Children book council of Australia shortlist 2018 Older readers

Sorry I haven't been around lately. but here is the Shortlisted books for the CBCA Older Readers.

MALLEE BOYS Archbold, Charlie Wakefield Press ISBN: 9781743055007

IN THE DARK SPACES Black, Cally Hardie Grant Egmont ISBN: 9781760128647

TAKE THREE GIRLS Crowley, Cath & Wood, Fiona & Howell, Simmone

BECAUSE OF YOU Harry, Pip

THE SECRET SCIENCE OF MAGIC Keil, Melissa

BALLAD FOR A MAD GIRL Wakefield, Vikki

Yabba awards shortlisted 2017 part two

Second part of the YABBA short listed

Fiction for Older Readers

Exploding Endings: Painted Dogs And Doom Cakes  Tim Harris

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What are the 79 wackiest excuses for being late to school?

How do you stop a maniac dentist from terrorising children?

Why is the new smartphone so ridiculously dumb?
And what does it take to get every single student at Milford Junior School put on detention?
Find out in this hilarious collection of short stories. from goodreads 

Grimsdon by Deborah Abela

This book is also in a series
Grimsdon is in ruins. Three years ago a massive wave broke its barriers and the sea flooded this grand city. Most were saved, some were lost – and some were left behind.
Isabella Charm and her best friend, Griffin, live with three other children in the top of an opulent mansion. They’ve survived with the help of Griffin’s brilliant inventions, Isabella’s fighting skills and their vow to look after each other.
But what will happen when a newcomer arrives in his flying machine? Grimsdon is full of hidden perils, from bounty hunters to sneaker waves. Could Xavier’s daredevil risks put all their lives in danger? from publisher 

Keeper Of The Crystals: Eve and Last Dragon byJess Black & Celeste Hulme

Eve has been urgently summoned to her gran’s house to open a wooden box – the box that Eve and Oscar have been warned never to touch. A crystal dragon figurine thrusts the two friends into a world where fire-breathing dragons are hunted down by a ruthless dragon slayer. Can Eve and Oscar befriend these creatures and save them from extinction? from goodreads 

My Dead Bunny by Sigi Cohen & James Foley

“My dead bunny’s name is Brad;
his odour is extremely bad.
He visits me when I’m in bed,
but Bradley wasn’t always dead ...”

A hilarious rhyming tale about a zombie bunny who comes back to visit his owner.from goodreads 

Our Australian Girl: Nellie’s Quest by Penny Matthews & Lucia Masciullo

It's 1850 and Nellie's best friend, Mary, is gravely ill. To provide Mary with the care she needs, Nellie must break a promise and go on a quest to find the Thompson family. But will they be able to help? And who will Nellie turn to when her own life is in danger?

Follow Nellie on her adventure in the third of four exciting stories about an Irish girl with a big heart, in search of the freedom to be herself. from goodreads 

Our Australian Girl: Rose In Bloom by Sherryl Clark & Lucia Masciullo

The Federation celebrations are fast approaching but Rose hardly has time to get excited - so many other marvellous things are happening in her world, including her first real cricket match! But then she has a nasty accident, her best friend disappears and Aunt Alice is thrown in gaol. Can Rose still fight for what's right when everything around her is falling apart?

Rose's journey concludes in this, the exciting final instalment of four books about a Federation girl who's determined to do things her way!from goodreads 

The 78-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton

The brand new book in the bestselling Treehouse series!
Join Andy and Terry in their spectacular new 78-storey treehouse. They've added 13 new levels including a drive-thru car wash, a combining machine, a scribbletorium, an ALL-BALL sports stadium, Andyland, Terrytown, a high-security potato chip storage facility and an open-air movie theatre. Well, what are you waiting for? Come on up!from goodreads 

The Impossible Quest: Escape From Wolfhaven Castle by Kate Forsyth

This  is the first book in the series. 
Tell your lord to beware;
the wolves smell danger in the wind . . .

Wolfhaven Castle has been attacked, and only four escape capture... Tom, trained to scrub pots, not fight; Elanor, the lord's daughter; Sebastian, a knight in training; and Quinn, the witch's apprentice.

