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Children's Fiction (2010-)
Subcategory of Prime Minister's Literary Awards
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Notes

  • The Prime Minister's Award for Children's Fiction was first offered in 2010.

Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2023

winner y separately published work icon Open Your Heart to Country Jasmine Seymour , Jasmine Seymour (illustrator), Broome : Magabala Books , 2022 24479574 2022 single work picture book children's

'Welcome home lost children
To land singing you back home
Listen to its language
Learn how to speak its song'

'From the award-winning creator of Baby Business (2019) and Cooee Mittigar (2019) comes a stunning bilingual story of healing and belonging.

'Told in English and Dharug, Open Your Heart to Country is a moving account of reconnection to Country from a First Nations perspective. Sharing the nourishing power of returning home and being immersed in the language of Country, this picture book invites readers to reflect on the importance of place, not only for First Nations' peoples but for everyone.

'With exquisite illustrations and soft, lilting text, Open Your Heart to Country appeals to the very young, while sharing a deeper message for older readers. A book the whole family can enjoy.' (Publication summary)

Year: 2022

winner y separately published work icon Mina and the Whole Wide World Sherryl Clark , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2021 21279699 2021 single work children's fiction children's

'Mina wants her own bedroom more than anything else in the whole wide world. And it’s almost ready! Just one more lick of sunny yellow paint and it’s hers.

'But when Mina's parents take in an unexpected guest, they give her room away. At first, Mina is too upset to speak. She doesn’t care that this new kid, Azzami, needs a place to stay.

'At school, the other kids call Azzami names, and Mina wishes he’d stand up for himself. Then she sees his drawings, and for the first time really thinks about the life of the quiet boy in front of her.

'Told in candid verse, here is a story about finding friendship where you least expect it and making room for everyone across this big wide world.'

Source : publisher's blurb

Year: 2021

joint winner y separately published work icon Fly on the Wall Remy Lai , New York (City) : Henry Holt , 2020 17537648 2020 single work children's fiction children's

'In this moving and hilarious illustrated novel from the critically-acclaimed author of Pie in the Sky, a twelve-year-old boy goes on a (forbidden) solo journey halfway around the world to prove his independence to his overprotective family.

'Henry Khoo's family treats him like a baby. He’s not allowed to go anywhere without his sister/chaperone/bodyguard. His (former) best friend knows to expect his family’s mafia-style interrogation when Henry’s actually allowed to hang out at her house. And he definitely CAN’T take a journey halfway around the world all by himself!

'But that’s exactly his plan. After his family’s annual trip to visit his father in Singapore is cancelled, Henry decides he doesn’t want to be cooped up at home with his overprotective family and BFF turned NRFF (Not Really Friend Forever). Plus, he’s hiding a your-life-is-over-if-you’re-caught secret: he’s the creator of an anonymous gossip cartoon, and he's on the verge of getting caught. Determined to prove his independence and avoid punishment for his crimes, Henry embarks on the greatest adventure everrr. . . hoping it won’t turn into the greatest disaster ever.

'Remy Lai takes readers on an adventure filled with humor, heart, and hijinks that’s a sure bet for fans of Jerry Craft, Terri Libenson, and Shannon Hale!'  (Publication summary)

joint winner y separately published work icon How to Make a Bird Megan McKinlay , Matt Ottley (illustrator), Newtown : Walker Books Australia , 2020 19897910 2020 single work picture book

'Extraordinary imagery and rich language spark the reader's imagination as they enter the creative world of a young girl.

'From award-winning author Meg McKinlay and celebrated artist Matt Ottley comes a moving and visually stunning picture book that celebrates the transformative power of the creative process from inception through recognition to celebration and releasing into the world. We shadow the protagonist as she contemplates the blue print of an idea, collects the things that inspire from the natural world to shape a bird. And breathes life into it before letting it fly free. It shows how small things, combined with a little imagination and a steady heart, can transform into works of magic.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

Year: 2020

winner y separately published work icon Cooee Mittigar : A Story on Darug Songlines Jasmine Seymour , Leanne Mulgo Watson (illustrator), Broome : Magabala Books , 2019 17278352 2019 single work picture book

'Cooee Mittigar, meaning Come Here Friend, is an invitation to yana (walk), on Darug Country.  In this stunning picture book, Darug creators Jasmine Seymour and Leanne Mulgo Watson tell a story on Darug Songlines, introducing children and adults-alike to Darug Nura (Country) and language.

