http://ibbyaustralia.wordpress.com/honour-list/
check out this excellent site - this honour list and other awards and this link to the international site.
Australian Kids decide:
KOALA are annual awards made by young readers in NSW to the Australian books they have most enjoyed reading during that year.
http://www.koalansw.org.au/page/winners.html
similarly for the UK---
http://www.redhousechildrensbookaward.co.uk/award-shortlist.asp
Excellent Kids books blog and more - a must use site - based in Canberra, Australia. This blog has lots of great links to other sources.
http://kids-book-review.blogspot.com/search/label/About%20Us
Books for kids blog: books and reviews by a kids librarian
http://booksforkidsblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/motion-commotion-waddle-by-rufus-butler.html
2. Emma ( my 7 yr old grand daughter) is reading this and enjoying it. Long-drop dunny is an idea Emma is learning out!!!
Meet Audrey Barlow - a girl with a lot on her mind. Her dad has gone away to work, her brother Price thinks he's too old for games, and little Dougie lies pretending to be a bird. So together with her best friend Stumpy, Audrey ponders some of life's big questions.like whether being a swaggie is lonelier than being a girl, and whether it's better to be a sheep or a cow??
Follow Audrey and Stumpy through this dazzler of a story and discover how friend's can stop you from feeling lonlier than a country dunny.
http://www.audreyoftheoutback.com.au/books.html
Children's Book Council of Australia: good for lists of award books and much more---
http://cbca.org.au/news.htm3. Mandela comic wins award
Apr 29, 2010 2:44 PM | By SapaA comic book depicting former president Nelson Mandela's life has won an award for the best book for older readers in the Children's Africana Book Awards in America, the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) says.
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The life of Nelson Mandela in pictures
Kids don't engage with documentary biographies so we went to the Foundation with an idea of a comic book, because young people can handle little chunks of information
The authorised comic book, produced by Umlando wetzithombe (meaning history of pictures) and the NMF, depicts the life of Mandela from his birth in 1918 to his retirement in 2004.
It was awarded the prize for the best book for older readers in the Children's Africana Book Awards from the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association (ASA) for 2010.
The ASA is a non-profit corporation founded in 1957, which aims to bring together people with a scholarly and professional interest in Africa.
The award would be presented at a ceremony in Washington DC at the National Museum of African Art in November.
Verne Harris, head of the NMF Memory Programme, said the book was initially designed as a series of comics for South African schoolchildren. He was delighted the book had been honoured in such a way.
The book was first published in South Africa in 2008 to coincide with Mandela's 90th birthday. It had since been published in the Netherlands, France and the United States.
Creative director of Umlando wetzithombe, Nic Buchanan, said the comic book was published because while most children had an idea of who Nelson Mandela was, they did not have the whole story.
"Kids don't engage with documentary biographies so we went to the Foundation with an idea of a comic book, because young people can handle little chunks of information," he said.
Harris said this was the third international award for the NMF this year.
4. Malorie Blackman's top 10 graphic novels for teenagers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/aug/19/malorie-blackman-top-10-graphic-novels/printAlthough famous as an author of prose fiction, the author of the Noughts and Crosses novels here shares her enthusiasm for graphic novels that will excite teenage readers
- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 19 August 2009 11.57 BST
Deceptively simple ... a still from the animated version of Persopolis. Photograph: Sony /Everett / Rex
Buy Malorie Blackman books at the Guardian bookshop
- Double Cross
- by Malorie Blackman
- 448pp,
- Corgi,
- £6.99
1. V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
This book started my love of graphic novels. I'd always read comics as a child but I didn't realise stories could be told in this format for adults and teenagers until I read this story. V For Vendetta is complex, absorbing and truly brilliant. The story is set in an England in the near future where those deemed "deviants" are sent to camps to be exterminated or experimented on. What I love about this story is that it celebrates the individual, how just one person can make a difference, can start a domino effect that can change a whole society. Awe-inspiring stuff.2. Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
I still remember the sense of wonder I felt when I first read this. It was the second story by Alan Moore that I read and after that I was hooked, not just on his writing but graphic novels in general. Using the warning "Who watches the Watchmen?" as a starting point, the story follows an ageing, now disbanded group of "super-heroes" after one of their number is murdered. What is believed to be a revenge killing turns out to be something much more globally significant, told against the backdrop of the world rushing forward towards nuclear Armageddon. And the moral dilemma presented at the end of the story is truly thought-provoking. A great read.3. Sin City: Hell and Back by Frank Miller
