 Hi everyone my name is Steph, this is Little Bookish Teacher and today I am going to be talking about the books that have been shortlisted for the Children's Book Council Awards of 2023 in the category of Book of the Year Early Childhood, which are all of these beautiful picture books. So I did do my reaction to the shortlist for 2023, I'll leave that link up on the screen if you have missed it. The category of Early Childhood Book of the Year is one that is aimed at books that target an audience of zero to six years of age that does not mean that those books cannot be read by children beyond that because a lot of these can and would be perfect for use in middle and upper years of school, but the publisher's audience category is zero to six years. Books in this category can be fiction, drama or poetry and should be appropriate in style and content for children who are at pre-reading or early stages of reading. So that's the classification. The shortlist contains six books that were selected from a Notables List books I believe are submitted by the author or by the publisher for consideration for these awards and they are all Australian authors and illustrators. So the way that I'm going to talk about these books are I'm going to read the synopsis of the book and then I'm going to share some things that I really enjoyed about them and then maybe at the end I will say which one I kind of hope wins or which ones I think will win I suppose. So the first book is Where the Library Lives by Vicki Conley and Max Hamilton. This is published by Windy Hollow Books. The synopsis says, high in the mountains through the sleepy clouds deep in the forest, past the charming birds, will we see the live bird? I don't know. Tiptoe, tiptoe. A delightful story about the magic of live birds, rainforests and family and it's the story of a family who are traveling through an Australian rainforest on the hunt for a live bird and along the way one of the things that I loved about this is we get to see many Australian native birds through the rainforest as well as the very beautiful setting of Australian rainforests. The other thing that I loved about this is the intergenerational nature of the family. You have grandparents, parents and children so you get multiple perspectives and we also learn a lot about live birds as the older generations are sharing facts that I know about live birds and where they might find one within the rainforest. It has absolutely beautiful watercolor illustrations and there are a lot of onomatopoeia words, so words for sounds that are represented in the book particularly as they are listening for the sounds of the live bird which makes it a really fun read aloud. Then there is Snap by Anna Walker which is published by Scribble Kids Books and just have a look at this. It's such a vibrant colorful book. The synopsis says tap, tap, tap. Frog thinks there's no one else in the forest but you never know what's just around the corner, a roller-king and hilarious soundscape adventure for the smallest of readers. This book is probably the one in terms of language use that fits that zero to six age category the best because there is very very simple use of text most of it is and is onomatopoeia, it is sound or it is very simple verbs as frog is moving through the story. I absolutely adore the painted paper collage art style in this book it's so vibrant so as you can see very simple text lots of bright colorful images there's a lot of these this use of panels as well to move the story it's almost like a comic in that way in that some pages have those panels to show the movement through it but also the language choice helps to create movement and helps to create pace in the story. This is perfect as a reader lab for kids because they'll think it's hilarious all the antics that frog gets up to. Then there is Bev and Kev by Katrina Germain and Mandy Foot. This is absolutely gorgeous it is published by Little Book Press and the synopsis says Bev is tall and Kev is small and unlikely pair. Could this be the beginning of a very big friendship, a heartwarming tale about learning to love yourself and the value of a true friend? Bev is teased for being so big and one of the things I really loved about this book is how many different synonyms we get for the word big as the different characters are commenting on her size which obviously Bev doesn't like so that's a really good opportunity to talk to kids about how do we talk to others and how do we make them feel good about themselves rather than making them feel bad about themselves and Bev is feeling a lot of emotions because she doesn't like people constantly drawing attention to her height and so she starts traveling to try and find the waterhole but she's on her own and she doesn't really have a close friend and then she meets Kev who finds her and he's in sharp contrast to her height quite small but he thinks she is awesome and together they travel to the waterhole and they learn about each other they tell stories to each other and it makes the journey just that little bit more enjoyable. This is a great book for talking about your self-perception and also the perceptions of others and how those don't always align. I loved the theme of friendship in this one it's utterly beautiful and also the illustrations these characters are just so emotive. The illustrations are just stunning and every time I look at Bev I'm just drawn to her eyes in the illustrations that's just a really beautifully illustrated book. Then there is Market Day by Carrie Galash and Hannah Somerville. This one is published by Little Hair and the snopser says when a girl is given a coin to spend at the market she thinks carefully about what to buy she's tempted by the towering stacks of fruit spinning rides and glass jars filled with sweets but it isn't until a stranger gives something