Somehow, if they are to save their people, these unlikely heroes must find four magical beasts from legend and awaken the sleeping warriors of the past. But first, they have to make it out of the castle alive...from goodreads 

The Ivory Rose by Belinda Murrell

Jemma has just landed her first job, babysitting Sammy. It's in Rosethorne, one of the famous witches' houses near where she lives. Sammy says the house is haunted by a sad little girl, but Jemma doesn't know what to believe.

One day when the two girls are playing hide and seek, Jemma discovers a rose charm made of ivory. As she touches the charm she sees a terrifying flashback. Is it the moment the ghost was murdered? Jemma runs for her life, falling down the stairs and tumbling into unconsciousness.

She wakes up in 1895, unable to get home. Jemma becomes an apprentice maidservant at Rosethorne - but all is not well in the grand house. Young heiress Georgiana is constantly sick. Jemma begins to suspect Georgiana is being poisoned, but who would poison her, and why? Jemma must find the proof in order to rescue her friend - before time runs out.from goodreads 

The Other Christy by Oliver Phommavanh

For the last two years, Christy Ung has been in the same class as the loud-mouthed Christie Owens -- and now it's 3rd time unlucky in 6C.

Christie Owens is the popular one so everybody calls Christy Ung, the Other Christy. She moved from Cambodia in Year 4 and is still a loner at school.

Christy's one solace is baking with her Auntie who suggests they bake a cake for Christy to share with her class on her birthday. Maybe a sweet treat can win them over and Christy might find a friend. She just didn't expect it to be Christie.

When Christie is ditched by her besties, the two girls who share a name strike an unlikely friendship. Christy lets down her guard, revealing secrets about her weird upbringing with her clean-obsessed Grandpa. But Christy soon realises that she and her new friend are worlds apart. Can she ever shake off her Grandpa's strange habits? And will the two girls ever have more in common than just their name?from goodreads 

Fiction for Years 7-9

• Carnage by  Michael Adams

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• second book in the seven signs series. 
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• Cry Blue Murder by  Kim Kane & Marion Roberts

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• Will anyone hear you cry?
  
  Celia and Alice share everything – their secrets, hopes and the increasing horror that a killer is on the loose and abducting schoolgirls just like them. Three bodies have been found, each shrouded in hand-woven fabric.
  
  From within the depths of a police investigation, clues are starting to emerge. But as Alice and Celia discover the truth, danger is closer than anyone knows. Who can you trust at a time like this?from goodreads 
  

• Every Breath by  Ellie Marney

This is the first book in the Every series. 

Rachel Watts has just moved to Melbourne from the country, but the city is the last place she wants to be.

James Mycroft is her neighbour, an intriguingly troubled seventeen-year-old who's also a genius with a passion for forensics.

Despite her misgivings, Rachel finds herself unable to resist Mycroft when he wants her help investigating a murder. He's even harder to resist when he's up close and personal - and on the hunt for a cold-blooded killer.

When Rachel and Mycroft follows the murderer's trail, they find themselves in the lion's den - literally. A trip to the zoo will never have quite the same meaning again...from goodreads 

• Freedom Ride by Sue Lawson

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Robbie knows bad things happen in Walgaree. But it’s nothing to do with him. That’s just the way the Aborigines have always been treated. In the summer of 1965 racial tensions in the town are at boiling point, and something headed Walgaree’s way will blow things apart. It’s time for Robbie to take a stand. Nothing will ever be the same.from goodreads 

Laurinda  by Alice Pung

'Nothing has a stronger hold over a girl than the fear of the thoughts of her peers – thoughts that change five times in a day. No wonder things are so complicated with teenagers.'—Alice Pung, Laurinda

Laurinda is an exclusive school for girls. At its hidden centre of power is The Cabinet, a triangle of girls who wield power over their classmates – and some of their teachers.

Entering this world of wealth and secrets is Lucy Lam, a scholarship girl with sharp eyes and a shaky sense of self. As she watches The Cabinet in action, and is courted by them – as she learns about power and repression – Lucy finds herself in a battle for her identity and integrity.from goodreads 

One True Thing by Nicole Hayes

When is a secret not a secret? When your whole life is public.

