book of the year

Media Release - Book of the Year winners announced

Poster - Book of the Year award winners 2008

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.

List of nominated books for 2008

The ceremony for the award winners, Tuesday 26 August in Adelaide, celebrates the authors, their books’ promotion of literacy development and the joy of reading.

And the winners are…

Best Book for Language Development:

Young Children 2-5 years

 

Is Your Grandmother a Goanna? By Pamela Allen

One day a little boy sets out on a train to visit his grandmother. But at each station he is met by a different animal… ‘No!’ his grandmother is not a gorilla, an elephant, a walrus – or a goanna!
Chuffa, Chuffa, Chuffa, Chuffa, the train steams on, until finally there she is at the very last station.
Playful and engaging, using fun sound effects, clever rhyme and deliberate repetition, this book is designed to be read aloud and shared.  Children are encouraged to use their own language to actively participate at each station and are kept entertained by the outrageous suggestions of who the boy’s grandmother might be.
Use the beautiful illustrations to chat with your children about the journey and the larger-than-life characters who appear.   Join the fun and make plenty of noise on this surprising train journey!  
(Penguin Group Australia)

Best Book for Language Development:

Lower Primary 5-8 years

Going Bush By Nadia Wheatley & Ken Searle

Going Bush is the result of the ‘Harmony Project’ of author Nadia Wheatley and artist Ken Searle with children of various backgrounds.  As well as experiencing the harmony of the environment, the children learnt about the harmony between the traditional owners and the land, and found harmony in friendship, communication and collaboration.
The book showcases the children’s journey through their own words, poems, illustrations, and photography, embroidered with the narrative voice of Nadia Wheatley and the art of Ken Searle.
We should have harmony among people who live on this beautiful planet. We should make friends with people we don’t know. We should play, share and have trust with everyone. - Mohammed
Going Bush encourages in-depth discussion about environmental and political issues and demonstrates the power of open communication to break down barriers.   
(Allen & Unwin)

Best Book for Language Development:

Upper Primary   8-12 years

Stride's Summer By Jenni Overend

The telephone was hanging loosely from her hand.
‘Mum?’ Stride’s voice was low and throbbed in his throat. ‘Mum?’...
She didn’t answer.

Stride must overcome more than just his grief at the loss of his father - he has to learn to let go, trust others and even put his own life at risk.
A story grounded in reality, Stride’s Summer uses everyday language to which older children can relate.  The author provides insight into human emotion while cleverly exploring issues faced by this age group including grief, change, growing up and the sacrifices people make for those they love.
The story is enhanced by the development of strong characters with whom the reader can connect.  The language used develops suspense and ensures readers keep turning the pages until the very end.  
(Allen & Unwin)

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

Poster – Book of the Year award winners 2007

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.

List of nominated books for 2007

The ceremony for the award winners, Monday 23 July in Melbourne, celebrates the authors, their books’ promotion of literacy development and the joy of reading.

And the winners are…

Read more: Book of the Year 2007 Winners

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 .....

Read more: Book of the Year 2006 Winners

Media Release (29 July 2005) Winners of the 'Book of the Year' award announced

Best Book for Language Development: Young Children

Where is the Green Sheep? By Mem Fox (Penguin/Viking)

This is a delightful book for the younger child!
In this simple and endearing story about the search for a missing sheep, Mem Fox encourages the reader to embrace concepts such as colour, size and position using simple and humourous language.
The books uses repetition to great effect as it builds suspense and encourages children to ‘read along’. 
It has a sense of the ridiculous and with the help of Judy Horacek’s eye catching illustrations creates a sense of fun. Characters are readily identifiable to young children by their everyday settings but they engage and intrigue with their wacky realisations. It will generate much discussion and vocabulary expansion during book interactions.
This book is brilliant in it’s simplicity and is sure to become a household favourite! 

