Cicada Summer Kate Constable

The book

When Eloise's get-rich-quick dad moves them back to his home town to turn the derelict family mansion into a convention centre, Eloise feels an immediate bond with the old house. She begins spending all her time there, ignoring her strange grandmother and avoiding the friendly boy next door. Then Eloise meets a 'ghost girl' who may or may not be from the house's past, and events take a strange – and ultimately dangerous – turn. Beautifully written, poignant and gripping, this is a charming and atmospheric story of personal growth, overcoming grief and the true nature of friendship and family.

The author

Kate Constable was born in Victoria but spent much of her childhood in Papua New Guinea, without television but within reach of a library where she 'inhaled' stories. She studied Arts/Law at Melbourne University before working part-time for a record company while she began her life as a writer. Her novels, The Singer of All Songs, The Waterless Sea and The Tenth Power form the internationally acclaimed Chanters of Tremaris series. The Taste of Lightning is a stand-alone fantasy novel set in the same world. Always Mackenzieis a teen novel published in the Girlfriend Fiction series. Kate lives in West Preston, Victoria, with her husband and two daughters.

Judges’ comments

Kate Constable’s Cicada Summer is a time-slip fantasy written with the gentlest of touches. Eloise has gradually stopped speaking since her mother died. Her dad is a man with many schemes and leaves Eloise to stay with Mo, her grandmother, while he raises money for the redevelopment of the old family home. Eloise, who is a gifted artist, finds herself drawn to this enchanting Art Deco house. There in the garden summerhouse she meets Anna, who has the same name as Eloise’s lost mother. She paints with Anna in this secret world, while at home with Mo, she befriends the Afghani family next door. This is a beguiling treasure of a book; an old-fashioned ‘secret garden’ type of story, with fully realised characters, set in a beguiling dream landscape.

The Terrible Plop Ursula Dubosarsky, illustrated by Andrew Joyner

The book

Here is the story
Of the Terrible PLOP,
With a bear and a rabbit
And a hop hop hop.

But what is the PLOP?
And where does it hide?
Open the book
And look inside . . .

The author

Ursula Dubosarsky is widely regarded as one of the most talented and original writers in Australia today. She is the author of many outstanding books, both for young adults and for children, and has won numerous awards for excellence including the South Australian Festival Award for Literature, the NSW, Queensland and Victorian Premier's Awards, and the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award. Her most recent picture book is The Terrible Plop, illustrated by Andrew Joyner, which has been made into a very successful play and been published in both the UK and USA. Her collaboration at Penguin with Tohby Riddle for The Word Spy and Return of the Word Spy is already proving how prescient an author she is, with the current emphasis swinging back to teaching the basics of grammar in primary school. Ursula lives in Sydney with her family. She has recently earned a PhD in English literature at Macquarie University. 

The illustrator

Andrew Joyner is an illustrator and cartoonist published nationally and internationally in newspapers and magazines including The Sunday Age, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Sun-Herald, South China Morning Post, and Reader's Digest. He has illustrated books by humorists Ross Campbell and Wendy Harmer. The Terrible Plop is his first picture book. He lives in Strathalbyn, South Australia.

Judges’ comments

In Ursula Dubosarsky and Andrew Joyner’s The Terrible Plop a seemingly simple text by a masterful writer is distinguished by its lovely rhythmic poise – and paired with an engaging love of the ridiculous. The idea of an apple falling from a tree and making ‘a terrible plop’ is reminiscent of Henny Penny and her acorn. The cumulative repetition of the various animals fleeing from the sound in gorgeous abandonment is calculatedly effective, and the twist in this tale is perfectly timed. This new illustrator has created a lovely counterpoint to the text with vibrant retro illustrations employing some collage to add to their depth and texture. The denouement in the bear becoming frightened of the ‘terrible plop’ and the bunny overcoming the fear is a perfect conclusion to this clever, contemporary folk tale, which children will love.  

Just Macbeth Andy Griffiths, illustrated by Terry Denton

The book

Take one Shakespearean tragedy: Macbeth.

Add Andy, Danny and Lisa – the ‘Just’ trio, whose madcap exploits have already delighted hundreds of thousands of readers for the last ten years.