Hell and Back is the seventh in the Sin City series written by Frank Miller. I love all the books in this series but Hell and Back is my favourite. The first three books have already been turned into a film directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller. These stories are bloody and brutal but what great storytelling! An ex-Navy seal called Wallace rescues a woman called Esther who has tried to commit suicide. They become close but then she is abducted, and boy, did the kidnappers pick the wrong woman because Wallace is going to find her and make those responsible pay. Loved, loved, loved this story.4. Chronicles of Wormwood by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows
This graphic novel is for mature readers only. And I mean, mature! It is sexually explicit. But I think this story has some very interesting things to say about heaven, hell and religion in general. It's the story of Daniel Wormwood, who is a benevolent anti-Christ. Daniel's best friend is a Rasta called Jay (bearing more than a passing resemblance to Jesus) who is brain-damaged after a police officer used his head for target practice. Jay, Daniel and a talking rabbit called Jimmy take a road trip to heaven, then to hell. But it all goes wrong when Satan captures Jay and tries to force Daniel to bring about Armageddon. I thought this was an amazing read. (Although – did I mention? – it's for mature readers only!)5. Hellblazer (John Constantine)
There are a number of graphic novels in the Hellblazer series and some are far better than others. A number of writers and illustrators have told the story of John Constantine, the chain-smoking demon hunter. But for me, amongst the very best Hellblazer stories are the ones written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Steve Dillon, including Fear and Loathing, Damnation's Flame, Son of Man and Tainted Love. These are intelligent horror stories which are truly "unputtdownable".6. Black Hole by Charles Burns
This was a story that definitely made an impression! It follows a number of teenagers in a small American town, some of whom are stricken with a sexually transmitted virus which causes irreversible mutations – anything from a second mouth appearing on one boy's neck to a girl growing a tail. It's the story of how these teenagers come to terms – or not – with their changing bodies and the attitudes of those around them.7. Troubled Souls by Garth Ennis and John McCrea
This story is set in Belfast and is the story of two friends, Tom and Damien, during the Troubles. Damian is a member of the IRA, Tom is just trying to keep his head down. This is an amazing story which I read way back when, and I remember the sense of shock I felt when I read the ending. It's a story that truly gets to you.8. Gemma Bovery by Posy Simmonds
Posy Simmonds is so talented that I could have picked any number of her books for this list. But Gemma Bovery is one of my favourites. Her artwork is expressive and imaginative and I love the way this story is told. It's funny and insightful. Gemma, a British woman, moves to France with her husband to escape her past. Once there she tries to spice up her tedious marriage by having an affair with a guy called Patrick. But then Gemma dies. The story is told by Raymond Joubert, her neighbour in Normandy who has access to Gemma's diaries.9. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Persepolis is a clever, funny and moving graphic novel based on the author's life as an ordinary Iranian girl growing up in the 1980s in the wake of the Islamic revolution. This amazing story gives real insight into what life was like at that time in Iran. The style is deceptively simple but very readable and totally engrossing. Highly recommended.10. Maus by Art Spiegelman
This is the story of Art Spiegelman's father Vladek, a Polish Jew who managed to survive Auschwitz. Vladek's story is intertwined with Art's present day story as Art tries to understand more about his father and therefore more about himself. In this story, Jews are portrayed as mice and Nazis are portrayed as cats, which works brilliantly as a metaphor. I'd recommend this to any teenager.5. Will Davis's top 10 literary teenagers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/aug/12/top-10-teenage-charactersAs well as acne and angst, adolescents have provided fiction with some of its most compelling protagonists. The author of My Side of the Story picks his favourites
- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 12 August 2009 09.00 BST
Engrossed ... a teenager at the Hay-on-Wye book festival. Photograph: Andrew Fox/Corbis
- Dream Machine
- by Will Davis
- 352pp,
- Bloomsbury,
- £11.99
Love 'em or hate 'em, the teenager is a popular character in fiction – hey, we've all been there. But for writers, the teen is a classic tool for exploring situations and issues from a neutral viewpoint, one as yet unbiased by the rigidity of adult perception. One thing's for sure: they aren't going away.
1. Deirdre in Round the Bend by Mitzi Dale
When 13-year-old Deidre sets her bed on fire everyone starts acting like she's crazy. The masterstroke of Dale's brilliant, often-overlooked first novel is how down-to-earth and identifiable her unhinged protagonist feels, trapped in a family where her only method of taking control is madness.
