Thursday, 4 July 2013

Library Thursday: Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards 2013 shortlist

Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) released the shortlist for its annual Book of the Year Awards this week.

The awards aim to promote literacy and the need for good literacy skills, while building a library of resources that speech pathologists, teachers and parents can use to help promote literacy and reading.

The year’s shortlist consists of 40 books in four categories: 
Best Book for Language & Literacy Development 
  • Young Children
  • Lower Primary
  • Upper Primary 
  • Indigenous Children 
with entries from favourite Australian authors such as Graeme Base, Pamela Allen, Morris Gleitzman, Doug MacLeod and Steven Herrick.

SPA National President, Chris Stone, said that literacy levels in Australia are at alarming levels and SPA hopes the Book of the Year Awards will help promote literacy as a fun and engaging activity and provide enjoyable and culturally appropriate resources that foster language and literacy skill development.

“In Australia today 14 per cent of 15 year olds have only basic literacy skills, while the literacy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children is depressingly wide and continues to widen with each year that passes.”

“As the peak professional body for speech pathologists we are in a unique position to recommend books to parents and educators that can assist children’s speech, language and literacy development.”

Each year, Speech Pathology Australia selects children’s books based on their appeal to children, educational value, graphics and design, as well as their ability to facilitate communication, interaction and discussion.

For more information about Speech Pathology Australia’s Book of the Year awards, visit the Speech Pathology Australia website.

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