Mix them all together to create one of the most hilarious, most dramatic, moving stories of love, Whizz Fizz, witches, murder and madness.

The author

Andy Griffiths is one of Australia’s funniest writers for children. His books have sold over four million copies worldwide, have featured on the New York Times bestseller lists, and have won over 40 Australian children’s choice awards.

The illustrator

Terry Denton is one of those lucky people who can both write and illustrate. He has written more than twenty children’s books himself and collaborated on countless more with some of Australia’s most popular children’s authors.

Judges’ comments

Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton’s Just Macbeth is based on the plot of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and is part of the hugely popular ‘Just’ series. This work extends the original concept, cleverly extrapolating on a classic work. Griffiths combines the popular with the literary in a rich manner. Denton’s co-authorship in illustrations, captions and asides is integral to the book. This is an original, inventive, brilliant work which is both a ‘laugh-aloud’ and yet a tribute to the power of the bard’s words and to the creative imagination.  Denton seems to be an inexhaustible well of jokes and silliness, while Griffiths perfectly exploits the dramatic and comic potential in this wicked brew.

Mr Chicken Goes to Paris Leigh Hobbs

The book

Mr Chicken has taken up his friend Yvette's invitation to visit Paris. As they journey together through the City of Love, Mr Chicken is overcome by the magic of all the city has to offer – and the inhabitants of this most stylish city don't quite know what to make of him. Mr Chicken will delight children of all ages.

The author

Leigh Hobbs is an artist and author best known for his children's book characters Old Tom and Horrible Harriet. In 2002, Horrible Harriet was shortlisted for the Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Awards, as was his book Old Tom's Holiday in 2003. A highly successful animated TV series, based on Leigh's Old Tom series of books has been screened in Australia and Europe.

Judges’ comments

Leigh Hobbs’ Mr Chicken Goes to Paris is an anarchic and exuberant work in which the monstrously hilarious Mr Chicken braves the sights of Paris with his personal guide and friend Yvette. This tale of an innocent abroad, written in simple yet witty text also employs Hobbs’s keen eye for Paris which he depicts with affection and trademark energy, and will draw readers into the comical world of a master of the picture book form. Parisians are agog at this curious visitor, yet neither Yvette nor Mr Chicken has a hair (or feather) out of place as they stroll, eat, gaze, climb, wander and explore. Wryly comical and steeped in literary allusions, a love of architecture, and stylistic joie de vivre, this is a work for a wide readership, by one of Australia’s most inventively original artists.

Running with the Horses Alison Lester

The book

Ten-year-old Nina lives with her father above the palace stables at the Royal Academy of Dancing Horses. She loves watching the famous white stallions as they parade for the crowds, but her favourite horse is an ordinary mare called Zelda – an old cab horse Nina often pats on her way home from school.

When Nina's world changes dramatically, she and her father have to flee from the city. Their journey over the mountains with Zelda and the stallions seems impossible, with danger at every turn.

The author

Alison Lester is one of Australia's most popular and bestselling creators of children's books. She has won many awards, including the 2005 Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Award for Are We There Yet? Her most recent book is Running with the Horses, a story based on the evacuation of the world-famous Lipizzaner horses from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna during the Second World War.

Alison lives on a farm in the Victorian countryside. She spends part of each year travelling to schools around Australia, helping students and teachers develop their own stories.

Judges’ comments

Alison Lester’s Running with the Horses is a timeless tale of adventure, courage and friendship from one of Australia’s best loved artists. In this story ten-year-old Nina and her father the stable-master Viktor escape the Royal Academy of Dancing Horses in Vienna when the Second World War threatens them and closes the school down. They take the stallions and an old cab horse named Zelda (who is Nina’s favourite) and with Karl, her father’s friend, journey into the mountains to seek refuge with Nina’s grandparents. Zelda, despite her age, literally saves them. The artwork is a skilful collage of digital imagery, colour and black and white drawing, evoking the fragmented and uncertain world that Nina travels through and the dramatic landscapes they cross. This is a classical story, beautifully told, and its underlying message is about the bonds of family and how they give us strength and comfort.

