2018 winners for the inky award

2018 Gold Inky Award Winner

Paper Cranes Don’t Fly by  Peter Vu

For Adam Auttenberg, hospital is like a second home. Despite the ever-growing tumour in his head, he just wishes he was normal. This is until his latest operation, when everything seems like a lost hope, and he knows he isn’t normal. He doesn’t know what to do, because there is nothing he can do. Facing the toughest challenge of his life, all Adam has to help him are his friends. But will they be enough?

This story describes the life of a cancer patient in a way that no other young adult book does, focusing not just on living with cancer, but going through it, with the help of patience, love, and friendship

2018 Silver Inky Award Winner
The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

2017 Inky awards announced

The winners for the inky awards are:

For the gold award is:

Words of the deep blue by Cath Crowley

Years ago, Rachel had a crush on Henry Jones. The day before she moved away, she tucked a love letter into his favorite book in his family’s bookshop. She waited. But Henry never came. 

Now Rachel has returned to the city—and to the bookshop—to work alongside the boy she’d rather not see, if at all possible, for the rest of her life. But Rachel needs the distraction, and the escape. Her brother drowned months ago, and she can’t feel anything anymore. She can’t see her future.

Henry’s future isn’t looking too promising, either. His girlfriend dumped him. The bookstore is slipping away. And his family is breaking apart.from goodreads

For the silver award is: 

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman:

What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong?

Frances has always been a study machine with one goal, elite university. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside.

But when Frances meets Aled, the shy genius behind her favourite podcast, she discovers a new freedom. He unlocks the door to Real Frances and for the first time she experiences true friendship, unafraid to be herself. Then the podcast goes viral and the fragile trust between them is broken.

Caught between who she was and who she longs to be, Frances’ dreams come crashing down. Suffocating with guilt, she knows that she has to confront her past…

She has to confess why Carys disappeared…

Meanwhile at uni, Aled is alone, fighting even darker secrets. from goodreads

CBCA winners

The Book of the Year: Older Readers

Winner

One Would Think the Deep by Claire Zorn

It’s 1997 and seventeen-year-old Sam is mourning the sudden loss of his mum …

Sam has always had things going on in his head that no one else understands, even his mum. And now she’s dead, it’s worse than ever.

With nothing but his skateboard and a few belongings in a garbage bag, Sam goes to live with the strangers his mum cut ties with seven years ago: Aunty Lorraine and his cousins Shane and Minty. from goodreads

Honours

Words in Deep Blue By Cath Crowley

Love lives between the lines.

Years ago, Rachel had a crush on Henry Jones. The day before she moved away, she tucked a love letter into his favorite book in his family’s bookshop. She waited. But Henry never came.

Now Rachel has returned to the city—and to the bookshop—to work alongside the boy she’d rather not see, if at all possible, for the rest of her life. But Rachel needs the distraction, and the escape. Her brother drowned months ago, and she can’t feel anything anymore. She can’t see her future.from goodreads

The Bone Sparrow By Zana Fraillon 

Subhi is a refugee. Born in an Australian permanent detention center after his mother and sister fled the violence of a distant homeland, Subhi has only ever known life behind the fences. But his world is far bigger than that—every night, the magical Night Sea from his mother's stories brings him gifts, the faraway whales sing to him, and the birds tell their stories. And as he grows, his imagination threatens to burst beyond the limits of his containment.from goodreads

The Book of the Year: Younger Readers

winner

Rockhopping  by trace Balla 

The story of an eventful hike in Gariwerd (the Grampians), from the creator of the multi-award-winning Rivertime.

Join Clancy and Uncle Egg on a rambling, rockhopping adventure in Gariwerd (the Grampians), to find the source of the Glenelg River. A story about following your flow, and the unexpected places you may go. from goodreads

Honours

Dragonfly Song by Wendy ORR

The little girl found under a bush has no name and cannot speak. Is she a miracle child who escaped the raiders, or is she a bad-luck child, the one who called the Bull King's ship to the island? No one sees the mama-stone around her neck, with the sign of the dragonfly. And only Luki, in training to leap the bulls, knows that she charmed the viper who would have killed him. When the girl turns twelve, she discovers her name - Aissa - and she knows that her one chance to live freely is to become a bull dancer, and be taken away to the island of the Bull King. from goodreads

Captain Jimmy Cook Discovers Third Grade by  Kate & Jol Temple

(illus by Jon Foye)

