2025 speech pathology book award winners announced

Speech Pathology Australia has announced the winners of its 2025 Book of the Year Awards.

Chosen from shortlists announced in July, the winners in each category are:

Birth to 3 years

• Where Is Cheeky Monster? (Mike Lucas, illus by Heidi McKinnon, Puffin)

3 to 5 years

• Don’t Worry, Felix (Yohann Devezy & Katharine Alice, illus by Zoe Bennett, New Frontier)

5 to 8 years

• Willow’s Gumboots (Beverley McWilliams, illus by Hélène Magisson, MidnightSun)

8 to 10 years

• The Audition (Stage Stars #1) (Penny McNamee, Scholastic)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Book

• Country (Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson, illus by Cheryl Davison, Wild Dog)

Decodable Book Series

• PLD Decodable Reading Books – Initial Code (PLD).

Presented to Australian children’s authors annually, the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards “are for those books that promote oral language development and literacy,” according to organisers. “Each award is based on the book’s appeal to children, interactive quality and ability to assist speech pathologists and parents in communication and literacy development.”

Last year’s winners included Let’s Play (Karen Tyrrell, illus by Maddi Gray, Play Matters); Almost a Fish (Julianne Negri, illus by Evie Barrow, Little Book Press); Harriet Hound (Kate Foster, illus by Sophie Beer, Walker Books); Being Jimmy Baxter (Fiona Lloyd, Puffin); Our Flag, Our Story: The Torres Strait Islander Flag (Thomas Mayo & Bernard Namok Jnr, illus by Tori-Jay Mordey, Magabala); and Fox Kid (Adrian Beck, Learning Logic).

More information about the awards is available on the Speech Pathology Australia website.

Category: Awards Local news