# Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers

The Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers has been presented annually since 1946 by the Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA). Note: from 1946 to 1986 this award was known as "Book of the Year".
The Award "will be made to outstanding books of fiction, drama, or poetry which require of the reader a degree of maturity to appreciate the topics, themes and scope of emotional involvement. Generally, books in this category will be appropriate in style and content for readers in their secondary years of schooling."

## Award winners
### 1940s

| Year | Author | Title | Publisher |
| 1946 | Leslie Rees, illustrated by Walter Cunningham | The Story of Karrawingi the Emu | John Sands |
| 1947 | No award | No award | No award |
| 1948 | Frank Hurley | Shackleton's Argonauts: A Saga of the Antarctic Icepacks | Angus and Robertson |
| 1949 | No competition | No competition | No competition |

### 1950s

| Year | Author | Title | Publisher |
| 1950 | Alan J. Villiers, illustrated by Charles Pont | Whalers of the Midnight Sun | Angus and Robertson |
| 1951 | Ruth C. Williams, illustrated by Rhys Williams | Verity of Sydney Town | Angus and Robertson |
| 1952 | Eve Pownall, illustrated by Margaret Senior | The Australia Book | John Sands |
| 1953 | Joan Phipson, illustrated by Margaret Horder | Good Luck to the Rider | Angus and Robertson |
| 1953 | James H. Martin and W. D. Martin | Aircraft of Today and Tomorrow | Angus and Robertson |
| 1954 | K. Langloh Parker, edited by Henrietta Drake-Brockman, illustrated by Elizabeth Durack | Australian Legendary Tales | Angus and Robertson |
| 1955 | Norman B. Tindale and Harold Arthur Lindsay, illustrated by Madeleine Boyce | The First Walkabout | Longmans Green |
| 1956 | Patricia Wrightson, illustrated by Margaret Horder | The Crooked Snake | Angus and Robertson |
| 1957 | Enid Moodie Heddle (ed.), illustrated by Nancy Parker | The Boomerang Book of Legendary Tales | Longmans Green |
| 1958 | Nan Chauncy | Tiger in the Bush | Oxford University Press |
| 1959 | Nan Chauncy, illustrated by Geraldine Spence | Devil's Hill | Oxford University Press |
| 1959 | John Gunn, illustrated by Brian Keogh | Sea Menace | Constable |

### 1960s

| Year | Author | Title | Publisher |
| 1960 | Kylie Tennant, illustrated by Clem Seale | All the Proud Tribesmen | Macmillan |
| 1961 | Nan Chauncy, illustrated by Brian Wildsmith | Tangara | Oxford University Press |
| 1962 | Joan Woodberry | Rafferty Rides a Winner | M. Parrish, London |
| 1962 | L. H. Evers | The Racketty Street Gang | Hodder & Stoughton |
| 1963 | Joan Phipson, illustrated by Margaret Horder | The Family Conspiracy | Constable |
| 1964 | Eleanor Spence, illustrated by Geraldine Spence | The Green Laurel | Oxford University Press |
| 1965 | H. F. Brinsmead, illustrated by Annette Macarthur-Onslow | Pastures of the Blue Crane | Oxford University Press |
| 1966 | Ivan Southall, illustrated by Clem Seale | Ash Road | Angus and Robertson |
| 1967 | Mavis Thorpe Clark, illustrated by Genevieve Melrose | The Min-Min | Lansdowne Press |
| 1968 | Ivan Southall, illustrated by Jennifer Tuckwell | To the Wild Sky | Angus and Robertson |
| 1969 | Margaret Balderson, illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus | When Jays Fly to Barbmo | Oxford University Press |

### 1970s

| Year | Author | Title | Publisher |
| 1970 | Annette Macarthur-Onslow | Uhu | Ure Smith |
| 1971 | Ivan Southall | Bread and Honey | Angus and Robertson |
| 1972 | H. F. Brinsmead | Longtime Passing | Angus and Robertson |
| 1973 | Noreen Shelley, illustrated by Robert Micklewright | Family at the Lookout | Oxford University Press |
| 1974 | Patricia Wrightson | The Nargun and the Stars | Hutchinson |
| 1975 | No award | No award | No award |
| 1976 | Ivan Southall | Fly West | Angus and Robertson |
| 1977 | Eleanor Spence, illustrated by Malcolm Green | The October Child | Oxford University Press |
| 1978 | Patricia Wrightson | The Ice is Coming | Hutchinson |
| 1979 | Ruth Manley, illustrated by Marianne Yamaguchi | The Plum-Rain Scroll | Hodder and Stoughton |

