The finalists in the 2016 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults were announced this morning.  Congratulations to all of the finalists!

There are some great choices but also some favourites of mine that have missed out.  I know how hard it is to choose just a handful of books from all the wonderful ones that are published, so well done to this year’s judges – Fiona Mackie, Melinda Szymanik and Kathy Aloniu.  Read on to find out who the finalists are.

“Haunted houses, war stories, gritty social issues and some amazingly imaginative works were all part of the mix. It was very challenging for us all to choose these finalists,” says convenor of judges Fiona Mackie.

In this 26^th year of celebrating the best of New Zealand writing for our children and young adults, this year’s awards have expanded to include two categories from the now-merged Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA) Awards – the Russell Clark Illustration Award and the Te Kura Pounamu Award for books in te reo Māori.

The finalists in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are selected across six categories: Young Adult Fiction, Junior Fiction, Non-Fiction, Picture Book, Illustration and te reo Māori. There were 154 entries submitted for the 2016 Awards.

The finalists for the 2016 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are:

Young Adult Fiction

Battlesaurus: Rampage at Waterloo, Brian Falkner, Pan Macmillan Australia (Farrar Strauss Giroux)
Being Magdalene, Fleur Beale, Penguin Random House (Random House New Zealand)
Hucking Cody, Aaron Topp, Mary Egan Publishing
Lullaby, Bernard Beckett, Text Publishing
Sylvie the Second, Kaeli Baker, Mākaro Press

Junior Fiction (Esther Glen Award)

Enemy Camp, David Hill, Penguin Random House (Puffin)
From the Cutting Room of Barney Kettle, Kate De Goldi, Penguin Random House (Longacre)
Lily Max – Satin, Scissors, Frock, Jane Bloomfield, Luncheon Sausage Books
The Bold Ship Phenomenal, Sarah Johnson, Flat Bed Press
The Girl Who Rode the Wind, Stacy Gregg, Harper Collins

Non-Fiction (Elsie Locke Award)

ANZAC Heroes, Maria Gill, illustrated by Marco Ivancic, Scholastic NZ
Changing Times: The story of a New Zealand town and its newspaper, Bob Kerr, Potton & Burton
See what I can see, Gregory O’Brien, Auckland University Press
The Beginner’s Guide to Adventure Sport in New Zealand, Steve Gurney, Penguin Random House (Random House New Zealand)
Whose Beak is This? Gillian Candler, illustrated by Fraser Williamson, Potton & Burton

Picture Book

Allis the little tractor, Sophie Siers, illustrated by Helen Kerridge, Millwood-Heritage Productions
Finding Monkey Moon, Elizabeth Pulford, illustrated by Kate Wilkinson, Walker Books
Haka, Patricia Grace, illustrated by Andrew Burdan, Huia Publishers
The House on the Hill, Kyle Mewburn, illustrated by Sarah Davis, Scholastic NZ
The Little Kiwi’s Matariki, Nikki Slade Robinson, David Ling Publishing (Duck Creek Press)

Illustration (Russell Clark Award)

Changing Times: The story of a New Zealand town and its newspaper, Bob Kerr, Potton & Burton
Finding Monkey Moon, illustrated by Kate Wilkinson, written by Elizabeth Pulford, Walker Books
Hush: A Kiwi Lullaby, illustrated by Andrew Burdan, written by Joy Cowley, translated by Ngaere Roberts, Scholastic NZ
Much Ado About Shakespeare, Donovan Bixley, Upstart Press
The House on the Hill, illustrated by Sarah Davis, written by Kyle Mewburn, Scholastic NZ

Te reo Māori (Te Kura Pounamu Award)

Tamanui te Kōkako Mōrehu o Taranaki, Rebecca Beyer and Linley Wellington, illustrated by Andrew Burdan, translated by Kawata Teepa, Huia Publishers
Te Huatahi a Kuwi, Kat Merewether, translated by Pānia Papa, Illustrated Publishing
Whiti te Rā! Patricia Grace, illustrated by Andrew Burdan, translated by Kawata Teepa, Huia Publishers

 

HELL Children’s Choice finalists also announced

Kiwi children have enthusiastically voted online to select the finalists for the HELL Children’s Choice Awards. HELL Pizza general manager Ben Cumming says, “As a creative, New Zealand-owned business, HELL Pizza is passionate about feeding the imaginations of Kiwi kids and helping develop their literacy – particularly through a relationship with books. The stories these young readers have chosen as finalists are exciting, well-written, beautifully illustrated and clearly resonate with their audience. We can’t agree on our favourite, but luckily it’s not up to us!” Voting for the winners in the five categories of the HELL Children’s Choice Award opens on Wednesday, 8 June and closes on Friday, 22 July.

Click here to vote in the Hell Children’s Choice Awards.

The HELL Children’s Choice finalists are:

Young Adult Fiction

Being Magdalene by Fleur Beale, Penguin Random House (Random House New Zealand)
Stray, Rachel Craw, Walker Books
Sylvie the Second, Kaeli Baker, Mākaro Press

Junior Fiction

Cool Nukes, Des Hunt, Scholastic NZ
Enemy Camp, David Hill, Penguin Random House (Puffin)
The Girl Who Rode the Wind, Stacy Gregg, Harper Collins

Non-Fiction

ANZAC Heroes, Maria Gill, illustrated by Marco Ivancic, Scholastic NZ
First to the Top, David Hill, illustrated by Phoebe Morris, Penguin Random House (Puffin)
Wildboy, Brando Yelavich, Penguin Random House (Penguin)

Picture Book

Kuwi’s Huhu Hunt, Kat Merewether, Illustrated Publishing
Stripes! No, Spots! Vasanti Unka, Penguin Random House (Puffin)
The House on the Hill, Kyle Mewburn, illustrated by Sarah Davis, Scholastic NZ

Te reo Māori

Tamanui te Kōkako Mōrehu o Taranaki, Rebecca Beyer and Linley Wellington, illustrated by Andrew Burdan, translated by Kawata Teepa, Huia Publishers
Te Hua Tuatahi a Kuwi, Kat Merewether, translated by Pānia Papa, Illustrated Publishing
Whiti te Rā! Patricia Grace, illustrated by Andrew Burdan, translated by Kawata Teepa, Huia Publishers

For more information check out the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults website.