Star Jumps Lorraine Marwood

The book

A poignant verse novel depicting the joys and heartbreaks of a farming family as they struggle to cope with the devastating effects of long-term drought. Told through the eyes of Ruby, day to day farm life involves playing in grassy paddocks with siblings, doing jobs and helping out, and witnessing birth, death and sacrifice. The family is devastated when they have to sell-off some of their herd, but in the spirit of hope it is Ruby who tries in her own small way to help the family by making miniature bales of hay.

The author

Lorraine Marwood was born and raised in rural Victoria and has lived for most of her married life on a dairy farm with her husband and their six children. Lorraine is an award-winning poet who has been widely published in literary magazines across Australia, as well as magazines in the UK, USA, New Zealand and Canada. She has also published several children’s novels and collections of poetry. Lorraine is the Australian editor of the UK literary magazine Tears in the Fence and is a writer of poetry ideas and teaching plans for The Literature Base. Lorraine was also the recipient of a May Gibbs mentorship in children's writing.

Her titles with Walker Books Australia include Ratwhiskers and Me, published in 2008 and Star Jumps, which was shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards 2010, Lower Primary Category and received a Notable mention in the Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards, 2010.

Judges’ comments

Lorraine Marwood’s Star Jumps is a verse novel set on a dairy farm, and is a lyrical portrait of rural life seen vividly through the eyes of Ruby, the youngest of three siblings. Star Jumps is the favourite game of Keely, Connor and Ruby, a game they play among the marshmallow weed when their work is done; and is also a metaphor for the joy of life, for the here and now. As prolonged drought threatens to take the farm and Dad has to sell many of the best stock, Ruby makes a list of the things they can do to help and comes up with mini hay bales made from the grass around the fences. Ruby tells the family’s story in a voice which offers us a child’s view of a changing world. This is a moving evocation of home and family bonds, and the rhythms of farm life, and explores the effect of drought on all of these things. Star Jumps speaks with a natural poetry and unfussy richness, offering the reader evidence of the power of individual action and of hope in a small, perfectly inscribed way.

Mannie and the Long Brave Day Martine Murray, illustrated by Sally Rippin

The book

Mannie is going on an adventure. She's taking her favourite elephant Lilliput and her doll Strawberry Luca. And she hasn't forgotten her special box of secret things, just in case the adventure gets adventurous... A magical story that celebrates friendship, courage and the wonder of a child's imagination.

The author

Martine Murray was born in Melbourne, and still lives there. She has studied acrobatics, dance, yoga and writing. In addition to her three Henrietta books, she has written two picture books, illustrated one, and written three novels that have sold extensively overseas.

The illustrator

Sally Rippin was born in Australia, but grew up in many other countries including England, Brunei, Hong Kong and China. She has written and illustrated many books, including the Fang Fang books. Her most recent books include Gezani and the Tricky Baboon by Valanga Khoza and The Rainbirds by David Metzenthen, which was shortlisted for the 2007 Children’s Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Award.

Judges’ comments

Martine Murray and Sally Rippin’s Mannie and the Long Brave Day is warm-hearted and charming in both writing and illustration. This picture book celebrates the joy of the imagination and a child’s play as Mannie and her doll Strawberry Luca go on an extraordinary journey, helped by her special box of secret things. Martine Murray’s style of writing is so astute, with each word adding to the rhythm and the playfulness, the details rippling with quirky imagination, and Sally Rippin’s glorious illustrations making this a total joy. The journey to the picnic place and home again is classic picture book fare, and the use of rhyme is calculatedly spare and suggestive.

Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children Jen Storer

The book

Dumped in the River Charon, hunted by an accursed river creature and betrayed by the wicked Matron Pluckrose, Tensy Farlow is in mortal danger. She has no parents. Worse still, she has no guardian angel.

When she is thrown into the Home for Mislaid Children – a gloomy orphanage where ravens attack, Watchers hover over your bed, and even the angels cannot be trusted – it seems that all hope is lost.

Yet could it be that a plucky, flame-haired orphan with a mysterious past is precisely what this dark world needs?