Frankie is used to being a politician's daughter, but it's election time, so life's crazier than usual. Add a best friend who's being weirdly distant, a brother to worry about, and the fact that Frankie's just humiliated herself in front of a hot guy - who later turns up at band practice to interview her about her music.

Jake seems to like Frankie - really like her. But then everything crumbles. Photos appear of Frankie's mum having secret meetings with a younger man - and she refuses to tell the public why. With her family falling apart around her, Frankie is determined to find out the truth - even if it means losing Jake.from goodreads 

• Pennies For Hitler by Jackie French

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It′s 1939, and for Georg, son of an English academic living in Germany, life is full of cream cakes and loving parents. It is also a time when his teacher measures the pupils′ heads to see which of them have the most ′Aryan′- shaped heads. But when a university graduation ceremony turns into a pro-Nazi demonstration, Georg is smuggled out of Germany to war-torn London and then across enemy seas to Australia where he must forget his past and who he is in order to survive.from goodreads 

Risk  by Fleur Ferris

Taylor and Sierra have been best friends for their whole lives. But Taylor’s fed up. Why does Sierra always get what – and who – she wants? From kissing Taylor’s crush to stealing the guy they both met online for herself, Sierra doesn’t seem to notice when she hurts her friends.

So when Sierra says Jacob Jones is the one and asks her friends to cover for her while she goes to meet him for the first time, Taylor rolls her eyes.

But Sierra doesn’t come back when she said she would.from goodreads 

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.

No pressure or anything.

Fixing his family's not going to be easy and Billy's not ready for change. But as he soon discovers, the first third has to end some time. And then what?from goodreads 

Through My Eyes: Naveed  by John Heffernan & Ed. Lyn White

Naveed is sick of war - of the foreign powers and the Taliban, the warlords and the drug barons that together have torn Afghanistan apart. He's had to grow up quickly to take care of his widowed mother and little sister, making what little money he can doing odd jobs and selling at the markets. When he adopts Nasera, a street dog with extraordinary abilities, he has a chance to help rebuild his country. But will a new friend's betrayal crush his dreams of peace forever?

Was the blast real? Perhaps it had only happened in his head, a bad dream. Demons of the dark, his father had called them. 'Push them away. They'll only poison your thoughts. Seek the light and they can't hurt you.'

The explosion jolts him awake. He sits up, gasping for air, heart thumping.
Description

heartfelt story of a teenage boy living in the conflict zone of Afghanistan.from goodreads 

YABBA shortlist 2017 Part one

Here is part one of the YABBA shortlisted for 2017

Picture Story Books

Circle by  Jeannie Baker

Each year, bar-tailed godwits undertake the longest migration of any bird, flying from Australia and New Zealand to their breeding grounds in the Arctic and back again. They follow invisible pathways — pathways that have been followed for thousands of years — while braving hunger and treacherous conditions to reach their destination. In Circle, Jeannie Baker follows the godwit’s incredible flight, taking us over awe-inspiring scenes as the birds spread their wings above such beautiful landmarks as the Great Barrier Reef and China’s breathtaking cityscapes. from goodreads

Do Not Open This Book  by Andy Lee & Heath McKenzie

This guy will do anything for you not to open this book!
Threats, bribes, reverse psychology – you name it!
A hilarious new book from radio extraordinaire and all-round funny guy, Andy Lee.
Young readers will love doing everything they’re asked not to!from goodreads

Fire  by Jackie French & Bruce Whatley

One small spark brought fire awake,
Winding like a small black snake,
Fire flickered, fire crept,
Flames snickered, bushfire leapt...
Inspired by the bushfires that have affected many Australians, Fire is a moving and sensitive story of a natural disaster as seen through the eyes of a cockatoo. The fire mercilessly engulfs homes and land, leaving a devastating path of destruction. from goodreads

Lilli-Pilli’s Sister by Anna Branford & Linda Catchlove

Lilli-Pilli’s mother is having a baby. Lilli-Pilli is sure the baby is going to be a sister. She can feel it in her wings. from goodreads

