Media Release - Hall of Fame Award and Book of the Year winners announced

The Book of the Year concept was an idea proposed by a member of Speech Pathology Australia.  Speech Pathology Australia awarded the inaugural Book of the Year in 2003 and Council endorsed the award as an annual event.

The intention of Book of the Year is to:

• Enhance people’s awareness of the role speech pathologists play in literacy development.
• Gradually develop a nationally recognised pool of books that speech pathologists can recommend for the development of oral language and speech and/or sound awareness.
• Promote the Association with the Book of the Year award ceremony.

View the list of Books which have been nominated.

The ceremony for the award winners, Wednesday 26 July in Brisbane, was a very successful night, celebrating the authors, their books’ promotion of literacy development and the joy of reading.

And the winners are .....

Hall Of Fame - CHILDREN’S LANGUAGE & LITERATURE AWARD 2006

Speech Pathology Australia annually presents an award to an Australian writer who has made a sustained and high quality commitment to the promotion of children’s language and literature.

                  

Colin Thiele exemplifies this strong commitment to Australian literature. He has published almost 80 books across numerous genres including poetry, prose, fiction, drama, critical analysis, history and biography. He has also worked tirelessly over many years to share his love of stories and of writing with countless children through workshops and appearances in schools and communities.  Some of his stories have been transcribed and produced as movies - one of his best-loved being Storm Boy.
His work has won many awards and citations of merit and has been translated and published extensively overseas.  We are honoured to celebrate the work and talents of Colin Thiele.

 Acceptance Speech: Colin Thiele

BEST BOOK FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Young Children

Annie’s Chair written and illustrated by
Deborah Niland (Penguin/Viking)

Annie’s Chair, through the use of clear and colourful pictures, simple language and repetition, clear portrayal of emotions, a good sprinkle of humour and an ultimate social message about compromise and sharing, explores a concept familiar to all young children – the idea of ‘MINE’ and what to do when things don’t go your way, when you don’t get what you want.

 Acceptance Speech: Deborah Niland

BEST BOOK FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Lower Primary children

The Postman’s Dog written by Lisa Shanahan, illustrated by Wayne Harris  (Allen & Unwin)

The Postman’s Dog is a warm, engaging story of friendship and belonging. Through the use of repetition and a straightforward plot, beautiful pictures and simple language, it explores the sense of community within a multicultural society in a way that young children can relate to, and connects children with real life events that stir emotions and actions that ultimately lead to happy endings.

 Acceptance Speech: Lisa Shanahan

BEST BOOK FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Upper Primary children

Naked Bunyip Dancing written by Steven Herrick, illustrated by Beth Norling  (Allen & Unwin)

Using language and expressions common in 8-12 year olds, Naked Bunyip Dancing encourages children to identify their own talents and strengths, deals openly with issues facing children in upper primary and presents an engaging read in the guise of a lengthy novel for both weak and good readers.

 Acceptance Speech: Steven Herrick

Poster – Book of the Year award winners 2006

For further information about the Book of the Year awards, please contact Caroline Huze: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone
03 9642 4899.