The author

Jen Storer has written many books for kids but most of them have been about serious topics such as rainforests and bones and the history of ice cream. She has written four books for Penguin: Sing, Pepi, Sing; I Hate Sport (an Aussie Chomp written under her old nickname, Prue Storer) and Tan Callahan's Secret Spy Files, illustrated by Caroline Magerl. Her latest book, Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children, has been shortlisted for the 2010 Aurealis Award, the 2010 Australian Publishers Association Design Awards in two categories, the 2010 Children’s Book Council of Australia Younger Readers Award and the 2010 West Australian Young Readers’ Book Award children's choice awards. Jen lives and works in Melbourne.

Judges’ comments

Jen Storer’s Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children is an original and enticingly written fantasy. In it an orphaned baby is left on the hospital steps, accidentally rescued by Albie Gribble, and nearly drowned when Albie runs into a skriker. Albie finds himself torn between the Matron Pluckrose’s desire to take the baby to her Home for Mislaid Children in order to sell the baby, and his guardian angel Ruby Jane’s protection of him. The plans of the mud woman and river creature Lythia to also steal the baby add zest to an already rich plot. The mystery at the heart of the story is why Tensy Farlow (the baby) has no guardian angel. Though set in a post-war era, the novel subtly conveys the essence of that time and the austerity measures in place without making it seem historical, for this work is timeless. ‘Babies,’ she growled, ‘they always gets under your skin.’ The language is spare, lyrical and rhythmical, the cast of characters is an absolute delight, and the production of the book, from jacket to interior design, adds to the enormous pleasure.

Harry and Hopper Margaret Wild, illustrated by Freya Blackwood

The book

Harry and his dog Hopper have done everything together, ever since Hopper was a jumpy little puppy. But one day the unthinkable happens. When Harry comes home from school, Hopper isn’t there to greet him. Hopper will never be there again, but Harry is not ready to let him go. This story tenderly demonstrates the shock of grief and the sustaining power of love.

The author

Margaret Wild is one of Australia’s most prolific and courageous authors, unafraid to tackle difficult subjects, such as death, old age and social deprivation with both sensitivity and openness. Her heart-warming, moving picture books have been acclaimed both in Australia and overseas. In addition to writing over 70 books for children, she has worked as a journalist and as a children's book editor. Her books have won numerous awards in Australia and in the U.S. She’s won the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Picture Book of the Year Award three times, for The Very Best of Friends, Jenny Angel and Fox. Other CBC short-listed and commended books by Margaret include: Let the Celebrations Begin!, There’s a Sea in My Bedroom, Mr Nick’s Knitting, Woolvs in the Sitee, Lucy Goosey, A Bit of Company and Chatterbox. She lives in Sydney and she enjoys reading, listening to music and frequenting cafes.

The illustrator

Born in 1975, Freya Blackwood grew up in Orange, NSW. The daughter of a painter and an architect, she was encouraged to draw from a young age. She produced many illustrated books when at school but after completing a degree in Design (Visual Communications) at the University of Technology Sydney she became interested in filmmaking. She worked for several years in the special effects industry in Sydney and in Wellington, New Zealand, before eventually returning to illustration.

Freya’s characters are warm and believable. Most of her books to date have dealt with difficult subjects in a perceptive and sensitive manner. Some have been published in many countries and have received several awards. Her books include Two Summers, Amy & Louis, Clancy & Millie and the Very Fine House, Harry and Hopper, Her Mother’s Face and Ivy Loves to Give.

Freya lives in Orange with her daughter Ivy.

Judges’ comments

Margaret Wild and Freya Blackwood’s Harry and Hopper is a perfectly nuanced story about death and letting go which is accompanied by gloriously muted illustrations. Wild is an author who challenges her readers and illustrator Blackwood has responded with sensitivity and warmth. The varied illustrative format in this work makes brilliant use of perspective and space. The story also depicts a father’s loving care for his son in a subtle way. Harry’s gradual acceptance of his dog Hopper’s death is conveyed in the poetic description of the dog’s shadow: ‘As wispy as winter fog, as cold as winter air.’ The idea of seasonal changes, and of life as a series of emotional changes, is also suggested. In the final frame the boy’s acceptance of death is symbolised in an aerial view of his home and neighbouring yards, in which dad is fixing the mower, and Harry is attending to Hopper’s grave. This hopeful view depicts life and death in one comforting image, in which life goes on.