Book of the Year - Picture Book

The grey brick endpapers set the mood as Jack wakes on this ordinary day. He slouches through dressing and breakfast towards school, where he knows trouble awaits in the form of his unfinished homework

The first half of the book is complemented by the drearily coloured illustrations. In the second half, the pictures alone tell the story and bright colours emerge as Jack’s imagination takes over. Reality returns with the school bus, but the lingering sense of delight continues to enliven his day.
 

Harriet is seen as horrible by the children in her class, but the teacher thinks she is Helpful Harriet. When a new boy, Athol, arrives, Harriet is given the job of looking after him. But he takes the wind out of her sails with his politeness and she appears to learn the importance of being kind and polite to others. When Athol departs, however. Harriet is sad for a few days – but then she reverts to her former ways.

The illustrations are cartoon like, are comical and entertaining. Harriet is an unattractive character and appears not to change for the better at all.
 

This is an anti-war picture book, told in first person by Alija, who no longer goes to school, but works for his father in the bakery. Through the text and illustrations, of refugees as they pour through the village. Alija takes bread to those who ‘cannot help themselves’ and adopts an endearing little dog, whose owner has died. As the war comes closer, the soldiers come; they take all the bread, and shoot people in the street. Alija and his mother escape on a truck. This truck is ambushed and Alija’s mother is taken away. He walks to the coast and is befriended by an old man who gives Alija and his dog bread. The final image depicts the boy with his dog sitting at the edge of his adopted town, waiting to be reunited with his family.
 

A unique collaboration between the community of Papunya School, author Nadia Wheatley and artist Ken Searle, has resulted in this history of the Anangu, the indigenous people of the western central desert region. This visually stunning picture book describes how the Anangu came to live at Papunya. Quotes from descendants of the first Anangu, illustrations and hand-coloured photographs meld to form a piercingly insightful and honest story of the impact of white exploration and settlement upon these people.
 

‘In My Backyard’ implies grass, trees, a sand pit, clothesline. What the front cover shows is a city skyline seen from the vantage point of a fire escape stair on what you guess might be a multi-storey apartment block.

This is a simple story that tells of a day in the life of three city children as they explore their backyard of streets, which are full of life and movement and noise. Excellent use of colour depicts the city by day in bright sunshine and by night in subtle twilight shades decorated with bright streetlights and neon signs.
 

This book is the latest picture book written and illustrated by Shaun Tan. In this book, he has created a solitary character journeying through a day that begins badly and progressively deteriorates. The simple text clearly expresses the emotions being discovered by the character – emotions like despair, helplessness and loneliness.

The artwork captures the reader’s attention, with its distinctive dark colours and menacing undertones. Each illustration contains many hidden images. Words and text are used sparingly to reflect the journey and emotions being experienced by the central character.