CBCA Book of the Year Shortlisted Books Younger Readers Catergory

1. CBCA Book of the Year
Younger Readers
Short list

2. 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'. Now Ben
gathers evidence and tries to uncover
what his parents have done.
The problem is, if he figures it out, what
does he do? Tell someone? Or keep the
secret and live life on the run?
• http://www.randomhouse.com.au/book
s/tristan-bancks/two-wolves-
9780857982032.aspx

3. The Simple Things by Bill Condon;
Illustrations Beth Norling
• Stephen has never met his great aunt Lola, and he
doesn't want to. She sends him money twice a year
and he always writes back, but Lola is almost eighty -
what will they have to talk about? When they arrive
at her house, Stephen discovers she's grumpy, scary
and really, really old. He wants to turn around and go
home, but his mum says they have to stay until Lola's
birthday - three weeks away.
Left to his own devices, Stephen learns about the
simple things in life - like fishing, and cricket, and
climbing trees - and the importance of family. Soon
Lola entrusts Stephen with a great secret, and he
realises that Lola has become more important to him
than just an aunt who sends him money - she's now
a friend.
• https://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=
511&book=9781743317242

4. • 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.
• http://www.allenandunwin.com/
default.aspx?page=94&book=97
81743315279

5. • Jesse is an eleven-year-old boy
tackling many problems in life,
especially fitting in to a new school.
Luckily he meets Kate. She has
curly black hair, braces and an
infectious smile. She wants to
‘Save the Whales’ and needs
Jesse’s help.
But they haven’t counted on
Hunter, the school bully, who
appears to enjoy hurling insults at
random.
With Hunter’s catchphrase ‘Ha!’
echoing through the school,
something or someone has to give.
•
ghttp://www.uqp.uq.edu.au/book.aspx/1288/Bl
eakboy%20and%20Hunter%20Stand%20Out
%20in%20the%20Rainive.

6. FIGGY IN THEWORLD
by Janu Tamsin
• Figgy has the most fantastic outlook on life.
She really only has one complaint, and that’s
her unusual name. The rest of her
considerable energy is spent pondering the
big wide world, until one day her thoughts
are taken over by a conversation she
overhears in which she learns that her
beloved grandmother, who’s raised her, is
very sick. So begins Figgy’s quest to travel
from Ghana to America, where she’s heard
she can get the best medicine. Her only
companions are her pet goat and a boy her
age who becomes like a brother.
• http://www.readings.com.au/review/figgy-
in-the-world-by-tamsin-janu

7. • 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 an
adventure more terrifying
and more wonderful than
she could ever have hoped
for ...
• http://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460701904/withering
-by-sea-a-stella-montgomery-intrigue