to her without expecting anything in return that she knows exactly what to do with her coin. I fell in love with this book it's absolutely gorgeous and it is so vibrant and warm it's about a family who go to a market and they spend the entire day there. There is really fantastic use of verbs in this book the author has also used rhyming in certain places to accentuate the storytelling style which is great because you don't get an overuse of that rhyming text but it is there and you can hear it when you read it aloud. The other thing I loved particularly in the illustrations of this aside from it just being a really beautiful warm color palette that just invites you in like I would love to go to this market is the fact that we have a very diverse cast of characters and side characters all the way through the book so no two people look the same and of all the books in this category this one is probably the most diverse without it being a case of trying to throw diversity in it is just what you would see if you went out to a market and went out into the world and I deeply appreciate that. I also love that this book really does prioritize experiences over possessions and our main character thinking constantly about what she's going to spend her coin on and thinking really critically about it does she want something that is going to be tangible but doesn't last or does she spend it on something that has given her a lasting memory and it's just beautiful so this one is such a gorgeous book and would be perfect this is one of the books that I think you could use all the way up to year six because there is so much in here. There is Lionel and Me by Corinne Fenton and Tracy Grimmwood this one was published by New Frontier Publishing and the synopsis says when Lionel arrives Maverick is unimpressed this is Lionel and this is Maverick. Is there enough love to go around for the two of them? A delightful book that celebrates inclusion and friendship so Maverick is the only dog in a family until they acquire Lionel and Lionel is cute for a little while but then he starts to become the annoying little brother for Maverick and Maverick is not quite sure what to do about it and sometimes he reacts in a really negative way. What I loved about this book is how Maverick begins to change the way he views Lionel over time. I probably would have liked a couple of extra pages to be honest on that development and a few more things where they interact together but by the end of the book we can see that Maverick is starting to understand that just because Lionel is the new dog in the house doesn't mean that others don't love him as much and I think it also highlights that you don't have to love everyone the first time you meet them that you can actually grow to love someone over time as you get to know them and then the final book in this category is Jigsaw a Puzzle in the Post by Bob Graham. Bob Graham is a very very famous author I've been reading him since I was a kid. This one's synopsis is a parcel with a puzzle inside arrives one day covered with stamps. No one knows just who it is sent by. A beautiful Jigsaw and African sunrise. Good luck to you all is all the card says. Perhaps with a hope and a wish Kitty, Katie, mum and dad might just piece it all together. A warm-hearted story, perseverance, determination and hope. This book I mean I love Bob Graham's books regardless and this book is very much quintessentially Bob Graham from its illustration style just to the warmth of a family working together to solve a problem that's very much in his style. I should also say the end papers are the puzzle that the family received. So this family received this puzzle they open it and they start to do it together but one of the puzzle pieces goes missing and we find it very quickly that it has ended up in the bin and so this prompts the family to go and try and hunt for this puzzle piece at the tip and it's about them working together and as the synopsis says persevering and trying to finish this puzzle together and it's a activity that really does bring them together as a family and there's a huge amount of warmth in the story as with all of Bob Graham's books. His language choice is always great. The types of characters that we see are always very similar and so therefore it's you know very comforting to come back to his books and it wouldn't be Bob Graham if we didn't have the family dog. This is Lucy. All right so those are the six books that have been shortlisted for the early childhood book of the year. I kind of thought when I was first looking at this list it would be pretty easy to pick the book that might win and look it could still be Bob Graham. However there are two books that I think could take it out. I think it could be Snap by Anna Walker simply because it is the book that I think best fits the age category and also there is something just magical about a book that uses limited text and vibrant illustrations to move the story forward. I would be thrilled if this one because I think it's a really gorgeous book but that said I also think Market Day has a real chance of winning just because of the type of warm family oriented story that it features and honestly I would be thrilled if either of these one. I mean I'd be thrilled if Bob Graham won too but it would be nice to have one of these two authors win the category so I guess we shall find out at the end of August so stay tuned. So I'm also planning on reviewing the other categories in the shortlist so stay tuned. They will be coming really soon. In the comments I'd love to know if you've read any of these books or if you have a prediction for which one you might think will win the category in August. Otherwise I hope the river on the world is staying safe and healthy and I will see you in my next video. Thanks so much for watching. Bye everyone.