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BOOK OF THE YEAR

Speech Pathology Australia

THE BEST BOOKS


FOR LANGUAGE
AND LITERACY
DEVELOPMENT
The Speech Pathology Australia Book of the
Year Awards raise awareness of the role speech
pathologists play in assisting people of all ages to
develop their language and literacy skills.

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/books

BIRTH TO 3 YEARS EIGHT TO 10 YEARS


Hello World My Brother Ben
Written by Lisa Shanahan Written by Peter Carnavas
Illustrated by Leila Rudge My Brother Ben is an engaging tale with a well-defined narrative
Hello World is a beautiful picture book that outlines a typical day structure. The story has a clearly defined beginning, middle and end;
experienced by most toddlers. The story is instantly relatable and and is thought provoking and arouses emotion throughout. The narrative
identifiable, and the language is simple and has a lovely rhythmic flow. captures a true sense of adventure, mystery, and sadness, while
It is all complemented by illustrations that allow for natural dialogue, the prose reads effortlessly. The book is written in age-appropriate
connection, and conversations with the child looking on. The font size language, and the consistent use of similes and metaphors is a great
and shape changes match the story and vocabulary, and the repetitive language feature. The text also encourages the development of
use of ‘hello’ is predictable and encourages young children to join in with pragmatic language skills.
the greeting.

THREE TO 5 YEARS
A Pair of Pears and an Orange ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER AUTHORED
Written and Illustrated by Anna McGregor CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD
A Pair of Pairs and an Orange is a clever and original story. It explores
Somebody’s Land
the important themes of friendship and belonging, and an understanding
Written by Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing
of differences. It uses a simple context of fruit to share a social story,
Illustrated by David Hardy
and to bring the book to life. The story arouses emotions and provides
an opportunity for discussion with young children about their own Somebody’s Land is a beautifully illustrated and authored book. It
experiences. The illustrations are simple, modern, and appealing. The proudly showcases First Nations culture and language, encourages the
book’s play on words and homophones provide a great opportunity to reader to dig deeper about the history of Australia, and introduces the
explore figurative language. term ‘terra nullius’ to a general audience. The book is a great option for
all ages, easy to read, and highly engaging. The illustrations are detailed
and colourful, ensuring readers notice new details with each new
FIVE TO 8 YEARS reading.
The Incredibly Busy Mind of Bowen Bartholomew Crisp
Written by Paul Russell DECODABLE BOOKS
Illustrated by Nicky Johnston
The MultiLit - InitiaLit Readers, Series 2 – The Wattle Series
The Incredibly Busy Mind of Bowen Bartholomew Crisp is a celebration
(Levels 10-16)
of creativity and curiosity. It is written to encourage more of these,
Published by MultiLit
while telling a fun and engaging story. The story makes for exciting
shared-reading times, and as a springboard for many learning activities The MultiLit - InitiaLit Reader delivers a series of books that
and adventures. Children in the early years of schooling will love the demonstrate a systematic, cumulative synthetic phonics teaching
permission this book gives them to let their imagination run free. sequence. Each book in the series provides explicit, clear instructions on
The book uses good vocabulary and a range of sentence structures. how to use the book to maximise decoding and comprehension learning
Engaging illustrations and a clear sequencing of events will help light up opportunities. The series includes high repetition of phoneme-grapheme
the imagination of the young reader. (letter-sound) correspondences, in conjunction with a narrative style
and engaging pictures to add to the quality of the series. Finally, the
series is written for the instructional purposes of teaching reading
foundations in particular word order, fluency, and comprehension of
connected text, making it appropriate for supporting young children
learning to read.

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