This document provides summaries of 7 books that have been shortlisted for the CBCA Younger Readers awards in 2017. It includes brief descriptions of the plots of Rockhopping by Trace Balla, Within These Walls by Robyn Bavati, A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee, Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr, Mrs Whitlam by Bruce Pascoe, and Captain Jimmy Cook Discovers Third Grade by Phil Cummings. The summaries range from 2 to 4 sentences and highlight the key characters, settings, and storylines of each book.

1. CBCA Shortlisted
Younger Readers
2017

2. Rockhopping by Trace Balla
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…
https://www.readings.com.au/products/
20983965/rockhopping

3. WITHIN THESE WALLS BY Robyn Bavati
Whatever is coming, we'll face it
together,as a family. As long as we're
together, we'll be okay. For Miri and her
family, life in Warsaw is full of simple
joys. But when the Germans march into
Warsaw with their campaign of hatred
against the Jews, Miri and her family
must move to the ghetto. One by one
her family are taken from her, and Miri
finds herself alone.
Based on true events, WITHIN THESE
WALLS gives a realistic account of what it
was like to be a Jewish child in Warsaw
during the Holocaust.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29856083-within-
these-walls

4. A MOST MAGICALGIRL
by Karen Foxlee
Annabel Grey is primed for a
proper life as a young lady in
Victorian England. But when
her mother suddenly
disappears, she’s put in the
care of two eccentric aunts
who thrust her into a
decidedly un-ladylike life, full
of potions and flying
broomsticks and wizards who
eat nothing but crackers.
Magic, indeed! Who ever
heard of such a thing?
This is a bewitching tale of
one important wand and two
most magical girls.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2
2707152-a-most-magical-girl

5. 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?
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.

6. Mrs Whitlam by
Bruce Pascoe
Marnie Clark of Curdie Vale can ride but
she doesn’t have a horse. She dreams of
owning one and having the whole world
to ride it in. Before too long Marnie is
gifted Mrs Margaret ‘Maggie’ Whitlam, a
beautiful, big Clydesdale – bold, fearless
and able to jump anything.
From the very first ride, Marnie and
Maggie get more adventure than they
bargained for. Soon Marnie is learning to
negotiate newfound friendships, pony
club and how to stand up for what she
believes in.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30342297-mrs-
whitlam

7. 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.
Big dreams come with a big price,
but no price is too big for Captain
Jimmy Cook, especially if it means
beating the world's most
annoying person, Alice Toolie.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29985754-
captain-jimmy-cook-discovers-third-grade