### 1980s

| Year | Author | Title | Publisher |
| 1980 | Lee Harding | Displaced Person | Hyland House |
| 1981 | Ruth Park | Playing Beatie Bow | Nelson Books |
| 1982 | Colin Thiele | The Valley Between | Opal Books |
| 1983 | Victor Kelleher | Master of the Grove | Kestrel Books |
| 1984 | Patricia Wrightson | A Little Fear | Hutchinson |
| 1985 | James Aldridge | The True Story of Lilli Stubeck | Hyland House |
| 1986 | Thurley Fowler | The Green Wind | Rigby |
| 1987 | Simon French | All We Know | Angus and Robertson |
| 1988 | John Marsden | So Much to Tell You | Joy Street Books |
| 1989 | Gillian Rubinstein | Beyond the Labyrinth | Hyland House |

### 1990s

| Year | Author | Title | Publisher |
| 1990 | Robin Klein | Came Back to Show You I Could Fly | Viking Books |
| 1991 | Gary Crew | Strange Objects | Heinemann |
| 1992 | Eleanor Nilsson | The House Guest | Viking Books |
| 1993 | Melina Marchetta | Looking for Alibrandi | Puffin Books |
| 1994 | Isobelle Carmody | The Gathering | Penguin Books |
| 1994 | Gary Crew | Angel's Gate | Heinemann |
| 1995 | Gillian Rubinstein | Foxspell | Hyland House |
| 1996 | Catherine Jinks | Pagan's Vows | Omnibus Books |
| 1997 | James Moloney | A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove | University of Queensland Press |
| 1998 | Catherine Jinks | Eye to Eye | Puffin Books |
| 1999 | Phillip Gwynne | Deadly, Unna? | Penguin Books |

### 2000s

| Year | Author | Title | Publisher |
| 2000 | Nick Earls | 48 Shades of Brown | Penguin Books |
| 2001 | Judith Clarke | Wolf on the Fold | Allen and Unwin |
| 2002 | Sonya Hartnett | Forest | Viking Books |
| 2003 | Markus Zusak | The Messenger | Macmillan Publishers |
| 2004 | Melina Marchetta | Saving Francesca | Viking Books |
| 2005 | Michael Gerard Bauer | The Running Man | Omnibus Books |
| 2006 | J. C. Burke | The Story of Tom Brennan | Random House |
| 2007 | Margo Lanagan | Red Spikes | Allen and Unwin |
| 2008 | Sonya Hartnett | The Ghost's Child | Viking Books |
| 2009 | Shaun Tan | Tales from Outer Suburbia | Allen and Unwin |

### 2010s

| Year | Author | Title | Publisher |
| 2010 | David Metzenthen | Jarvis 24 | Penguin Group |
| 2011 | Sonya Hartnett | The Midnight Zoo | Viking Books |
| 2012 | Scot Gardner | The Dead I Know | Allen & Unwin |
| 2013 | Margo Lanagan | Sea Hearts | Allen & Unwin |
| 2014 | Fiona Wood | Wildlife | Pan MacMillan |
| 2015 | Claire Zorn | The Protected | University of Queensland Press |
| 2016 | Fiona Wood | Cloudwish | Macmillan Australia |
| 2017 | Claire Zorn | One Would Think the Deep | University of Queensland Press |
| 2018 | Cath Crowley, Fiona Wood, and Simmone Howell | Take Three Girls | Pan Macmillan |
| 2019 | Clare Atkins | Between Us | Black Inc. |

### 2020s

| Year | Author | Title | Publisher |
| 2020 | Vikki Wakefield | This Is How We Change the Ending | Text Publishing |
| 2021 | Davina Bell | The End of the World is Bigger than Love | Text Publishing |
| 2022 | Rebecca Lim | Tiger Daughter | Allen & Unwin |
| 2023 | Tom Taylor | Neverlanders | Penguin Random House |
| 2024 | Karen Comer | Grace Notes | Lothian Children’s Books |

## Commended books
### 1940s

| Year | Author | Title | Publisher |
| 1948 | Veronica Basser | Ponny the Penguin | Australasian Publishing Co. |
| 1948 | Ada Jackson | Beetles A'Hoy! | Paterson's Press |
| 1948 | James H. Martin and W. D. Martin | The Australian Book of Trains | Angus and Robertson |
| 1948 | Musette Morell | Bush Cobbers | Australasian Publishing Co. |
| 1948 | Leslie Rees | The Story of Shadow, the Rock Wallaby | John Sands |

