Award of the Week: Young Australians’ Best Book Award (YABBA)

The Young Australians’ Best Book Award is based on encouraging children to read and following the process of selecting the award winner. The process begins by children reading and recommending their 4 favorite books. Then, they read books their peers selected, ultimately selecting a short list. Next, the children begin rating the shortlist books and eventually rewarding their choice book by submitting a vote.

Below are an array of previous winners. Many of the winners have also won multiple other Australian book awards.
  
    
  

	Alice-Miranda at School By: Jacqueline Harvey Soon after arriving at the Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for Proper Young Ladies, resourceful seven-and-one-quarter-year-old Alice-Miranda finds her new boarding school to be a very curious establishment with no flowers in the gardens, a headmistress that has not been seen for years, and a mysterious stranger that seems to be hiding out on the premises.
	Are You Seeing Me? By: Darren Groth Twins Justine and Perry are about to embark on the road trip of a lifetime in the Pacific Northwest. It’s been a year since they watched their dad lose his battle with cancer and, now at only nineteen, Justine is the sole carer for her disabled brother. But with Perry having been accepted into an assisted-living residence, their reliance on each other is set to shift. Before they go their separate ways, they’re seeking to create the perfect memory. For Perry, the trip is a glorious celebration of his favorite things: mythical sea monsters, Jackie Chan movies and the study of earthquakes. For Justine, it’s a chance to reconcile the decision to ‘free’ her twin, to see who she is without her boyfriend, Marc, and to offer their mother the chance to atone for past wrongs. But the instability that has shaped their lives will not subside, and the seismic event that Perry forewarned threatens to reduce their worlds to rubble.
	The Bad Guys in Intergalactic Gas By: Aaron Blabey The bad news? The world is ending. The good news? The Bad Guys are back to save it! Sure, they might have to “borrow” a rocket. And there might be something nasty in one of the spacesuits. And Mr. Piranha might have eaten too many bean burritos. Surviving this mission may only be one small step for man, but it’s one giant leap for the Bad Guys.
	Boy Overboard By: Morris Gleitzman Jamal and Bibi have a dream: to lead Australia to soccer glory in the next World Cup. But first they must face landmines, pirates, storms and assassins. Can Jamal and his family survive their incredible journey and get to Australia?
	The Golden Door By: Emily Rodda At night the skimmers fly over the Wall looking for human prey and the people of Weld huddle in their houses. But, after his two brothers set out through the magic doors in an attempt to find the Enemy and don’t come back, young Rye knows that he must follow and find them.
	Mirror By: Jeannie Baker In Sydney, Australia, and in Morocco, two boys and their families have a day of shopping. Readers are invited to compare illustrations in two wordless stories that are intended to be read one from left to right and the other from right to left.
	Pig the Pug By: Aaron Blabey Pig was a Pug and I’m sorry to say, he was greedy and selfish in most every way. Pig is the greediest Pug in the world. He is ill-tempered, rude and unreasonable. When Pig the Pug is asked to share his toys, something unexpected happens … Hopefully Pig has learned a lesson!