When Jimmy Cook discovers that Captain Cook met with a sticky end in Hawaii, he's determined to travel to the island to finish what his famous ancestor started.from goodreads

The Picture Book of the Year

winner:

Home in the Rain by Bob Graham, 

The rain is pouring down in buckets, and Francie and her mom are on their way home from Grandma's. As the little red car pulls into a picnic area to wait out the storm, the windows fog up, and Francie spells out Dad, Mom, and Francie with her finger. But the back window is waiting for another name, that of Francie's soon-to-arrive baby sister. What should they call her? Francie and her mother ponder this as they return to the road. Later, when they stop to fill up with gas, who will notice one mother lost in thought and a small girl dancing? Once again, as only he can, Bob Graham elevates a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment into a sublime tale full of nuance and heart.from goodreads

 

Honours

Mechanica by Lance Balchin 

An imaginative field guide to the fantasy world of Mechanica creatures, with amazing and beautiful steampunk-inspired illustrations.

In this field guide from the future, a dashing explorer-Miss Liberty Crisp-details amazing creatures known as Mechanica: human-created life forms designed to replace extinct species.from goodreads

The Patchwork Bike by Van T Rudd (text by Maxine Beneba Clarke)

What's the best fun in the whole village? Riding the patchwork bike we made! A joyous picture book for children by award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke.

When you live in a village at the edge of the No-Go Desert, you need to make your own fun. That's when you and your brothers get inventive and build a bike from scratch, using everyday items like an old milk pot (maybe mum is still using it, maybe not) and a used flour sack. You can even make a numberplate from bark, if you want. The end result is a spectacular bike, perfect for going bumpity-bump over sandhills, past your fed-up mum and right through your mud-for-walls home. from goodreads

The Eve Pownall Award for Information Books

winner :

Amazing Animals of Australia's National Parks By Gina Newton 

With its enticing and colourful design and its fascinating information, this is a book that children will want to pour over-either at home, in the classroom or on a road trip.from goodreads

Honours :

A-Z of Endangered Animals by Jennifer Cossins

On this journey through the alphabet you will encounter some of the world's most beautiful, rare and endangered animals - from the majestic amur tiger and the curious kakapo, to the misunderstood Tasmanian devil and the shy zebra duiker. Come on an illustrated expedition through the animal kingdom with Tasmanian artist Jennifer Cossins. [Blurb] from goodreads

The Gigantic Book of Genes By Lorna Hendry 

Why do people in families look similar? How closely are related to your cousins, a chimpanzee and a banana? Whose fault is it if you can't roll your tongue? Find out in The Gigantic Book of Genes. [Back cover blurb]

Crichton Award

The Patchwork Bike by Van T Rudd (text by Maxine Beneba Clarke)

What's the best fun in the whole village? Riding the patchwork bike we made! A joyous picture book for children by award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke.

When you live in a village at the edge of the No-Go Desert, you need to make your own fun. That's when you and your brothers get inventive and build a bike from scratch, using everyday items like an old milk pot (maybe mum is still using it, maybe not) and a used flour sack. You can even make a numberplate from bark, if you want. The end result is a spectacular bike, perfect for going bumpity-bump over sandhills, past your fed-up mum and right through your mud-for-walls home. from goodreads

YABBA Awards Winners of 2016

The  winners for The YABBA (Young Australians Best book Awards) awards are :

Soon by Morris Glieztman

After the Nazis took my parents I was scared. After they killed my best friend I was angry. After I joined the partisans and helped defeat the Nazis I was hopeful. Soon, I said, we'll be safe. I was wrong.

Soon continues the incredibly moving story of Felix, a Jewish boy still struggling to survive in the wake of the liberation of Poland after the end of World War Two. from goodreads

65- storey tree house by Andy Griffths

Andy and Terry's amazing 65-Storey Treehouse now has a pet-grooming salon, a birthday room where it's always your birthday (even when it's not), a room full of exploding eyeballs, a lollipop shop, a quicksand pit, an ant farm, a time machine and Tree-NN: a 24-hour-a-day TV news centre keeping you up to date with all the latest treehouse news, current events and gossip. Well, what are you waiting for? Come on up!from goodreads

The Bad guys by Aaron Blabey

They sound like the Bad Guys, they look like the Bad Guys . . . and they even smell like the Bad Guys. But Mr Wolf, Mr Piranha, Mr Snake and Mr Shark are about to change all of that! Mr Wolf has a daring plan for the Bad Guys first good mission. The gang are going to break 200 dogs out of the Maximum Security City Dog Pound. Will Operation Dog Pound go smoothly? Will the Bad Guys become the Good Guys? And will Mr Snake please spit out Mr Piranha?from goodreads

Pig the Fibber by Aaron Blabey

He's back! But this time Pig, the world's greediest Pug, is teeling great big lies. Won't he ever learn? from goodreads

Inky awards winners

Last Week Inside a dog announced the Winners for the Inky awards..