'Greeted by Mulgo, the black swan, readers are welcomed to Nura. Journeying through the seasons, Mulgo describes the land, skyscape, birds, animals and totems. It is a gentle guide to how Darug people read the seasons, knowing when it is time to hunt and time to rest. It is also an appeal to remember, off ering new ways of seeing and reading the lands of the surrounding Sydney region.   

'With Darug language interspersed with English and an extensive glossary throughout, Cooee Mittigar presents an important tool for learning, told as a tender story with exquisite illustrations. It is Jasmine and Leanne’s wish that with this book, everyone will know that the Darug mob are still here and still strong.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Year: 2019

winner y separately published work icon His Name Was Walter Emily Rodda , Sydney South : HarperCollins Australia , 2018 13534394 2018 single work children's fiction children's

'While on a history excursion, an ill-assorted group of four kids and their teacher are left on a country road when their minibus breaks down. At the suggestion of a friendly tow-truck driver, the five take shelter in a nearby old, deserted mansion. There they find a little old desk with a secret drawer. Inside the drawer is a book containing a handwritten story and a series of vivid, strangely lifelike paintings. The book is called His Name Was Walter.

'The story begins: 'Once upon a time, in a dark city far away, there lived a boy called Walter, who had nothing but his name to call his own.' And so begins the tale of Walter - his lonely childhood, his flight from the haunted streets of the city, his discovery of Magda the witch, his quest to find Magda's lost daughter, and his meeting with the love of his life, the mysterious, tragic girl he calls Sparrow.

'As the night closes in around them and the story of Walter and Sparrow unfolds, the kids read it avidly.. Slowly the outer and inner stories begin to mesh. Slowly the story of Walter draws the five members of the group together. And in the end every one of the five plays a vital role in the uncovering of the truth.'

Source: Publilsher's blurb.

Works About this Award

y separately published work icon The Hanging Garden by Patrick White : Notes Kay Perry , Victoria : Centre for Adult Education , 2013 Z1933348 2013 single work criticism
Into the Woods Kath Dolan , 2013-2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 23-24 March 2013; (p. 6-7) The Saturday Age , 23 March 2013; (p. 14)
'Children have always relished gruesome tales, from the Brothers Grimm to Roald Dahl. Leading authors tell Kath Dolan what terrifies them – and why scary stories hold lessons for us all.'
Pascoe's Book Takes PM's Award 2013 single work column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 28 August no. 558 2013; (p. 12)
Deciphering Nature's Message Stick Max Whitten , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Meanjin , Winter vol. 71 no. 2 2012; (p. 30-38)
The gum-tree stands by the spring
I peeled its splitting bark
And found the written track
Of a life I could not read.

- Judith Wright

'Judith Wright was inspired to pen these words, intrigued by Nature's enigmatic graffiti on our smooth-barked gum trees. These scribbles have puzzled biologists and bush walkers up and down Australia's south-eastern seaboard for generations.' (Author's introduction)
Animating Child Activism : Environmentalism and Class Politics in Ghibli's Princess Mononoke (1997) and Fox's Fern Gully (1992) Michael J. Smith , Elizabeth Parsons , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Continuum : Journal of Media & Cultural Studies , vol. 26 no. 1 2012; (p. 25-37)
'Informed by ecocriticism, this article conducts a comparative examination of two contemporary animated children's films, Princess Mononoke (1997) and Fern Gully (1992). While both films advocate for the prevention of deforestation, they are, to varying degrees, antithetical to environmentalism. Both films reject the principles of deep ecology in displacing responsibility for environmental destruction on to 'supernatural' forces and exhibit anthropocentric concern for the survival of humans. We argue that these films constitute divergent methodological approaches for environmental consciousness-raising in children's entertainment. The western world production demonstrates marked conservatism in its depiction of identity politics and 'cute' feminization of nature, while Hayao Miyazaki's film renders nature sublime and invokes complex socio-cultural differences. Against FernGully's 'othering' of working-class and queer characters, we posit that Princess Mononoke is decidedly queer, anti-binary and ideologically bi-partisan and, in accord with the underlying principle of environmental justice, asks child audiences to consider compassion for the poor in association with care for nature.' (Author's abstract)
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