Age-related award categories
Birth to three years
In shortlisting books in this category, assess the nominated books against the criteria and matters outlined below.
Aim of this category
To support children’s emergent literacy in the context of shared book reading.
The criteria below provide examples of appropriate expectations.
1) The book has a strong narrative format. It:
- tells a good tale
- develops and addresses an issue(s) which holds relevance to this age group.
2) The book contains characters that appeal to the intended audience. They:
- are readily identifiable
- encourage the reader to make an imaginative and/or emotional connection
- have aspects that the reader will recognise from own life
- represent, where possible, the diverse Australian cultural and social context.
3) The book encourages the reader to explore new ideas and concepts. It:
- arouses emotions
- encourages the use of inference
- is thought-provoking
- allows opportunities for prediction
- educates about life/events
- gives readers the opportunity to consider the complexities of the world
- encourages the reader to recognise and talk about personal and/or cultural beliefs
- provides opportunities for discussion through variation in genre (e.g. fiction/non-fiction/verse; literary devices such as contents page, index, glossary, chapter heading, verses).
4) The book encourages the development of imagination and curiosity by:
- creating a sense of wonder, mystery and excitement
- allowing the reader to feel connected with events in the story
- arousing interest in real world events or circumstances
- leading to conversation during reading, and long after the book has finished.
5) The book uses appropriate language:
- the language demands meet the expected developmental levels of this age group
- the rhythm of language features strongly at the appropriate developmental level
- stimulates vocabulary development
- includes descriptive language of the appropriate developmental level
- pragmatic language skills are developed through modelling of social communication
- develops knowledge of figurative language (e.g. metaphors, onomatopoeia) and other literary devices (e.g. alliteration, repetition)
- the characters talk and act in a way children recognise and relate to, and would use in their own daily ‘chat’
- words are used to tap into the absurdities of a young child’s sense of humour.
6) The book is engaging because it:
- contains a sense of the ridiculous
- is gripping; has element of suspense
- is entertaining
- lends itself to oral language extension activities
- has universal appeal to adults and children so they will have fun reading together
- is written in a style that engages young listeners (e.g. noises, sounds, rhythm, rhyme, posing questions)
- has a functional design that allows younger readers to explore the story and the book
- is of a length that is developmentally appropriate
- motivates you to read this book with a child again and again.
7) The book text is well presented because:
- the font type and size is appropriate
- the amount of text per page is developmentally appropriate
- it draws attention to the written text (e.g. making it part of the illustration, changes in font size or type.
8) The book illustrations are well presented because:
- the illustrations and text work together to create meaning
- the illustration supports learning of concepts, sequences and processes that are difficult to convey in language
- the illustration allows opportunities for prediction and use of inference, and adds to the narrative in providing alternative meanings and non-literal interpretation of language
- the font type and size is appropriate, and attention is drawn to written text through layout, embedding in illustrations
- different writing conventions (e.g. speech and/or thought bubbles, drop caps and/or interesting capitals, and changes in type (italics, bold, size, font)) encourage engagement with written language
- the illustrations support children to engage with written text conventions, such as embedding text within illustration and encourage left to right, top to bottom orientation
- the front cover and illustrations are appealing and engaging to children.
Three to five years
In shortlisting books in this category, assess the nominated books against the criteria and matters outlined below
Aim of this category
To support children’s emergent literacy in the context of shared book reading.
The criteria below provide examples of appropriate expectations.
1) The book has a strong narrative format. It:
- tells a good tale
- has a definitive beginning, middle and end with at least one complication/resolution
- develops and addresses an issue(s) which holds relevance to this age group
- encourages predictive and problem-solving skills.
2) The book contains characters that appeal to the intended audience. They:
- are readily identifiable
- encourage the reader to make an imaginative and/or emotional connection
- have aspects that the reader will recognise from own life
- represent, where possible, the diverse Australian cultural and social context.
