And the Queensland Literary Award for a Children’s Book goes to…

As Queenslanders we are very lucky to have a thriving arts community with numerous excellence awards recognising creativity in the state. One such award is the Queensland Literary Awards managed by State Library in collaboration with the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.  

The Queensland Literary Awards are made up of 8 awards for published books and 4 awards for emerging work. One of the categories for published work is the Children’s Book Award for an outstanding work by an Australian writer suitable for children up to 12 years of age. 

When deciding which books to borrow from your local library, why not consider one of the shortlisted picture books from the last few years? Here are just a few: 

• The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name written by Sandhya Parappukkaran and illustrated by Michelle Pereira: When the little boy in this story starts a new school, he changes his name to Zim – but it just doesn’t feel right. His name isn’t Zim … it’s Zimdalamashkermishkada! This is a lovely book about complex cultural heritage and the power of friendship.  

• My Deadly Boots written by Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler and illustrated by Samantha Campbell: Can the shoes on your feet make you jump higher? Walk taller? Dream bigger? This is a bright and joyous, empowering story about finding confidence within yourself, boots or no boots. 

• How to Make a Bird written by Meg McKinlay and illustrated by Matt Ottley: The girl in this book wants to build a bird. She collects things that inspire her from nature, slowly builds her bird, and then lets it fly free. An unusual, philosophical picture book that perfectly captures both the process and magic of being creative.    

While these books range for readers aged 3+, there is no such thing as being too young for books! When little ones play and engage physically with books, they are taking the very first steps in early literacy development. As families, we can model book handling skills such as holding a book the right way up, print orientation and page turning, and children will learn these important skills by watching us. 

For more information about how you can support your child’s health and wellbeing, and to keep up with all the exciting news about First 5 Forever, subscribe to our free monthly tips or visit a First 5 Forever session at your local library. And remember, you’re never too young to be a member of the library – you can join your little one up from birth and borrow any of the excellent titles on the Queensland Literary Awards shortlists.  

The Queensland Literary Awards close for submissions on 12 April and the shortlist will be announced on 1 August.