CBCA Book of the Year Shortlist

The CBCA shortlist for 2026 is here! There are some great books on this list, and some where I think it will be hard to decide. It’s always tough because there are so many good books entered into awards. When there are so many of high quality, with good storytelling or good information, it can be hard to decide what should go through. There are quite a few that I hoped would make it to the shortlist that didn’t, but what is here looks good. Looking forward to seeing who wins later this year.

Check out the Notables here!

Older Readers

Of Flame and Fury, Mikayla Bridge (Macmillan Australia) 
Darkest Night, Brightest Star, Barry Jonsberg (Allen & Unwin) 
This Stays Between Us, Margot McGovern (Penguin Random House Australia) 
We Saw What You Started, Carla Salmon (Pan Australia) 
Golden, Jade Timms (Text Publishing) 
Unhallowed Halls, Lili Wilkinson (Allen & Unwin) 

Younger Readers

Run, Sarah Armstrong (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing) 
Something Terrible: Tim Tie-Your-Shoelaces, Sally Barton, illustrated by Christopher Nielsen (Walker Books Australia) 
Little Bones, Sandy Bigna (University of Queensland Press) 
Spirit of the Crocodile, Aaron Fa’aoso & Michelle Scott Tucker with Lyn White (Allen & Unwin)  
The Paperbark Tree Committee, Karys McEwen (Text Publishing) 
Inked, Karen Wasson, illustrated by Jake A Minton (Figment Books)

Early Childhood

The Thing About Christmas, Jo Dabrowski, illustrated by Briony Stewart (Little Book Press) 
Derek, Anne Donaldson, illustrated by Matt Shanks (Little Hare) 
Frogs Are Our Friends, Toni D’Alia, Madeline White (Bright Light) 
My Nonno Loves, Adelle Frittitta, illustrated by Claudia Frittitta (Little Hare) 
The Colours of Home, Sally Soweol Han (Thames and Hudson Australia) 
The Emperor’s Egg, Rae Tan (Lothian Children’s Books) 

Picture Book of the Year

Bob and Dob, Sean E Avery (Walker Books Australia) 
Tiwi in Paris, Glen Farmer Illortaminni (Thames and Hudson Australia) 
Dear Broccoli, Cate James, text by Jo Dabrowski (Affirm Press) 
Dawn, Marc Martin (Walker Books Australia) 
The Frog’s First Song, Jason Phu, text by Jazz Money (University of Queensland Press) 
Once I was a Giant, Zeno Sworder (Thames and Hudson Australia) 

Eve Pownall Award

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) 
A Loo of One’s Own, Eleri Harris (Allen & Unwin) 
Peculiar Parents, Stephanie Owen Reeder, illustrated by Ingrid Bartkowiak (NLA Publishing) 
The Thylacine and the Time Machine, Renée Treml (Allen & Unwin) 
Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles, Corey Tutt, Ben Williams (Allen & Unwin) 
Ningaloo, Tim Winton, illustrated by Cindy Lane (Fremantle Press) 

New Illustrator

Save the Gum Trees, Bees and Big Blue Seas, Luke John Matthew Arnold (Scholastic Press) 
Beyond the Shore, Mark Chester Harding, text by Kirli Saunders (Scholastic Press) 
A Loo of One’s Own, Eleri Harris (Allen & Unwin) 
Prayer for a River, Uncle Glenn Loughrey, text by Andrew Kelly & Uncle Glenn Loughrey (Wild Dog Books) 
A Farm by the Sea, Jillian Packer (Berbay Publishing) 
Being Indy, Estee Sarsfield, text by Zoe Gaetjens (WestWords Children’s)