3) The book encourages the reader to explore new ideas and concepts. It:
- arouses emotions
- is thought-provoking
- encourages the use of inference
- allows opportunities for prediction
- educates about life/events
- explores moral dilemmas
- gives reader the opportunity to consider the complexities of the world
- encourages the reader to recognise and talk about personal and/or cultural beliefs
- provides opportunities for discussion through variation in genre (e.g. fiction/non-fiction/verse; literary devices such as contents page, index, glossary, chapter heading, verses).
4) The book encourages the development of imagination and curiosity by:
- creating a sense of wonder, mystery and excitement
- allowing the reader to feel connected with events in the story
- arousing interest in real world events or circumstances
- leading to conversation during reading, and long after the book has finished.
5) The book uses appropriate language:
- the language demands meet the expected developmental levels of this age group
- phonological awareness and semantic development feature strongly at the appropriate developmental level
- includes descriptive language of the appropriate developmental level
- pragmatic language skills are developed through modelling of social communication
- develops knowledge of figurative language (e.g. metaphors, onomatopoeia) and other literary devices (e.g. alliteration, repetition)
- the characters talk and act in a way children recognise and relate to, and would use in their own daily ‘chat’.
- words are used to tap into the absurdities of a young child’s sense of humour.
6) The book is engaging because it:
- contains a sense of the ridiculous
- is gripping; has element of suspense
- is entertaining
- lends itself to oral language extension activities
- has universal appeal to adults and children so they will have fun reading together
- is written in a style that engages young listeners (e.g. noises, sounds, rhythm, rhyme, posing questions)
- has a functional design that allows younger readers to explore the story and the book
- is of a length that is developmentally appropriate
- motivates you to read this book with a child again and again.
7) The book text is well presented because:
- it supports the development of alphabet knowledge
- the font type and size is appropriate
- the amount of text per page is developmentally appropriate
- it draws attention to the written text (e.g. making it part of the illustration, changes in font size or type).
8) The illustrations support and extend language development because:
- the illustrations and text work together to create meaning
- the illustration supports learning of concepts, sequences and processes that are difficult to convey in language
- the illustration allows opportunities for prediction and use of inference, and adds to the narrative in providing alternative meanings and non-literal interpretation of language
- the font type and size is appropriate, and attention is drawn to written text through layout, embedding in illustrations
- different writing conventions (e.g. speech and/or thought bubbles, drop caps and/or interesting capitals, and changes in type (italics, bold, size, font)) encourage engagement with written language
- the illustrations support children to engage with written text conventions, such as embedding text within illustration and encourage left to right, top to bottom orientation
- the front cover and illustrations are appealing and engaging to children.
Five to eight years
In shortlisting books in this category, assess the nominated books against the criteria and matters outlined below.
Aim of this category
To support children’s emergent literacy in the context of shared book reading.
The criteria below provide examples of appropriate expectations.
1) The book has a strong narrative format. It:
tells a good tale
has a definitive beginning, middle and end with at least one complication/resolution
develops and addresses an issue(s) which holds relevance to this age group
encourages predictive and problem-solving skills.
2) The book contains characters that appeal to the intended audience. They:
- are readily identifiable
- encourage the reader to make an imaginative and/or emotional connection
- have aspects that the reader will recognise from own life
- represent, where possible, the diverse Australian cultural and social context.
3) The book encourages the reader to explore new ideas and concepts. It:
- arouses emotions
- is thought-provoking
- encourages the use of inference
- allows opportunities for prediction
- educates about life/events
- explores moral dilemmas
- gives reader the opportunity to consider the complexities of the world
- encourages the reader to recognise and talk about personal and/or cultural beliefs
- provides opportunities for discussion through variation in genre (e.g. fiction/non-fiction/verse; literary devices such as contents page, index, glossary, chapter heading, verses).
4) The book encourages the development of imagination and curiosity by:
- creating a sense of wonder, mystery and excitement
- allowing the reader to feel connected with events in the story
- arousing interest in real world events or circumstances
- leading to conversation during reading, and long after the book has finished.