The winners goes to.

2016 Gold Inky Award

 

 Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

One moment, Kady Grant and Ezra Mason have nothing bigger to worry about than each other. Specifically, avoiding each other in the wake of their messy break-up. In the next second, their entire world falls apart.from goodreads



 2016 Silver Inky Award

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

From the author of The Sky Is Every­where, a radiant novel that will leave you laughing and crying - all at once. For fans of John Green, Gayle Forman and Lauren Oliver. Jude and her twin Noah were incredibly close - until a tragedy drove them apart, and now they are barely speaking. Then Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy as well as a captivating new mentor, both of whom may just need her as much as she needs them. What the twins don't realize is that each of them has only half the story and if they can just find their way back to one another, they have a chance to remake their world. from goodreads

CBCA 2015 Winners

Here is the List of Children Book Council of Australia for 2015

 

Older readers:

The Proteceted by Claire Zorn

I have three months left to call Katie my older sister. Then the gap will close and I will pass her. I will get older. But Katie will always be fifteen, eleven months and twenty-one days old.

Hannah's world is in pieces and she doesn't need the school counsellor to tell her she has deep-seated psychological issues. With a seriously depressed mum, an injured dad and a dead sister, who wouldn't have problems?

Hannah should feel terrible but for the first time in ages, she feels a glimmer of hope and isn't afraid anymore. Is it because the elusive Josh is taking an interest in her? Or does it run deeper than that?

Honours

Nona & Me  by Clare Atkins

Rosie and Nona are sisters. Yapas.

They are also best friends. It doesn’t matter that Rosie is white and Nona is Aboriginal: their family connections tie them together for life.

Born just five days apart in a remote corner of the Northern Territory, the girls are inseperable, until Nona moves away at the age of nine. By the time she returns, they’re in Year 10 and things have changed. Rosie has lost interest in the community, preferring to hang out in the nearby mining town, where she goes to school with the glamorous Selena, and Selena’s gorgeous older brother Nick

 

 

The Minnow by Diana Sweeney 

The Minnow  

Tom survived a devastating flood that claimed the lives of her sister and parents. Now she lives with Bill in his old shed by the lake. But it’s time to move out—Tom is pregnant with Bill’s baby.

Jonah lets her move in with him. Mrs Peck gives her the Fishmaster Super Series tackle box. Nana is full of gentle good advice and useful sayings.

And in her longing for what is los Tom survived a devastating flood that claimed the lives of her sister and parents. Now she lives with Bill in his old shed by the lake. But it’s time to move out—Tom is pregnant with Bill’s baby.

Jonah lets her move in with him. Mrs Peck gives her the Fishmaster Super Series tackle box. Nana is full of gentle good advice and useful sayings.

And in her longing for what is lost, Tom talks to fish: Oscar the carp in the pet shop, little Sarah catfish who might be her sister, an unhelpful turtle in a tank at the maternity ward. And the minnow.

The Minnow is a moving and powerful coming of age story with a whimsical element that belies the heartbreaking truth of grief and loss. Tom is a character you will never forget.

 

 

Younger Readers

 

The Cleo Stories: The Necklace and the Present  by Libby Gleeson

 

Cleo desperately wants a necklace. Her parents say special presents are only for birthdays...but Cleo doesn't want to wait. In the second story, it's her mum's birthday and Cleo doesn't know what to give her - until she has the best idea of all. Delightful, warm and irresistible, these stories show how a little girl with a big imagination can always find a way to have fun.

Honours

 

 

Two Wolves by Tristan Bancks

One afternoon, police officers show up at Ben Silver’s front door. Minutes after they leave, his parents arrive home. Ben and his little sister Olive are bundled into the car and told they’re going on a holiday. But are they?

