SpeakOut_December2014_FINAL_eCopy

2014 book of the year

Above: Many of the ceremony guests were children from North Melbourne Primary School.

Above: The winning authors/illustrators (from left): James O'Loghlin, Scott Prince, Dave Hartley, Ann James, Meredith Thomas, Janeen Brian, Bob Graham and Sue Whiting.

Above: Ann James and Meredith Thomas accept their award in the Birth to 3 Years category for I'm a Dirty Dinosaur from Let's Read Senior Project Officer Elise Willersdorf (centre). Left: Speech Pathology

Australia Director Tennille Burns once again hosted the Book of the Year ceremony.

Above, from left: Author Bob Graham with the letter he wrote to Children's Institute CEO Glenda Strong many years ago; and a page from Silver Buttons which Bob Graham read aloud to the ceremony attendees.

2014 Book of the Year Awards ceremony

The Book of the Year Awards ceremony was an outstanding success. The awards were again supported, as in previous years, by the Children’s Institute at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. The highlight of this year’s ceremony was the reading of a letter by the Chief Executive Officer of the Children’s Institute, Glenda Strong, which she received as a young girl in grade two at primary school. The letter was written by Bob Graham, the winning author of this year’s Five to 8 years book category. Bob had formerly corresponded with Glenda Strong’s grade two class thanking them for a letter they had written to him about one of his recent books. It was therefore fitting that Bob Graham was on-hand to personally receive the award for his book, Silver Buttons ; and then to follow this with a personal reading of his winning book. A reading that was enthusiastically received by over 95 children from North Melbourne Primary School, who were in the audience. As announced in the October edition of Speak Out , five deserving books were awarded for their contribution to

language and literacy development. It was pleasing that all the authors and illustrators were there in person to receive their awards. Birth to 3 Years: I’m a Dirty Dinosaur by Janeen Brian and Ann James Three to 5 Years: A Swim in the Sea by Sue Whiting and Meredith Thomas Eight to 10 Years: The Adventures of Sir Roderick the Not-Very Brave by James O’Loghlin Indigenous Children: Deadly D & Justice Jones – Making the Team by Scott Prince and Dave Hartley Thank you to everyone involved with the Book of the Year Awards in 2014. A special thank you to all our judges who gave their time to complete the important task of judging the books. Without their efforts, there would be no awards. Five to 8 Years: Silver Buttons by Bob Graham

Michael Kerrisk Communications and Marketing Manager

Speak Out December 2014

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