5) The book uses appropriate language:
- the language demands meet the expected developmental levels of this age group
- phonological awareness and semantic development feature strongly at the appropriate developmental level
- includes descriptive language of the appropriate developmental level
- pragmatic language skills are developed through modelling of social communication
- develops knowledge of figurative language (e.g. metaphors, onomatopoeia) and other literary devices (e.g. alliteration, repetition)
- the characters talk and act in a way children recognise and relate to, and would use in their own daily ‘chat’
- words are used to tap into the absurdities of a young child’s sense of humour.
6) The book is engaging because it:
- contains a sense of the ridiculous
- is gripping; has element of suspense
- is entertaining
- lends itself to oral language extension activities
- has universal appeal to adults and children.
7) The book’s text is well presented because:
- it supports the development of alphabet knowledge
- the font type and size is appropriate
- the amount of text per page is developmentally appropriate
- it draws attention to the written text (e.g. making it part of the illustration, changes in font size or type).
If applicable
8) The illustrations support and extend language development because:
- the illustrations and text work together to create meaning
- the illustration supports learning of concepts, sequences and processes that are difficult to convey in language
- the illustration allows opportunities for prediction and use of inference, and adds to the narrative in providing alternative meanings and non-literal interpretation of language
- the font type and size is appropriate, and attention is drawn to written text through layout, embedding in illustrations
- different writing conventions (e.g. speech and/or thought bubbles, drop caps and/or interesting capitals, and changes in type (italics, bold, size, font)) encourage engagement with written language
- the illustrations support children to engage with written text conventions, such as embedding text within illustration and encourage left to right, top to bottom orientation
- the front cover and illustrations are appealing and engaging to children.
Eight to 10 years
In shortlisting books in this category, assess the nominated books against the criteria and matters outlined below.
Aim of this category
To support children’s emergent literacy in the context of shared book reading.
The criteria below provide examples of appropriate expectations.
1) The book has a strong narrative format. It:
- tells a good tale
- has a definitive beginning, middle and end with at least one complication/resolution
- develops and addresses an issue(s) which holds relevance to this age group
- encourages predictive and problem-solving skills.
2) The book contains characters that appeal to the intended audience. They:
- are readily identifiable
- encourage the reader to make an imaginative and/or emotional connection
- have aspects that the reader will recognise from own life
- represent, where possible, the diverse Australian cultural and social context.
3) The book encourages the reader to explore new ideas and concepts. It:
- arouses emotions
- is thought-provoking
- educates about life/events
- explores moral dilemmas
- gives reader the opportunity to consider the complexities of the world
- encourages the reader to recognise and talk about personal and/or cultural beliefs
- variation in genre provides opportunities for discussion (e.g. fiction/non-fiction/verse; literary devices such as contents page, index, glossary, chapter heading, verses).
4) The book encourages the development of imagination and curiosity by:
- creating a sense of wonder, mystery and excitement
- allowing the reader to feel connected with events in the story
- arousing interest in real world events or circumstances
- leading to conversation during reading, and long after the book has finished.
5) The book uses appropriate language:
- the language demands meet the expected developmental levels of this age group
- phonological awareness and semantic development feature strongly at the appropriate developmental level
- includes descriptive language of the appropriate developmental level
- pragmatic language skills are developed through modelling of social communication
- develops knowledge of figurative language (e.g. metaphors, onomatopoeia) and other literary devices (e.g. alliteration, repetition)
- the characters talk and act in a way children recognise and relate to, and would use in their own daily ‘chat’
- words are used to tap into the absurdities of a young child’s sense of humour.
6) The book is engaging because it:
- contains a sense of the ridiculous
- is gripping; has element of suspense
- is entertaining
- lends itself to oral language extension activities
- has universal appeal to adults and children.
7) The book’s text is well presented because:
- it supports the development of alphabet knowledge
- the font type and size are appropriate
- the amount of text per page is developmentally appropriate
- it draws attention to the written text (e.g. making it part of the illustration, changes in font size or type).