2026 Speech Pathology Australia
Book of the Year Awards

Shortlist

Speech Pathology Australia is delighted to announce the shortlist for the 2026 Book of the Year Awards. This annual award, judged by a panel of Certified Practising Speech Pathologists, highlights quality Australian books that help children get the best start in life by promoting language and literacy development.

Congratulations to this year’s shortlisted authors, illustrators and publishers for their outstanding contributions. The winners will be announced on 28 October. 

Age-related award categories

Birth to 3 Years

 

This is the cover for ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’, written by Judy Horacek. The cover shows a happy cat, dog, bird and many mice with a clock in the corner.

 

Hickory Dickory Dock
Author:
Judy Horacek

 

This is the cover for ‘Baby's Book of Aussie Animals’, illustrated by Jill Brailsford. The cover shows a platypus and echidna with stars around them. The graphics show as white on a black background.

 

Baby's Book of Aussie Animals
Illustrator:
Jill Brailsford

 

This is the cover for ‘We've Got a Daughter’ Written by Mana Sepah Vand and illustrated by Nasim Rahmdel. The cover shows a mother and father jumping up and linking hands with their daughter in the middle.

 

We've Got a Daughter
Author: Mana Sepah Vand
Illustrator: Nasim Rahmdel

 

This is the cover for ‘We've Got a Son’ Written by Mana Sepah Vand and illustrated by Nasim Rahmdel. The cover shows a mother and father jumping up and linking hands with their son in the middle.

 

We've Got a Son
Author: Mana Sepah Vand
Illustrator: Nasim Rahmdel

 

This is the cover for ‘Ingenious Insects’ Written by Sarah Allen. The cover shows various insects across the page.

 

Ingenious Insects
Author:
Sarah Allen

 

This is the cover for ‘My First Aussie Dinosaurs’ Written by Sarah Jane Lightfoot. The cover shows various dinosaurs all walking through the jungle while smiling.

 

My First Aussie Dinosaurs
Author:
Sarah Jane Lightfoot

 

This is the cover for ‘What Noise Does the Baby Make?’ Written by Jacinta Froud and illustrated by Cat MacInnes. The cover shows many jungle animals lining the corners of the cover while all looking happily to the centre where the title text is shown.

 

What Noise Does the Baby Make?
Author: Jacinta Froud
Illustrator: Cat MacInnes

 

This is the cover for ‘Vivi and Oki: What's that Sound?’ Written by Dominika Tomanek and illustrated by Anna Kalicinska. The cover shows a young girl and baby making noise with household objects.

 

Vivi and Oki: What's that Sound?
Author: Dominika Tomanek
Illustrator: Anna Kalicinska

 

3–5 Years

 

This is the cover for Tiny Written and illustrated by Laura Stitzel. The cover shows a young girl who has shrunk down to a small size as she wanders a garden with small plants and animals now the same size as her.

 

Tiny
Author and Illustrator:
Laura Stitzel

 

This is the cover for ‘Stanley’ Written by Louise Zirbel and Rachel Salmon, and illustrated by Barry Patenaude. The cover shows a smiling turkey standing under a tree in the middle of suburbia.

 

Stanley
Author: Louise Zirbel and
Rachel Salmon
Illustrator: Barry Patenaude

 

This is the cover for ‘Come Listen with Me’ Written by Jemma McEwen and illustrated by Amy Jacinta. The cover shows a mother reading to her young daughter. There are photos of them both, a Zoo welcome poster, metro card, plane, ice-cream, lion, monkey and umbrella.

 

Come Listen with Me
Author: Jemma McEwen
Illustrator: Amy Jacinta

 

This is the cover for ‘Come Listen with Me’ Written by Jemma McEwen and illustrated by Amy Jacinta. The cover shows a mother reading to her young daughter. There are photos of them both, a Zoo welcome poster, metro card, plane, ice-cream, lion, monkey and umbrella.

 

Dropbear
Author:
Philip Bunting

 

This is the cover for ‘Neighbourhood Nest’ Written by Sarah Jane Lightfoot. The cover shows a kookaburra looking after its nest full of 4 eggs while surrounded by 4 other native birds in an Australian neighbourhood.

 

Neighbourhood Nest
Author:
Sarah Jane Lightfoot

 

This is the cover for ‘The Messy Bath Monster’ Written and illustrated by Tina Wilson. The cover shows a monkey with a shower cap and rubber duck taking a bath, as a tentacle emerges from the water.

 

The Messy Bath Monster
Author and Illustrator:
Tina Wilson

 

This is the cover for ‘The Bin Monster’ Written by Annabelle Hale. The cover shows a rubbish bin with 2 eyes peaking from within as a girl and dog smile at it. The road is littered with rubbish.

