lies, Sue Whiting (Walker Books Australia) 
Run, Sarah Armstrong (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing) 
Seriously Soccer, Matt Stanton (ABC Books) 
The Serpent Rider, Yxavel Magno Diño (Bloomsbury Children’s Books) 
The Silken Thread, Gabrielle Wang (Penguin Random House Australia) 
Something Terrible: Tim Tie-Your-Shoelaces, Sally Barton, illustrated by Christopher Nielsen (Walker Books Australia) 
Song of a Thousand Seas, Zana Fraillon, illustrated by Aviva Reed (University of Queensland Press) 
Spirit of the Crocodile, Aaron Fa’Aoso & Michelle Scott Tucker with Lyn White (Allen & Unwin) 
The Surface Trials, H.M. Waugh (Allen & Unwin) 
Too Big to Be a Fairy, Kiah Thomas, Bec Kitson, Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing 
The Year We Escaped, Suzanne Leal (Angus & Robertson)

Early Childhood

The Bin Monster, Annabelle Hale (Affirm Press) 
Castle Crashing, Andrea Rowe, illustrated by Hannah Sommerville (Little Hare) 
The Colours of Home, Sally Soweol Han (Thames and Hudson Australia) 
Counting Crocodiles, Students from Bulla Camp Primary School (Indigenous Literacy Foundation) 
Derek, Anne Donaldson, illustrated by Matt Shanks (Little Hare) 
Dropbear, Philip Bunting (Walker Books Australia) 
Earthspeak, Sean McCann, illustrated by Jade Goodwin (Allen & Unwin) 
The Emperor’s Egg, Rae Tan (Lothian Children’s Books) 
Fly Mama, Fly!, Anna McGregor (Scribble) 
Frogs Are Our Friends, Toni D’Alia, Madeline White (Bright Light) 
Going Fishing with Nana, Frances Haji-Ali & Lindsay Haji-Ali, illustrated by Karen Briggs (Magabala Books) 
How to Help When You Really Want to Help, Davina Bell, illustrated by Hilary Jean Tapper (Lothian Children’s Books) 
Laugh in the Bath, Rory H. Mather, illustrated by Brent Wilson (Little Book Press) 
Look, See, Find Me, Sandra Severgnini (CSIRO Publishing) 
My Father’s Arms, Toni D’Alia, illustrated by Mimi Purnell (Little Hare) 
My Nonno Loves, Adelle Frittitta, illustrated by Claudia Frittitta (Little Hare) 
Now You Are a Chicken, Andrew McDonald, illustrated by Ben Wood (Little Hare) 
Our Beautiful World, Sarah Speedie, illustrated by Margeaux Davis (New Frontier Publishing) 
Potion Commotion, Rebecca Grant, illustrated by Niña Nill (Affirm Press) 
Say Goodnight, Renae Hayward, illustrated by Rebecca Mills (Fremantle Press) 
Sidney of Sydney, Sue Whiting, illustrated by Liz Anelli (Walker Books Australia) 
The Thing About Christmas, Jo Dabrowski, illustrated by Briony Stewart (Little Book Press) 
The Train at the End of My Street, Tom Jellett (Affirm Press) 
What is a Dot?, Johanna Bell, illustrated by Amelia Luscombe (Thames and Hudson Australia) 
Where the River Runs Free, Vikki Conley, illustrated by Jedda Robaard (Windy Hollow Books) 