It doesn’t take long for Ben to realise that his parents are in trouble. Ben’s always dreamt of becoming a detective – his dad even calls him ‘Cop’.

 

 

Withering By Sea  by Judith Rossell

High on a cliff above the gloomy coastal town of Withering-by-Sea stands the Hotel Majestic. Inside the walls of the damp, dull hotel, eleven-year-old orphan Stella Montgomery leads a miserable life with her three dreadful Aunts. But one night, Stella sees something she shouldn't have... Something that will set in motion and adventure more terrifying and more wonderful tha High on a cliff above the gloomy coastal town of Withering-by-Sea stands the Hotel Majestic. Inside the walls of the damp, dull hotel, eleven-year-old orphan Stella Montgomery leads a miserable life with her three dreadful Aunts. But one night, Stella sees something she shouldn't have... Something that will set in motion and adventure more terrifying and more wonderful than she could ever have hoped for...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early Childhood Winner

 

Go to Sleep, Jessie! by Libby Gleeson, Freya Blackwood (Illustrator) 

Go to Sleep, Jessie!  

If only Jessie would lie down. If only she would go to sleep. But nothing will settle her ... except maybe a little sisterly know-how.

Honours

 

 

Scary Night by Lesley Gibbes, Stephen Michael King (Illustrator)

Scary Night   

Once upon a scary night three friends set out on a journey. Hare with hat. Cat with a cake and Pig with Parcel. But where were they going in the dead of the night, tip-toe creeping in the pale moonlight? It was a mystery

 

 

 

 

 

Noni the Pony Goes to the Beach by Alison Lester

Noni the Pony Goes to the Beach  

Noni the Pony is friendly and funny. She loves going down to the beach when it's sunny. With her two very best friends Dave Dog and Coco the Cat, and the cows from next door, it's going to be a wonderful day.

 

Picture Book Winner

 

 

My Two Blankets by Irena Kobald, Freya Blackwood (Illustrator)

My Two Blankets  

Cartwheel has moved to a place that is so strange to her, she no longer feels like herself.
This is a story about new ways of speaking, new ways of living, new ways of being.

honour books

 

One Minute's Silence by David Metzenthen, Michael Camilleri (Illustrations)

One Minute's Silence  

A moving and powerful story about the meaning of Remembrance Day, drawing on the Australian and Turkish battle at Gallipoli

On the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, David Metzenthen asks, "What is the true meaning of remembering?"This is apowerful and moving picture book for older readers about the "one minute's silence" observed in Australia on Remembrance Da A moving and powerful story about the meaning of Remembrance Day, drawing on the Australian and Turkish battle at Gallipoli

On the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, David Metzenthen asks, "What is the true meaning of remembering?" This is a powerful and moving picture book for older readers about the "one minute's silence" observed in Australia on Remembrance Day, and what Gallipoli means to Australians in this context. By showing both sides of the conflict—Aussie and Turk—he encourages readers to think about all those who have fallen, and by using this iconic battle—one of the few to have brought two nations closer together—he suggests another perspective on Gallipoli.

 

 

 

The Stone Lion by Margaret Wild, Rita Voutila (Illustrator) 

The Stone Lion  

Sometimes statues are granted a chance to become warm, breathing creatures. The stone lion has only one dream u to run, pounce and leap in the park across from where he sits. But one snowy night, when a baby is abandoned at his paws, he is compelled to think differently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indie Award Winners For 2015

The  Indie awards winners are for 2015 here is the winners:

The Bush By Don Watson

Most Australians live in cities and cling to the coastal fringe, yet our sense of what an Australian is – or should be – is drawn from the vast and varied inland called the bush. But what do we mean by 'the bush', and how has it shaped us?

This book is the winner for the Non Fiction Section.

 

Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett

Colt Jenson and his younger brother Bastian live in a world of shiny, new things – skateboards, slot cars, train sets and even the latest BMX. Their affluent father, Rex, has made sure that they'll be the envy of the new, working-class suburb they've moved to.

Winner of the fiction section

2014 Inky awards winners are;

The State Library of Victoria have announced the inky awards for 2014 and they are:

 

2014 Gold Inky Award winner is :

The First Third by Will Kostakis


Life is made up of three parts: in the first third, you're embarrassed by your family; in the second, you make a family of your own; and in the end, you just embarrass the family you've made.