 

The Bin Monster
Author:
Annabelle Hale

 

This is the cover for ‘How to Get Home’ Written by Deborah Frenkel and illustrated by Karen Blair. The cover shows a winding road with houses, people and animals walking along it.

 

How to Get Home
Author: Deborah Frenkel
Illustrator: Karen Blair

 

5–8 Years

 

This is the cover for ‘Grandma's Sandals’ Written by Jodie Barton and illustrated by Ana Rodic. The cover shows a boy wearing very large sandals, the size of his body, as he hangs onto a hot air balloon in the sky.

 

Grandma's Sandals
Author: Jodie Barton
Illustrator: Ana Rodic

 

This is the cover for ‘Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra’ Written by Cassy Polimeni and illustrated by Hykie Breeze. The cover shows a girl walking in a forest with frogs around her. She is carrying a book as musical notes circle her.

 

Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra
Author: Cassy Polimeni
Illustrator: Hykie Breeze

 

This is the cover for ‘Hidden’ Written by Larissa Ferenchuk and illustrated by Fiona West. The cover shows a girl smiling within deep greenery.

 

Hidden
Author: Larissa Ferenchuk
Illustrator: Fiona West

 

This is the cover for ‘I Believe in You’ Written by Dani Colvin. The cover shows a girl holding a kite as it flies in the sky on a hilltop. There is a dog next to her.

 

I Believe in You
Author:
Dani Colvin

 

This is the cover for ‘The Wobbly Bike’ Written by Darren McCallum and illustrated by Craig Smith. The cover shows a girl looking concerned as she rides a bike and birds squawk behind her.

 

The Wobbly Bike
Author: Darren McCallum
Illustrator: Craig Smith

 

This is the cover for ‘Poppy and Pipsqueak: The Mighty Pipsqueak’ Written by Deborah Kelly and illustrated by Amie Sabadin. The cover shows a girl lying on the grass on a farm as she holds up a puppy. There is a sign in the back that says ‘Pups for sale’.

 

Poppy and Pipsqueak:
The Mighty Pipsqueak
Author: Deborah Kelly
Illustrator: Amie Sabadin

 

This is the cover for ‘The Colt from Old Regret’ Written by Dianne Wolfer and illustrated by Erica Wagner. The cover shows 2 horses walking through a forest as 3 birds surround them.

 

The Colt from Old Regret
Author: Dianne Wolfer
Illustrator: Erica Wagner

 

This is the cover for ‘Detective Galileo’ Written by Peter Helliar and illustrated by Andrew Joyner. The cover shows a horse holding up a magnifying glass as other animals are shocked to see a masked cat run off with jewels.

 

Detective Galileo
Author: Peter Helliar
Illustrator: Andrew Joyner

 

8–10 Years

 

This is the cover for ‘The Feathers of Farwood and The Gripps Curse’ Written by Jayne McIntyre and illustrated by Tamlyn Teow. The cover shows an owl centred in a forest with trees, surrounded by other animals.

 

The Feathers of Farwood
and The Gripps Curse
Author: Jayne McIntyre
Illustrator: Tamlyn Teow

 

This is the cover for ‘The Keeper of the Octopus’ Written by Neridah McMullin. The cover shows an octopus deep in the sea holding hands with a woman on a sail boat above water.

 

The Keeper of
the Octopus
Author: Neridah McMullin

 

This is the cover for ‘The Making of Martha Mayfield’ Written by Jo Dabrowski. The cover shows a girl with mid length blonde hair staring at the viewer.

 

The Making of
Martha Mayfield
Author:
Jo Dabrowski

 

This is the cover for ‘The Prime Minister Problem’ Written by Brenton Cullen. The cover shows a bird house with multiple things surrounding it such as a man, birds, books, flowers, a letter, and a woman hugging a boy.

 

The Prime Minister
Problem
Author: Brenton Cullen

 

This is the cover for ‘Freddie Jones: The Mystery of the Troublesome Trees’. Written by Kate Foster. The cover shows a boy, old lady and dog surrounded by trees ready for adventure.

 

Freddie Jones: The Mystery
of the Troublesome Trees
Author:
Kate Foster

 

This is the cover for ‘CHAOS! Which way will YOU choose?’. Written by Andrew Cranna. The cover shows 2 boys running scared from a maze with monsters such as vines, crocodiles, mice, chillies and a pig.

 

CHAOS! Which way
will YOU choose?
Author: Andrew Cranna

 

This is the cover for ‘Legend of the Lighthouse Moon’. Written by Helen Edwards. The cover shows 3 seals circling in the night sky. A boy, girl and dog look and point at it from the ground.

