Best Suited 6-9 Years
Amanda and her two best friends, Lucia and Mai, are the Dolphin Squad. They live by the beach, hang out in HQ and solve all sort of problems. Amanda Commander is nearly nine and there is nothing she loves more than hanging out with her two best friends at HQ, making all sorts of plans and solving all kinds of problems. Amanda Commander is kind, loyal and a natural-born leader. But even school can be a battlefield sometimes, so sometimes Amanda and her Squad need a plan just to survive.

Best Suited 5-9 Years
Chasing each other down Avenel Way,
the Kelly Gang kids just wanted to play.

Young Ned Kelly and his mates get up to all sorts of mischief. But when Ned’s friend is found drowning in the creek, will Ned be able to save him?

The Kelly Gang Kids is a story about friendship, fun and bravery.

Best Suited 4-7 Years
Little Max has little legs, little feet and little steps.
When Rosie, Izzy and Georgi go cubby hunting, little Max wants to go too but he can’t keep up with his friends. Max soon finds himself lost and alone.
But what else will he find?

Cubby Hunting is a universal story about a young child who isn’t quite tall enough or strong enough just yet but tries desperately to keep up. It’s a gentle story that navigates growing up and celebrates that we can all excel in different ways.

Best Suited
‘We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future …’

Best Suited 6-9 years
When every girl in Year Three gets an invitation to Eves birthday party except Amanda, Amanda makes a plan, with the help of the Dolphin Squad, to win herself an invitation before the week is through. Its OPERATION INVITATION! Amanda tries everything to make Eve like her and get an invitation to the party, until she finally learns its more important to be kind, not for what you can get but because of who you are.

Best Suited 6-9 years
With the school’s Cross Country coming up, the Dolphin Squad puts together a plan to make it fun, even for Mai, who doesn’t like running. But when the race starts, and the plan goes out the window, and Amanda has to decide whether to go to Districts with the rest of the squad, or stop to help someone.

Best Suited 6-9 years
When Amanda and her friends find out Eve has the exact same yellow dress as Amanda and is planning to wear it to the School Disco, Amanda needs to find a way to change Eve’s mind.

It’s OPERATION DISCO DRESS

Best Suited 6-9 years
Amanda and her two best friends, Lucia and Mai, are the Dolphin Squad. They live by the beach, hang out in HQ and solve all sort of problems. Amanda Commander is nearly nine and there is nothing she loves more than hanging out with her two best friends at HQ, making all sorts of plans and solving all kinds of problems. Amanda Commander is kind, loyal and a natural-born leader. But even school can be a battlefield sometimes, so sometimes Amanda and her Squad need a plan just to survive. When Amanda returns to school after having a sick day, she finds fitting back into the friendship group tricker than she imagined. Amanda makes a plan, with the help of the Dolphin Squad, to go out of their way and include anyone. But when Eve is sick and has a few days off school, how will Amanda ensure Eve doesn’t have a blues-day back at school just like she did? OPERATION WELCOME BACK! Amanda tries everything to make Eve feel included, even when it means being left out herself.

2024 CBCA Book of the Year Notable

Best Suited 3-9 Years
The song of the regent honeyeater has been heard in the bush for many generations — but could it soon be lost forever?

Regent’s father had learnt the song from his father, who learnt it from his father too. But with Regent’s species now facing extinction, there is no one around to teach him. Regent tries to mimic the sounds of different birds but without success.

Will Regent learn his mating call before it’s too late? Or will his ancient song be forgotten forever

Best Suited 3+ Years
Deep in a hollow, near Ironbark Creek, Blossom the Possum was trying to sleep. But it’s raining and all the animals come, one-by-one, to share her warm hollow. How will Blossom ever get to sleep?

Best Suited 3-6 Years
Bear is having a bad day. Nothing is going right, and he wishes he was somewhere else … a long way from home.

What will it take for Bear to feel better?

An uplifting tale about a bear discovering what truly matters at the end of the day.

Best Suited 3+ Years
Will loves to whinge. He is the master of complaining. Until one night, a magnificent hot-air balloon takes Will to an odd little town where the townspeople crown him King. But with everyone in town being constant complainers – will this moaning, groaning King really want to keep the crown?