### 1950s

| Year | Author | Title | Publisher |
| 1959 | Elyne Mitchell | The Silver Brumby | Hutchinson |
| 1959 | Frank Norton | Australian and New Zealand Ships of Today | Angus and Robertson |
| 1959 | Eve Pownall | Exploring Australia | Methuen |
| 1959 | Patricia Wrightson | The Bunyip Hole | Angus and Robertson |

### 1960s

| Year | Author | Title | Publisher |
| 1960 | Dale Collins | Anzac Adventure | Angus and Robertson |
| 1960 | Eleanor Spence | The Summer in Between | Oxford University Press |
| 1960 | Norman Barnett Tindale and H. A. Lindsay | Rangatira | Rigby |
| 1961 | Alan Aldous | Doctor With Wings | Brockhampton |
| 1961 | Elyne Mitchell | Silver Brumby's Daughter | Hutchinson |
| 1961 | Eleanor Spence | Lillipilly Hill | Oxford University Press |
| 1962 | Ruth Park | The Hole in the Hill | Ure Smith |
| 1962 | Betty Roland | The Forbidden Bridge | Bodley Head |
| 1962 | Colin Thiele | Sun on the Stubble | Rigby |
| 1964 | Nan Chauncy | The Roaring 40 | Oxford University Press |
| 1964 | Joan Phipson | Threat to the Barkers | Angus and Robertson |
| 1964 | Colin Thiele | Storm Boy | Rigby |
| 1965 | Nan Chauncy | High and Haunted Island | Oxford University Press |
| 1965 | Mary Durack | The Courteous Savage | Nelson |
| 1965 | Nuri Mass | The Wonderland of Nature | Writers' Press |
| 1965 | Elyne Mitchell | Winged Skis | Hutchinson |
| 1965 | Carol Odell | A Day at the Zoo | Angus and Robertson |
| 1965 | Betty Roland | Jamie's Summer Visitor | Bodley Head |
| 1966 | Reginald Ottley | By the Sandhills of Yamboorah | Deutsch |
| 1966 | Ivan Southall | Indonesian Journey | Lansdowne Press |
| 1966 | Eleanor Spence | The Year of the Currawong | Oxford University Press |
| 1966 | Colin Thiele | February Dragon | Rigby |
| 1967 | Max Fatchen | The River Kings | Hicks Smith |
| 1967 | Reginald Ottley | The Roan Colt of Yamboorah | Deutsch |
| 1967 | Celia Syred | Cocky's Castle | Angus and Robertson |
| 1968 | H. F. Brinsmead | A Sapphire for September | Oxford University Press |
| 1968 | Nan Chauncy | Mathinna's People | Oxford University Press |
| 1968 | Mavis Thorpe Clark | Blue Above the Trees | Lansdowne |
| 1968 | Ivan Southall | The Fox Hole | Hicks Smith |
| 1968 | Randolph Stow | Midnite | F. W. Cheshire |
| 1969 | George Finkel | The Loyall Virginian | Angus and Robertson |
| 1969 | John Goode | Wood, Wire and Fabric | Lansdowne |
| 1969 | Jack Pollard | Cricket the Australian Way | Lansdowne |
| 1969 | Robert Shaw | Wandjina: Children of the Dream Time | Jacaranda |
| 1969 | Ivan Southall | Let the Balloon Go | Methuen Hicks Smith |
| 1969 | Phil and Noel Wallace | Children of the Desert | Nelson |
| 1969 | Patricia Wrightson | I Own the Racecourse | Hutchinson |

### 1970s

| Year | Author | Title | Publisher |
| 1970 | Diedre Hill | Over the Bridge | Hutchinson |
| 1970 | Marjory O'Dea | Six Days Between a Second | Heinemann |
| 1970 | Reginald Ottley | The Bates Family | Collins |
| 1970 | P. W. Smith | Ombley-Gombley | Angus and Robertson |
| 1970 | Ivan Southall | Finn's Folly | Angus and Robertson |
| 1970 | Colin Thiele | Blue Fin | Rigby |
| 1971 | George Finkel | James Cook, Royal Navy | Angus and Robertson |
| 1971 | Hui-min Lo | The Story of China | Angus and Robertson |
| 1971 | Lilith Norman | Climb a Lonely Hill | Collins |
| 1972 | David Martin | Hughie | Nelson |
| 1972 | Christobel Mattingley | The Windmill at Magpie Creek | Brockhampton Press |
| 1973 | Meredith Hooper | Everyday Inventions | Hutchinson |
| 1973 | Patricia Wrightson | An Older Kind of Magic | Angus and Robertson |