Mr Chicken Arriva A Roma by  Leigh Hobbs

Mr Chicken has been to Paris and London, but his taste for travel is insatiable - now it's time to visit Rome, a city of ancient wonders and delicious things to eat. From the hilarious mind of the 2016-2017 Australian Children's Laureate. from goodreads

Mr Huff by  Anna Walker

Award-winning and much-loved author and illustrator Anna Walker gives us a gentle, poignant, affirming and wise picture book sure to delight all ages. Mr. Huff is a story about the clouds and the sunshine in each of our lives. Bill is having a bad day. Mr Huff is following him around and making everything seem difficult. Bill tries to get rid of him, but Mr Huff just gets bigger and bigger! Then they both stop, and a surprising thing happens...from goodreads

Pig The Winner by Aaron Blabey

Pig was a pug and I'm sorry to say if he didn't come first it would ruin his day. Won't he ever learn?

Pig, the world's greediest Pug, won't play fair. He'll do anything to win! from goodreads

Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas by Aaron Blabey

‘Hey there guys. Would you like a banana?’
‘What’s wrong with you, Brian? You’re a piranha.’

Brian loves bananas. Trouble is, Brian’s a piranha. And his friends aren’t happy about his fondness for fruit...from goodreads

The Fabulous Friend Machine by Nick Bland

Popcorn is, quite simply, the friendliest chicken at Fiddlesticks farm! When she finds a Fabulous Friend Machine in the barn, she sets about making some brand new friends. But behind the screen of the Fabulous Friend Machine, maybe her new friends are not so friendly after all... from goodreads

What Do They Do With All The Poo From All The Animals at the Zoo? by Anh Do & Laura Wood

What do they do with all the poo, from all the animals at the zoo?

The hippos, the tigers, the kangaroos - what do they do with all that poo?

There's so much poo at the zoo... Where does it all go?

Do they mix it into chocolate ice-cream?

Sprinkle it on pizza?

Stir it in the local swimming pool?

With the hilarious bonus CD recording, you can sing along in search of the stinky truth. from goodreads

Fiction for Younger Readers

Alice Miranda In China by  Jacqueline Harvey

When a surprise letter arrives at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for Proper Young Ladies offering a cultural exchange to Beijing, Alice-Miranda and her friends are quick to sign up. They can’t wait to experience the delights of one of the world’s busiest cities! While there, the visitors will attend The Bright Star Academy and be billeted among the local students. Excitingly, Alice-Miranda and Jacinta are placed with a family who own one of the most famous acrobatic circus troupes in China. Their shows are spectacular but on closer inspection it appears that attempts are being made to sabotage the performances.  from goodreads

Billie B Brown:The Bad Butterfly By  Sally Rippin & Aki Fukuoka

Billie has started ballet classes. She is sure she'll be a great dancer! But is Billie really cut out to be a ballerina? from goodreads

EJ Spy School: Puppy Alert by Susannah McFarlane & Dyani Stagg

Emma Jacks is Agent EJ10. She goes to Spy School. EJ10 is learning how to rescue animals, but a puppy goes missing ... Can EJ10 find her?

EJ Spy School introduces the hugely popular character Emma Jacks as she first joins the secret agency SHINE spy school and starts to train as a SHINE agent.

With careful choice of age appropriate words and concepts, and sentence and chapter lengths, EJ Spy School is the perfect series to help build reading confidence and enjoyment for beginner readers. from goodreads

Ella And Olivia: The Christmas Surprise  By Yvette Poshoglian & Danielle McDonald.

