The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced their Book of the Year Awards winners for 2022. These Awards celebrate the best Australian books for readers in early childhood up to young adult readers.

Here are the winners for each category.

Older Readers (for ages 13–18 years)

Tiger Daughter by Rebecca Lim

Wen Zhou is the daughter and only child of Chinese immigrants whose move to the lucky country has proven to be not so lucky. Wen and her friend, Henry Xiao – whose mum and dad are also poor immigrants – both dream of escape from their unhappy circumstances, and they form a plan to sit an entrance exam to a selective high school far from home. But when tragedy strikes, it will take all of Wen’s resilience and resourcefulness to get herself and Henry through the storm that follows.

Honour books:

• Girls in Boys’ Cars by Felicity Castagna

• How to Repaint a Life by Steven Herrick

Younger Readers (for ages 8–12 years)

A Glasshouse of Stars by Shirley Marr

Meixing Lim and her family have arrived at the New House in the New Land, inherited from First Uncle who died tragically and unexpectedly while picking oranges in the backyard.

Everything is vast and unknown to Meixing and not in a good way, including the house she has dubbed Big Scary. She is embarrassed by the second-hand shoes given to her by the kind neighbours, has trouble understanding the language at school, and with fitting in and making new friends. Her solace is a glasshouse in the garden that inexplicably holds the sun and the moon and all the secrets of her memory and imagination.

Honour books:

• Dragon Skin by Karen Foxlee

• Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief by Katrina Nannestad

Early Childhood (for ages 0–7 years)

Jetty Jumping by Andrea Rowe and Hannah Sommerville (Illus.)

While Milla’s friends take big, brave jumps off the jetty, Milla stays on the blistering wood, scared of what lurks below. But when Milla accidentally falls off the edge, she discovers the beauty of the deep, dark sea – and her summer changes forever.

Honour books:

• Walk of the Whales by Nick Bland

• Amira’s Suitcase by Vikki Conley and Nicky Johnston (Illus.)

Picture Book of the Year (for ages 0–18 years)

Iceberg by Claire Saxby and Jess Racklyeft (Illus.)

In the final freeze of an Antarctic winter, green tails wave across a star-full sky, as if to farewell endless nights. If this world looks empty, look closer…

Penguins trek across the ice to their winter homes. As the temperature warms, birds fly above on their long migrations. And with the advent of summer, beneath an iceberg, the sea is teeming with life. Ocean, sky, snow and ice – minute greens and giant blues – dance a delicate dance in this evocative portrayal of the life cycle of an iceberg.

Honour books:

• Stellarphant by James Foley

• Just One Bee by Margrete Lamond, Anthony Bertini and Christopher Nielsen (Illus.)

Eve Pownall Award for Information Books (for ages 0–18 years)

Still Alive by Safdar Ahmed

In early 2011, Safdar Ahmed visited Sydney’s Villawood Immigration Detention Centre for the first time. He brought pencils and sketchbooks into the centre and started drawing with the people detained there. Their stories are told in this book.

Interweaving journalism, history and autobiography, Still Alive is an intensely personal indictment of Australia’s refugee detention policies and procedures. It is also a searching reflection on the redemptive power of art. And death metal.

Honour books:

• The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature by Sami Bayly

• Heroes, Rebels and Innovators by Karen Wyld and Jaelyn Biumaiwai (Illus.)

Award for New Illustrators (for ages 0–18 years)

The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name by Sandhya Parappukkaran and Michelle Pereira (Illus.)

When Zimdalamashkermishkada starts a new school, he knows he’s got to do something about his long name. When no amount of shrinking, folding or crumpling works, he simply settles for Zim – but deep down, it doesn’t feel right. It’s not until a new friend sees him for who he truly is that Zimdalamashkermishkada finds the confidence to step boldly into his long name.

This year’s Children’s Book Week runs from 20 – 26 August with the theme: Dreaming with eyes open. For more information about the CBCA Awards and Children’s Book Week, visit the CBCA website.