2. Gilly Freeborn in Letters of a Lovestruck Teenager by Claire Robertson
Unfolding in a series of letters to an agony aunt, Gilly Freeborn is quite possibly the most screamingly funny teenage character ever written. Dealing with being pancake flat, having a vain, bitchy older sister, two warring parents and, of course, falling for "the Vision", Gilly was the female answer to Adrian Mole. 3. Esther Greenwood in The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
For many people Holden Caulfield is the ultimate literary teenage creation – but 19-year-old Esther Greenwood must surely run a close second. Brutal, frank and moving, it is impossible not to read her disaffected journey and think of Plath herself.4. Cherry Vanilla in Sarah by JT LeRoy
OK, technically Cherry Vanilla is 12, therefore not quite a teenager, but I'm including him anyway because JT LeRoy (alias Laura Albert)'s fantastically savvy, yet ethereally naive "lot lizard", mired in a fairytale world of drugs and prostitution, must surely be one of the most original characters invented.5. Orla, Kylah, Chell, Amanda and Fionnula in The Sopranos by Alan Warner
Warner is probably one of the best living novelists, and the five eponymous choir girls of his book, who leave their dead-end Scottish town to take part in a singing competition in the city, are dirty-minded yet touchingly sweet – as well as devastatingly real.6. Paul Porterfield in The Page Turner by David Leavitt
The unlucky teenager of Leavitt's novel is seduced by an older concert pianist while holidaying in Italy with his mother. As his story unfolds, there are abrupt revelations in store for all three characters – yet it is only Paul who is able to meet them with the maturity of an adult. Enigmatic and brilliant.
7. Mark in New Boy by William Sutcliffe
For all his cleverness, Mark is initially a rather unsympathetic creation. It is only as the novel unravels, in increasingly hilarious segments, that a young man drowning in peer pressure is revealed – tragically only semi-aware of the fact that he is fast losing his own identity. 8. Ann Burden in Z for Zachariah by Robert C O'Brien
Following a nuclear war, Ann finds herself trapped alone in a sheltered valley which has somehow escaped the fallout. One day a shadowy figure in a hazmat appears on the horizon. Unsure if he is friend or foe, Ann hides in a cave. Soon she realises she must take charge of her destiny, even if it means leaving her home. An extraordinary coming-of-age novel featuring an extraordinary young woman.9. Elizabeth Wurtzel in Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel
Wurtzel's famous autobiographical novel does not skimp on any aspect of her debilitating depression, which first began when she was a teenager. It might pulsate with an egoism that would make Mariah Carey blush, but you can practically feel the catharsis as she pours out the illness that's marked her life.10. Mary in Witch Child by Celia Rees
After watching her grandmother be tried and executed as a witch, 14-year-old Mary knows she must hide her identity from the group of Puritans with whom she has travelled to America. With tragedy and suspicion hanging over her, Mary feels a spiritual connection to the new land, and makes a brave and original young protagonist.http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/may/06/puffin-70-best-books-children
The Best Mischief and MayhemThe Twits by Roald Dahl
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
The Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog by Jeremy Strong
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend
The Best Weepies
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Truth about Leo by David Yelland
Two Weeks with the Queen by Morris Gleitzman
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
The Best to Cuddle-Up With
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis & Gwen Millward
Peepo! by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd
The Best Blood and Guts
The Enemy by Charlie Higson
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Being by Kevin Brooks
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Best Swashbucklers and Derring-Do
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs by Giles Andreae & Russell Ayto
Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior by Chris Bradford
Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green
The Best Heroes
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Young Bond: SilverFin by Charlie Higson
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Best Characters
Charlie and Lola: Excuse Me But That is My Book by Lauren Child
Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll & Jan Pienkowski
Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird & Helen Craig
Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs
The Best Sugar and Spice
Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories by Joyce Lankester Brisley
The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child & Polly Borland
The Best Animals
Spy Dog by Andrew Cope
The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Lionboy by Zizou Corder
The Best Friends and Family
Dizzy by Cathy Cassidy
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Family From One End Street by Eve Garnett
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
The Best Phizzwhizzers
The BFG by Roald Dahl
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl
The Best War and Conflict
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Once by Morris Gleitzman
Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian
Carrie's War by Nina Bawden
The Best BEST BEST BEST!
Stig of the Dump by Clive King
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
Junk by Melvin Burgess
The Best Fantasy and Adventure
TimeRiders by Alex Scarrow
Dot Robot by Jason Bradbury
Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
The Best Weird and Wonderful
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Five Children and It by E Nesbitt
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
The Best Rhymes and Verse
Please Mrs Butler by Allan Ahlberg
Michael Rosen's A-Z The best children's poetry from Agard to Zephaniah
Talking Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah
Bad Bad Cats by Roger McGough
The Best Alternatives to Twilight
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
The best children's books ever
Increasing numbers of children are starting school without having been read to. But which are the books to get them – and keep them – hooked? Lucy Mangan introduces our guide to the best. So whether it's to fight the White Witch or snuggle up with the Moomins, make yourself comfy ...
see full article and its an excellent one at -- has sections from 0 to 12 and overs ages.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/may/12/best-childrens-books-ever?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29