Meet Ella and Olivia. Big sister. Little sister. Best friends. Ella and Olivia are sisters. Ella is seven years old. Olivia is five-and-a-half years old. They live with their mum and dad and little brother Max. Ella and Olivia can't wait until Christmas! But will their secret plan to open their presents early ruin the Christmas surprise? from goodreads

Ella Diaries: Friendship S.O.S  By Meredith Costain & Danielle McDonald

Ella is on holiday on a LUXURY cruise. It's going to be AMAZING – swimming

pools, shopping mall, ice skating and NO school for a week! Best of all, Zoe

is coming too! But then a friendship catastrophe strikes and Ella's perfect

holiday looks doomed! Can she find a new cruise BFF? Or will this voyage. from goodreads

Hotdog!  by Anh Do & Dan McGuiness

The Bad Guys Episode 2: Mission Unpluckable 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. from goodreads

The Gateway: Midnight Mercenary Cereberus Jones & Craig Phillips

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It's a dark and stormy night at the Gateway Hotel, and the latest intergalactic visitor is the most terrifying yet. Why has he come? Who is he after? With their families and the hotel in grave danger, it's up to Amelia and Charlie to save the day …from goodreads

WeirDo: Mega Weird! Anh Do & Jules Faber

Life for WeirDo is MEGA BUSY! He’s planning on making MEGA bucks from the Street Garage Sale, plus he’s helping Bella write a winning song! And is that a dusty dino bone in the corner? It won’t be easy . . . but it will be funny! from goodreads

You Choose: Alien Invaders from Beyond the Stars by George Ivanoff

Do you have what it takes to save the world? Or will the aliens unleash their ultimate weapon

You see strange lights in the sky. It's a flying saucer, just like in the movies. Inside are lizard aliens - disguised as humans. They have come to invade planet Earth! You want to resist, but your actions may lead to the destruction of humankind . . .

Protector of planet Earth or abduction by extraterrestrials!from goodreads

Miles Franklin Literacy Awards shortlisted 2017

Here are the shortlisted books for the Miles Franklin awards

Extinctions By Josephine wilson

'He hated the word 'retirement', but not as much as he hated the word 'village', as if ageing made you a peasant or a fool.' Herein lives the village idiot. Professor Frederick Lothian, retired engineer, world expert on concrete, and connoisseur of modernist design, has quarantined himself from life by moving to a retirement village. His wife, Martha, is dead and his two adult children are lost to him in their own ways. from goodreads

Last days of Ava Langdon By Mark O'Flynn

It’s been twenty years since Ava Langdon published her much-lauded novel The Apple Pickers, but today could very well be the day her genius is finally recognised again. Armed with a freshly completed manuscript, a yellow cravat and a machete, Ava strides out into the world in the hope of being published – and so the adventure begins. Despite being dismissed as an eccentric – or worse – by the world around her, and battling poverty and age, Ava’s internal world remains vivid; her purpose, clear. from goodreads

Their Brilliant Careers: The Fantastic Lives of Sixteen Extraordinary Australian Writers By Ryan O'Neill

In Their Brilliant Careers, Ryan O’Neill has written a hilarious novel in the guise of sixteen biographies of (invented) Australian writers. Meet Rachel Deverall, who discovers the secret female source of the great literature of our time – and pays a terrible price for her discovery. Meet Rand Washington, hugely popular sci-fi author (of Whiteman of Cor) and holder of extreme views on race and gender. Meet Addison Tiller, the master of the bush yarn, “The Chekhov of Coolabah”, who has never travelled outside Sydney. from goodreads

An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire

When 25-year-old Bella Michaels is brutally murdered in the small town of Strathdee, the community is stunned and a media storm descends.

Unwillingly thrust into the eye of that storm is Bella's beloved older sister, Chris, a barmaid at the local pub, whose apparent easygoing nature conceals hard-won wisdom and the kind of street-smarts only experience can bring.

As Chris is plunged into despair and searches for answers, reasons, explanation - anything - that could make even the smallest sense of Bella's death, her ex-husband, friends and neighbours do their best to support her. But as the days tick by with no arrest, Chris's suspicion of those around her grows. from goodreads

Waiting by Philip Salom

Big is a hefty cross-dresser and Little is little. Both are long used to the routines of boarding house life in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, but Little, with the prospect of an inheritance, is beginning to indulge in the great Australian dream, which has Big worried. Little's cousin, Angus, is a solitary man who designs lake-scapes for city councils, and strangely constructed fireproof houses for the bushfire zone. A handy man, he meets Jasmin an academic who races in her ideas as much as in her runners. Her head is set on publishing books on semiotics and her heart is turned towards her stalled personal life. All four are waiting, for something if not someone.  from goodreads