That's how Billy's grandmother explains it, anyway. She's given him her bucket list (cue embarrassment), and now, it's his job to glue their family back together.

 

 

 

2014 Silver Inky Award winner :

All the Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry

Four years ago, Judith and her best friend disappeared from their small town of Roswell Station. Two years ago, only Judith returned, permanently mutilated, reviled and ignored by those who were once her friends and family. Unable to speak, Judith lives like a ghost in her own home, silently pouring out her thoughts to the boy who’s owned her heart as long as she can remember—even if he doesn’t know it—her childhood friend, Lucas. But when Roswell Station is attacked, long-buried secrets come to light, and Judith is forced to choose: continue to live in silence, or recover her voice, even if it means changing her world, and the lives around her, forever. This startlingly original novel will shock and disturb you; it will fill you with Judith’s passion and longing; and its mysteries will keep you feverishly turning the pages until the very last

CBCA Winners for 2014

I am sorry I took so long.. Here are the winners and honours of the CBCA for 2014

 

Winner of the older readers is:

Title: wildlife

 

Boarding for a term in the wilderness, sixteen-year-old Sibylla expects the gruesome outdoor education program – but friendship complications, and love that goes wrong? They’re extra-curricula.

Enter Lou from Six Impossible Things – the reluctant new girl for this term in the great outdoors. Fragile behind an implacable mask, she is grieving a death that occurred almost a year ago. Despite herself, Lou becomes intrigued by the unfolding drama between her housemates Sibylla and Holly, and has to decide whether to end her self-imposed detachment and join the fray.

And as Sibylla confronts a tangle of betrayal, she needs to renegotiate everything she thought she knew about surviving in the wild.

A story about first love, friendship and NOT fitting in.

 

 

 

Honours of the older readers are:

 

 

Title : fairytales for wilde girls

‘He's gone the same way as those little birds that bothered me with their awful songs! And you will too, you and your horrible heart-music, because you won't stay out of my woods!'
There's a dead girl in a birdcage in the woods. That's not unusual. Isola Wilde sees a lot of things other people don't. But when the girl appears at Isola's window, her every word a threat, Isola needs help.

Her real-life friends – Grape, James and new boy Edgar – make her forget for a while. And her brother-princes – the mermaids, faeries and magical creatures seemingly lifted from the pages of the French fairytales Isola idolises – will protect her with all the fierce love they possess.

It may not be enough.

Isola needs to uncover the truth behind the dead girl's demise and appease her enraged spirit, before the ghost steals Isola's last breath

Title : The Sky so Heavy

For Fin, it's just like any other day - racing for the school bus, bluffing his way through class, and trying to remain cool in front of the most sophisticated girl in his universe, Lucy. Only it's not like any other day because, on the other side of the world, nuclear missiles are being detonated.

Younger Readers winner goes to:

Title : A very Unsual Pursuit

Monsters have been infesting London's dark places for centuries, eating every child who gets too close. That's why ten-year-old Birdie McAdam works for Alfred Bunce, the bogler. With her beautiful voice and dainty looks, Birdie is the bait that draws bogles from their lairs so that Alfred can kill them.One life-changing day, Alfred and Birdie are approached by two very different women. Sarah Pickles runs a local gang of pickpockets, three of whom have disappeared. Edith Eames is an educated lady who's studying the mythical beasts of English folklore. Both of them threaten the only life Birdie's ever known.But Birdie soon realises she needs Miss Eames's help, to save her master, defeat Sarah Pickles, and vanquish an altogether nastier villain.Catherine Jinks, one of Australia's most inventive writers, has created a fast-paced and enthralling adventure story with edge-of-your-seat excitement and chills.

 

 

 

The  Young readers honours goes to:

 

 
 


Title : My life as an alphabet

This isn't just about me. It's also about the other people in my life - my mother, my father, my dead sister Sky, my penpal Denille, Rich Uncle Brian, Earth-Pig Fish and Douglas Benson From Another Dimension. These are people [with the exception of Earth-Pig Fish, who is a fish] who have shaped me, made me what I am. I cannot recount my life without recounting elements of theirs. This is a big task, but I am confident I am up to it.
Introducing Candice Phee: twelve years old, hilariously honest and a little ... odd. But she has a big heart, the very best of intentions and an unwavering determination to ensure everyone is happy. So she sets about trying to 'fix' all the problems of all the people [and pets] in her life

In 1914 Jim and Charlie abandon the Australian outback for the excitement and adventure of the war to end all wars. But in the Light Horse they quickly discover the brutal realities of life on the frontline. And nothing will ever be the same again.

