2025 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards

Shortlist

Congratulations to the shortlisted publishers, authors and illustrators of the 2025 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards.

The Book of the Year Awards are judged by a panel of Certified Practising Speech Pathologists with specific knowledge and skill in children's language and literacy development.

Each nominated book is judged on its appeal to children, interactive quality and ability to assist speech pathologists and parents in facilitating the development of communication and literacy in children.


Here is our 2025 shortlist

Age-related Award Category:
Birth to three years

Title

Author

Publisher

Busy Bubs: Park Play

Anna McGregor

Little Book Press

Meerkat Mayhem

Mem Fox

Penguin Random House Australia

I Can't Wait to Play

Dannika Patterson

Play Matters Australia

Say Hello

Renae Hayward

Fremantle Press

Where is Cheeky Monster?

Mike Lucas

Penguin Random House Australia

Goodnight, Joeys

Renée Treml

Penguin Random House Australia

Little Book Baby

Katrina Germein

HarperCollins Publishers

Searching for treasure

Johanna Bell

Allen & Unwin

Hey Diddle Diddle

Judy Horacek

Walker Books Australia

A Wish for Baby

Caz Goodwin

Affirm Press

Age-related Award Category:
Three to five years

Title

Author

Publisher

Don't Worry Felix

Yohann Devezy and Katherine Alice

New Frontier Publishing

My body my brain

Nicki Esler Gill

Scholastic Press

Under the Sand

Millie Lewis

Five Mile

Greg the Galah, Superstar

Patrick Guest

Scholastic Press

I Am Me

Sharron mirii Bell

Children's Rights Alliance Inc. trading as Children's Rights Queensland

It's okay to just be yourself

Jules Elizabeth

Self-Published

The Best Present Ever

Zoë Foster Blake

Penguin Random House Australia

How to be Invisible

Nick Bland

HarperCollins Publishers

Bin Chicken Goes For Gold

Kate and Jol Temple

Scholastic Press

The Space Between

Jess McGeachin

Penguin Random House Australia

The Impatient Glacier

Shaun Micallef

Scholastic Press

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Children’s Book Award

Title

Author

Publisher

Jy Goes for Gold

Carl Merrison, Hakea Hustler

HarperCollins Publishers

Circles of Life

Gregg Dreise

Penguin Random House Australia

Three Dress

Wanda Gibson

University of Queensland Press

Tubowgule: a Sydney Opera House History

Melissa-Jane Fogarty

Hachette Australia

Stand Proud

Nicho Hynes and Marlee Silva

Penguin Random House Australia

Country

Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson

Wild Dog Books

 

Age-related Award Category:
Five to eight years

Title

Author

Publisher

Our World - Full of Wonder

Jevita Nilson

CSIRO Publishing

Zoom

Dannika Patterson

Ford Street Publishing

Willow's Gumboots

Beverley McWilliams

MidnightSun Publishing

Roarsome

Joel Slack-Smith

Scholastic Press

Dragon Folding

Christopher Cheng

Penguin Random House Australia

When the Stars Come Out

Tanya Hill

Museums Victoria Publishing

Into the Blue

Cristy Burne

Fremantle Press

My Shadow is Blue

Scott Stuart

Larrikin House

The Very Steep Hill

Ben Kitchin

Brontosaurus Books

Sapphire and the Monster Hunters

Scott Stuart

Scholastic Press

Age-related Award Category:
Eight to ten years

Title

Author

Publisher

Six Summers of Tash and Leopold

Danielle Binks

Hachette Australia

Stage Stars : The Audition

Penny McNamee

Scholastic Australia

Riley's FAILPROOF Guide to Breaking a School Record

Dani Vee

Larrikin House

Meet Me at the Moon Tree

Shivaun Plozza

University of Queensland Press

How to Break a World Record and Survive Grade Five

Carla Fitzgerald

University of Queensland Press

All the Beautiful Things

Katrina Nannestad

HarperCollins Publishers

Little Bones

Sandy Bigna

University of Queensland Press

Pearly and Pig and the Island of Secrets

Sue Whiting

Walker Books Australia

Freddie Spector, Fact Collector. Space Cadet

Ashleigh Barton

Hachette Australia

Always your sister

Frances Prentice

Wombat Books

Decodable Book Series Award

Title

Author

Publisher

Tummy Bug Series

Julia Murphy

Decodable Jewels

Ella's World

Yvette Poshoglian

Scholastic Australia

PLD Decodable Reading Books - Initial Code

Promoting Literacy Development

Promoting Literacy Development

Decodable Chapters - Ben Bug Series

Decodable Readers Australia

Decodable Readers Australia

Sunshine Phonics Decodable Books - Series 2

Paul George et al

Wendy Pye Publishing Limited (Distributed in Australia by Sunshine Multimedia (Australia) Pty Ltd)

Sunshine Phonics Decodable Books - Series 1

Paul George et al

Wendy Pye Publishing Limited (Distributed in Australian by Sunshine Multimedia (Australia) Pty Ltd)