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Lester’s “Magic Beach” named Australia’s best children’s picture book

Monday, 9 February 2026   Books+Publishing
@booksandpublishing

The Guardian has announced the winner of its poll for Australia’s best children’s picture book as Magic Beach by Alison Lester (A&U Children’s).

The Guardian said the book “follows the different adventures children can have on a day at the beach, through both the wonders of the natural environment and the power of imagination.”

First published in 1990, Magic Beach was released as a 30th anniversary edition by Allen & Unwin in 2020, after over half a million copies had been already sold. Last year, an animated film adaptation of the book was created by director Robert Connolly and release on streaming service Stan.

The creator of multiple picture books, Lester runs a bookshop containing all of her works in Fish Creek, Victoria. Lester is an inaugural Australian Children’s Laureate, a position she shared with Boori Monty Pryor and in 2019, she was featured on a postage stamp and was recipient of a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).

Lester said, “I think I owe a lot to my family and friends who were all in there voting for me as well … There was such a huge number of beautiful books, so I am very, very thrilled.”

The top books in the poll were:

  • Magic Beach (Alison Lester, A&U Children’s) (2,557 votes)
  • Possum Magic (Alison Lester, A&U Children’s) (1,782 votes)
  • Where is the Green Sheep? (Mem Fox, illus Judy Horacek, Viking) (1,609 votes)
  • Diary of a Wombat (Jackie French, illus Bruce Whatley, HarperCollins) (1,556 votes)
  • My Shadow is Pink (Scott Stuart, Larrikin) (1,436 votes)
  • Animalia (Graeme Base, Picture Puffin) (1,340 votes)
  • Room on Our Rock (Kate and Jol Temple, illus Terri Rose Baynton, Scholastic) (1,290 votes)
  • There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake (Hazel Edwards, illus Deborah Niland, Picture Puffin)(1,267 votes)
  • Come Over to My House (Sally Rippin and Eliza Hull, illus Daniel Gray-Barnett, HGCP) (1,008 votes)
  • All the Ways to Be Smart (Davina Bell, illus Allison Colpoys, Scribble) (1,002 votes).

 

Category: Local news