Everyone needs a little groan now and then, but some people just take it too far! Meet Will. He is a grumble machine who doesn’t like anything. From ice-cream being too cold to spaghetti being too long! When a mysterious balloon takes Will to the town of Whingeville, the hot air balloon ride may not be the only fresh perspective.

Best Suited 4-8 Years
Was it a sailboat, a seashell, a swan or an orange peel that inspired Jørn to design Australia’s most recognisable building? In this gorgeously illustrated story, we follow Jørn through childhood as he discovers his love of building and creating, gathering ideas from everything around himself. When he grows bigger, so do his ideas, and something begins to take shape… can you guess what it might be?

Best Suited 3+ years
Cathy ran barefoot every day across the great ancient land, as her people had done for sixty thousand years before. And when she ran, she could hear the heartbeat of the land. Ba Boom Ba Boom Ba Boom… Then one day, Cathy hears a cry. She answers this cry and, with one small step at a time, the seeds of change are planted. Cathy Freeman has always been an inspiration to young people. Here, she does it again, through storytelling – just as her people have done, for sixty thousand years before… Listen, and you too, will hear the Heartbeat of the Land.

Best Suited 4+ Years
Peek and Boo always sit side by side and together, they make a forever-home. One day an egg appears, but when Peek goes to hunt for food and leaves Boo in charge of the egg, something unexpected happens.

Best Suited 3-9 Years
Lavender and her friends can’t wait to bring their pets into school for the Perfectly Proper Grand Pet Parade. Everything is perfect until a troublesome two start scheming!

Best Suited for ages 7+ years
There was a hum of excitement.
Flags flickered in the breeze as Maggie’s heart danced with delight.
‘This is a very special day!’ her mother said.

Best Suited for ages 4+ years
Grandma has oodles and oodles of shoes! Walking shoes, dancing shoes, fancy and plain, Grandma has a shoe for every occasion.

Best Suited 3-7 Years
Annabelle Mae and her friends are set to have the most delightfully posh afternoon tea. But when the no-good Darcy and Dean get up to mischief, Annabelle doesn’t let them spoil the fun!

Best Suited for ages 6-8 years
A picture book series about the extraordinary men and women who have shaped Australia’s history, including cricket’s greatest ever batsman, Sir Donald Bradman.

The quote, ‘Sometimes, real superheroes live inside the hearts of small children fighting big battles’ by an unknown author, is the essence of a new children’s picture book published by the charity, Hand in Hand Fighting Brain Cancer.

When Cooper is told he needs to be brave, put on a mask and fight a fierce brain tumour, something wonderful and magical happens.

Where the Magic Happens is a heart-warming story about a young boy’s fight with brain cancer. The story sensitively deals with the realities of brain cancer in a way that is accessible to younger readers.  Written by Amanda Christensen, who lost her own six-year-old son to brain cancer, together with author Coral Vass, Amanda has captured the brain cancer journey through the eyes of young Cooper.

Mum and Dad take Cooper to the doctors, because he is feeling sick and dizzy. In the room filled with doctors and nurses, Cooper is told he has a brain tumour.

Best Suited 5+ Years
Little Bird Blue and Little Bird Black refuse to share! Each wants to sit on the wire alone in this funny rhyming story.

Best suited 5+ Years
When a bird flying above plops on Little Pukeko’s head, he declares war – the ground-dwelling birds against the flying birds. The plovers, the parakeets, the cockatoos, the cuckoos, the blackbirds and the bluebirds – and many others – join in, and soon every bird is covered in slop! Who can put an end to this poo war?

Best Suited 3+ Years
Out on the branch Came a rum, rumble tum. Tree Mouse was hoping To share Blossom’s plum. With a ratter, tap, tap, And a squeal of delight, Mouse asked politely, ‘May I have a bite?’ Sequel to the much-loved best-selling book Goodnight Possum!

Best Suited 3-7 Years
It’s a hot summer day and Danny the dingo just wants to cool down. He looks to the other bush animals for inspiration. He tries running like the emu, hopping like the kangaroo and even creates his own frill to mimic the frilled-neck lizard, but nothing works. Danny’s dancing and leaping and prancing and waving hasn’t had any effect except to make him feel hotter.

The other animals aren’t sure what to make of Danny’s strange behaviour until storm clouds roll in. As drops of rain start the fall, the animals are convinced they have Danny’s strange rain dance to thank for the cooling rain.