Mem Fox’s acceptance speech for WHERE IS THE GREEN SHEEP?
winning Best Book for Language Development – Pre-school

Well, for heaven’s sake!  A book award from speech pathologists!  I can’t tell you how proud and happy you have made me feel.
You and I are united in our quest for normal language development in young children.  We know that talking to children is an essential component of that development.  But we also know that some parents don’t understand how important it is to chat to their children, and that even when they’re encouraged to engage in conversation they don’t know what to say.  As someone who talked non-stop to her own newborn baby thirty four years ago, and has never stopped, I find it astounding that people don’t know what to say to their kids.  
You and I also know that the one thing parents can talk about to their children is a book that they’re looking at and reading together, a book like Where Is The Green Sheep?
When I wrote Where Is The Green Sheep? I clearly heard a parent’s voice in my head, asking the questions and chatting about the features of each page.  I heard a child’s voice too: interrupting, asking different questions, making observations, getting hyped up over the crazy quest for the green sheep and finally, eventually, learning to read the book all on its own at a very young age.
The story isn’t a story at all but an extended interactive and, I hope, exciting conversation between the reader and the mad keen little listener, and I am totally thrilled that you have recognised that. You and I meet smack bang in the middle of the read-aloud-world and the fact that you have given me such great recognition on our journey together makes me a very happy woman.  
Thanks a million, and all the very best in your future endeavours.
Mem Fox

Best Book for Language Development: Lower Primary

Jungle Drums by Graeme Base (Penguin/Viking)

This is a captivating book about embracing individual differences.
Children easily identify with the main character and the notion of yearnings and consequences.
It has a strong narrative format and Graeme Base’s wonderful vocabulary brings his characters to life. The book introduces a broad range of complex language and concepts and enlists an excellent use of tag questions and adjectives.
It’s superb illustrations are imaginative and appealing, with plenty of character and intrigue and the easy to read format invites the reader to delight in the book.
A beautiful read that will lead to conversation and discussion.
This book is a feast for the ears and eyes as the jungle comes alive

Best Book for Language Development: Upper Primary

By the River by Steven Herrick (Allen & Unwin)

This is an intriguing and absorbing book that allows the reader to bond deeply with many of the vivid and heart-wrenching characters.
It takes the reader on a journey with a boy dealing with the loss of key figures in his life and encourages us to consider the complexities of life, death, love, loss, grief and prejudice.
The book has a strong narrative flow using poetry to relay the story. Readers will connect with the characters through the simple language and wonderful use of metaphor.
This book is perfect for older children who are not engaging with the reading process easily as it is visually appealing and easily entices reluctant readers to read a ‘lengthy’ book.
This book is deceptively simple in that the language and form are simple. However this book allows the reader to explore many universal themes that are appropriate for an older child.
This is a book that you will continue to think about long after you put it down.

Steven Herrick's acceptance speech for BY THE RIVER
winning Best Book for Language Development - Upper Primary

I'd like to thank Speech Pathology Australia for honouring my book with this wonderful Award. I'm sorry I can't be here in person, but I'm in the middle of an extensive Schools tour at present.
It gives me immense pleasure to receive this Award as I'm one of the one-in-seven Australians with a communication disability. Put simply, in certain words I have trouble saying my “r’s”. The characters in my books never live in suburbs with names like Warrawee, Warriewood and Woollahra. And the word “rural” never leaves my lips!
I now make my living as a writer and as a performer of my poetry. I'm pleased I haven't let this speech impediment get in the way of my career as a performer. Certainly much of the enormous joy I get from my job is standing up in front of hundreds of children and reading poetry to them.
My only experience with anyone trying to “fix” my disability was when I was nine years old, in 1967. One day at school, in the middle of class, I was called out and asked to go to a “special class” with the young woman waiting at the door. She sat me in a quiet room and explained that I had trouble saying certain words. She wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know! At nine, I couldn't say my “th” words, my “r” words, and for some inexplicable reason while playing soccer and appealing for a “corner”, the word always came out “torner”.
Was I embarrassed at being selected and sent to this woman? Well, yes, at first I was. But, let me say she had an “unusual” way of encouraging my learning process. She would arrange a pile of lollies on her side of the desk. Every time I said a word correctly, she would slide a sweet across the desk to my side. My speech improved dramatically as my teeth rotted away to nothing! After class, I would be surrounded my new friends wishing they too had a speech disability.
Now, I'm not advocating this as the preferred method of teaching, and I'm not even sure if she was a trained Speech Pathologist. But, she was patient, kind, she got me out of boring subjects like Maths and she gave me lollies. She helped me enormously with my communication disability, except the “r” dilemma. But if anyone out there has a bag of lollies, I'm happy to give it another go.
Thank you once again for this award.