Picture Book of the Year

A is for… A Rabbit’s Tale, Lucinda Gifford, text by Jackie Hosking (Walker Books Australia) 
Being Indy, Estee Sarsfield, text by Zoe Gaetjens (WestWords Children’s) 
Between, Anna Walker (Scribble) 
Bigfoot vs Yeti, James Foley (Fremantle Press) 
Bob and Dob, Sean E Avery (Walker Books Australia) 
Bored, Felicita Sala (Little Hare) 
Dawn, Marc Martin (Walker Books Australia) 
Dear Broccoli, Cate James, text by Jo Dabrowski (Affirm Press) 
Dropbear, Philip Bunting (Walker Books Australia) 
The Frog’s First Song, Jason Phu, text by Jazz Money (University of Queensland Press) 
Going for Pippies, Tori-Jay Mordey, text by Wilaaran Laurie (Magabala Books) 
Gone, Michel Streich (Thames and Hudson Australia) 
Hello Cocky, Antonia Pesenti, text by Hilary Bell (Scribble) 
Here Come the Cousins, Sarah Zweck, text by Maggie Hutchings (Thames and Hudson Australia) 
How My Family Says I Love You, Aurore McLeod, text by Yvonne Sewankambo (Walker Books Australia) 
Jo and the No, Judy Watson, text by Kyle Mewburn (Dirt Lane Press) 
My Mum is a Bird, Evie Barrow, text by Angie Cui (University of Queensland Press) 
Neville’s Great Escape, Sean E Avery (Walker Books Australia) 
Once I was a Giant, Zeno Sworder (Thames and Hudson Australia) 
One Day, Michael Speechley, text by Shirley Marr (Walker Books Australia) 
One Word and a Bird, Stephen Michael King (Scholastic Press) 
Rain on the Rock, Valerie Brumby, text by Jodi Toering (Bright Light) 
Some Days You’ll have Days Like These, Stephen Michael King, text by Josh Pyke (Scholastic Press) 
The Thing About Christmas, Briony Stewart, text by Jo Dabrowski (Little Book Press) 
Tiwi in Paris, Glen Farmer Illortaminni (Thames and Hudson Australia) 

Eve Pownall Award

All About Antarctica, Marc Martin (Penguin Random House Australia) 
The Bee Squad: Boosting Biodiversity in Your Neighbourhood, Judy Friedlander (NewSouth) 
Caring for Country: First Knowledges for Younger Readers, Bruce Pascoe, Bill Gammage & Jasmin McGaughey, Savi Ross (Thames and Hudson Australia) 
Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles, Corey Tutt, Ben Williams (Allen & Unwin) 
Diary of a Marine Biologist, Anita Thomas, Sarah Wilkins, Walker Books Australia 
Filling in the Map, Carole Wilkinson (Wild Dog Books) 
Flute: A Dolphin’s Wild Journey Home, Kasey Whitelaw, Jenni Goodman (Wombat Books) 
The Great Shark Egg Case Hunt, Kasey Whitelaw, illustrated by Sylvia Morris (CSIRO Publishing) 
Hello Cocky, Hilary Bell, illustrated by Antonia Pesenti (Scribble) 
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Fast and Slow Animals, Sami Bayly, Sami Bayly, Lothian Children’s Books 
A Loo of One’s Own, Eleri Harris, Eleri Harris (Allen & Unwin) 
Mind-controlling Bugs, Aidan Doyle, illustrated by Astred Hicks (Hardie Grant Explore) 
Ningaloo, Tim Winton, illustrated by Cindy Lane (Fremantle Press) 
Old Days Imanka nurna laakinha nitjaarta, Marjorie ‘Nunga’ Williams, illustrated by Marjorie ‘Nunga’ Williams (Magabala Books) 
Peculiar Parents, Stephanie Owen Reeder, illustrated by Ingrid Bartkowiak (NLA Publishing) 
Platypus Bend, Diane Jackson Hill, illustrated by Craig Smith (Museums Victoria Publishing) 
Quarks, Sparks and Quantum Mysteries, Lisa Harvey-Smith, Aidan Ryan (Thames and Hudson Australia) 
There’s a Prawn in Parliament House: The Kids’ Guide to Australia’s Amazing Democracy, Annabel Crabb, illustrated by First Dog on the Moon (Allen & Unwin) 
This Bird: Noticing Our Urban Birds, Astred Hicks & Holly Parsons (CSIRO Publishing) 
The Thylacine and the Time Machine, Renée Treml (Allen & Unwin) 
Tubowgule, Melissa-Jane Fogarty, Dylan Finney (Lothian Children’s Books) 
Volcano, Claire Saxby, illustrated by Jess Racklyeft (Allen & Unwin) 
Weaving Country, Christine Joy & Aunty Kim Wandin, illustrated by Ashleigh Pugh, (Walker Books Australia) 
Weirdosaurus, Philip Bunting (Little Hare) 
World of Colour, Jess Racklyeft (Affirm Press) 

Keep an eye on the CBCA website for more information.