 

Legend of the
Lighthouse Moon
Author:
Helen Edwards

 

This is the cover for ‘Curious Kai Asks Why’. Written by Dr Sarah Pye and illustrated by Sandra Severgnini. The cover shows a girl looking surprised and pointing at a bubble above. In the background there are bubbles with objects in them.

 

Curious Kai Asks Why
Author: Dr Sarah Pye
Illustrator: Sandra Severgnin

 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Book

This is the cover for ‘Where Ripples Rise’. Written by Rachel Barry and illustrated by Estelle Leishman. The cover shows a platypus swimming in rippling water.

 

Where Ripples Rise
Author: Rachel Barry
Illustrator: Estelle Leishman

 

This is the cover for ‘Going Fishing with Nana’. Written by Frances Haji-Ali and Lindsay Haji-Ali and illustrated by Karen Briggs. The cover shows a car driving along a road in the outback as a girl looks out the window to see 3 large birds and 2 frogs in the water.

 

Going Fishing with Nana
Author: Frances Haji-Ali
and Lindsay Haji-Ali
Illustrator: Karen Briggs

 

This is the cover for ‘Going for Pippies’. Written by Wilaaran Laurie and illustrated by Tori-Jay Mordey. The cover shows an old women and a young boy holding hands as they walk into the ocean with a bucket.

 

Going for Pippies
Author: Wilaaran Laurie
Illustrator: Tori-Jay Mordey

 

This is the cover for ‘Krstel Kicks to Win’. Written by Carl Merrison, Hakea Hustler and Krstel Petrevski and illustrated by Samantha Campbell. The cover shows a woman running and kicking a football in the Australian outback.

 

Krstel Kicks to Win
Author: Carl Merrison,
Hakea Hustler,
Krstel Petrevski
Illustrator: Samantha Campbell

 

This is the cover for ‘Getting Dusty’. Written by Jared Thomas. The cover shows a boy holding a boomerang as he sits over a fire in the outback with a car in the background.

 

Getting Dusty
Author:
Jared Thomas

 

This is the cover for ‘Dingo’s Dream’. Written and illustrated by Helen Milroy. The cover shows a dingo sleeping on the ground as the sun goes down.

 

Dingo’s Dream
Author and illustrator:
Helen Milroy

 

This is the cover for ‘My Story, Our Country’. Written by Ryhia Dank. The cover shows an Aboriginal / Torres Strait Islander art style over a blue colour palette with graphics such as boomerangs and music sticks weaved into the piece.

 

My Story, Our Country
Author:
Ryhia Dank

 

This is the cover for ‘Muttonfish Magic’. Written by Aunty Ruth Simms and Lucy Robertson and illustrated by Jasmine Seymour. The cover shows a woman, 2 boys and 1 girl holding hands as they walk through a river/lake while smiling.

 

Muttonfish Magic
Author: Aunty Ruth Simms,
Lucy Robertson
Illustrator: Jasmine Seymour

 

Decodable Book Series

This is the cover for a book in the Essential Letters and Sounds Australia Phonic Readers series. It is called ‘Tess in a Mess’ and shows a girl being messy as she eats her sandwich.

 

Essential Letters and Sounds Australia Phonic Readers
Publisher: Oxford University Press Australia & New Zealand

 

This is the cover for a book in the Wild Detectives Stages 1-6 (fiction titles) series. It is called ‘Pat, Pat!’ and shows a cat and mouse in clothes looking at a delicious cake on the table.

 

Wild Detectives Stages 1–6 (fiction titles)
Publisher: Little Learners Love Literacy

 

This graphic shows 6 books from the Sunshine Phonics Decodable Books - Series 2. Titles include things like Pips!, Not for Sid, Parrots, Bounder and the bees, Life in the ice and Zipline.

 

Sunshine Phonics Decodable Books - Series 2
Publisher: Sunshine Books

 

This is the cover for a book in the Nelson Decodable Readers series. It is called ‘Bub escapes from the Reptile!’ and shows 2 birds flying quickly in a backyard.

 

Nelson Decodable Readers
Publisher: Nelson Cengage

 

This graphic shows a large selection of books from the SPELD SA Sounds-Write Series.

 

SPELD SA Sounds-Write Series
Publisher: SPELD SA

 

This graphic shows children pointing at 3 books from the PLD Decodable Reading Books Sets 8-10 (Extended Code). Titles include In the surf, A puff of wind and One crisp morning.

 

PLD Decodable Reading Books Sets 8–10 (Extended Code)
Publisher: PLD (Promoting Literacy Development)

 

This graphic shows 5 box sets of books from the Decodable Chapters Level 4-8.

 

Decodable Chapters Level 4–8
Publisher: Decodable Readers Australia