Children's Book Council of Australia facts for kids
 |
|
| Non-profit organization | |
| Industry | Children's literature |
| Founded | 1945 |
The Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) is a special group. It's a non-profit organization. This means it doesn't try to make money. Its main goal is to get young Australians excited about books. Every year, the CBCA gives out important awards. These are called the Children's Book of the Year Awards. They celebrate great books for kids and teens in Australia.
Contents
The CBCA Story
The idea for the CBCA started with two people. Their names were Lena Ruppert and Mary Townes Nyland. They worked in Australia. They saw how the United States celebrated books with a special week. They wanted Australia to have one too. So, they talked to teachers, librarians, and publishers. They all worked together to start something similar in Australia.
Children's Book Week
The very first Children's Book Week in Australia happened in 1945. It was a big event all over the country. The theme for that first week was "United Through Books." This week helps everyone celebrate reading. It also highlights amazing books for young people.
CBCA Book Awards
The Children's Book Council of Australia was founded in 1945. The first Australian Children's Book of the Year Award was given out in 1946. Back then, there was only one award category. This award is now called the CBCA Book of the Year: Older Readers Award.
Over the years, more award categories were added. In 1952, an award for Picture Books was created. A Younger Readers category started in 1982. The Eve Pownall Award for Information Books began in 1993. This award is for non-fiction books.
In 2001, the Early Childhood Award was added. This brought the total number of main categories to five. In 2019, the New Illustrator Award was introduced. This award used to be called the Crichton Award. It celebrates new talent in illustrating children's books. Since 2022, kids themselves help choose the winners. They do this through "Shadow Judging" panels for each award category.
How the Awards Are Funded
At first, the awards received money from the government. This was from 1966 to 1988. Later, people and companies started donating money. They also offered sponsorships. A big company called the Myer Group helped a lot. They gave $50,000 each year for five years.
When this partnership ended, the CBCA decided to create its own fund. This was called the CBCA Awards Foundation. It was set up in 1996. This foundation raised over one million dollars. This money helps make sure there are always prizes for the awards. People who donate a lot of money are thanked. Their names are shown on CBCA materials.
How the CBCA Works
The CBCA is a national organization. It has branches in every state and territory in Australia. Some branches even have smaller groups. These branches mostly run themselves. But they follow rules set by the National Board.
The National Board was created in 2012. It has members from every CBCA branch. The Board is in charge of the yearly Book of the Year Awards. They also organize Children's Book Week. They manage the CBCA's online magazine, Reading Time. They also plan big conferences every two years.
Other Special CBCA Awards
The CBCA gives out other important awards too. These awards celebrate people who have done great things for children's literature in Australia.
- Dame Annabelle Rankin Award – This award is for special service to children's books in Queensland.
- Nan Chauncy Award – This is a national award given every two years. It honors someone's amazing work in Australian children's literature.
- Leila St John Award – This award is for service to children's books in Victoria.
- Lady Cutler Award – This award is for special service to children's books in New South Wales.
The National Centre for Australian Children's Literature
The National Centre for Australian Children's Literature is a huge collection. It has books and other materials about Australian authors, illustrators, and publishers. It also has information about their creative works. The collection has over 40,000 books. About 4,000 of these books are translated into 58 different languages.
The Centre also keeps research files. It has important collections of authors' and illustrators' papers. It also has their original manuscripts and artwork. The Centre's main goal is to help people enjoy Australian children's literature more. It does this by collecting and keeping these resources safe. It also makes them available through programs and exhibitions.
The idea for this Centre came from Lu Rees in 1974. She was a founding president of a CBCA branch. She wanted a collection of research files. These files would be about Australian children's authors and illustrators. She also wanted a collection of their books. In 1980, this collection was moved to the University of Canberra Library. This made it available for everyone to use. The Centre is now a special group in the ACT. It has a Board that helps manage it. Many CBCA members have donated to help build this amazing collection.
See also
- List of CBCA Awards
- List of Australian literary awards