Featuring stunning charcoal sketches by Brian Simmonds alongside primary source documents and historical photos, Light Horse Boy goes behind the scenes of the great ANZAC legends for an intimate look at their experience of World War I.In 1914 Jim and Charlie abandon the Australian outback for the excitement and adventure of the war to end all wars. But in the Light Horse they quickly discover the brutal realities of life on the frontline. And nothing will ever be the same again.

Featuring stunning charcoal sketches by Brian Simmonds alongside primary source documents and historical photos, Light Horse Boy goes behind the scenes of the great ANZAC legends for an intimate look at their experience of World War I.

 

 

Early Childhood Winner goes to

 

 

Title : The Swap

 Caroline Crocodile's baby brother dribbles. But all Mama crocodile Ever says is how Gorgeous he is. Caroline is very jealous.

So she goes to the Baby shop and tries to swap her dribbly brother for a new baby. The trouble is, there's just something not quite right with any of them...

Early Childhood Honours goes to

Title : I'm a dirty dinosaur

From award-winning illustrator Ann James and author Janeen Brian comes this gorgeous rhyming picture book about a naughty little dinosaur who loves to get dirty. Bright simple illustrations and rounded corners perfect for the very young.

Stomp, splash, slide, dive . . . .
This little dinosaur just loves mud!

 Title: Banjo and ruby red

Picture Book goes to:

Title Rules of summer

Combining humour and surreal fantasy, Shaun Tan pictures a summer in the lives of two boys. Each spread tells of an event and the lesson learned. By turns, these events become darker and more sinister as the boys push their games further and further.

 

Picture book honours goes to

Title: King Pig

King Pig can make the sheep do anything he pleases... But can he make them like him?

 

 

 

Title:  Silver Buttons

At 9:59 on a Thursday morning, Jodie draws a duck. As her pen hovers in the air, ready to add a silver button to the duck’s boot, her little brother Jonathan pushes to his feet, sways, and takes his first step. At the exact same moment, their mom plays a pennywhistle in the kitchen, a man buys fresh bread at the bakery, a baby is born, a soldier says good-bye to his mom, a granddad and granddaughter play with leaves in the park, a blackbird finds a worm. . . . From an ordinary scene of an apartment strewn with child’s artwork and toys to a bird’s-eye view of a city morning pulsing with life, Bob Graham celebrates a whole world-vision in a single moment, encouraging readers to stop, observe, and savor the world around them.

 

 

 

Eve Pownall Award for Information Books Winner

 

 Title: Jeremy
 A tiny kookaburra, only a few days old, falls out of his nest and is brought home by the family cat; the family name him "Jeremy". Luckily, Jeremy is a fighter and as the weeks go by he grows stronger and stronger, until the time comes when he must say goodbye. Based on a true story.

 Honours goes to for the Eve Pownall Award for Information Books

 Title: Ice, wind, Rock

Title : welcome to my country.
Come and spend some time with us at Bawaka. Get a taste of what it is like at different times of the year, and listen to our stories.

Laklak Burarrwanga and family invite you to their Country, centred on a beautiful beach in Arnhem Land. Its crystal waters are full of fish, turtle, crab and stingray, to hunt; the land behind has bush fruits, pandanus for weaving, wood for spears, all kinds of useful things. This country is also rich with meaning. 'We can go anywhere and see a river, hill, tree, rock telling a story.'

Here too is Laklak's own history, from her long walk across Arnhem Land as a child to her people's fight for land rights and for a say in their children's schooling. She and her family stand tall, a proud and successful Indigenous community.

In the Yolngu world, we have a library in the land. You can't destroy it. If you burn it, it grows again. The land is full of more knowledge than you can imagine.

Welcome to My Country is a beautifully warm, inviting experience. As soon as I read 'When the moon goes past you can see its reflection (in the water) like the inside of your heart', I knew this would be a very special read. Being immersed in an 'experience' is the way I would describe this book. It is an enticing journey into the heart of Yolngu life, in all its wonder across the physical, artistic and spiritual world. I love the conversational style - we walk, talk and sit down with family on every page. Lovely. - Ros Moriarty, author of Listening to Country