The Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced its shortlists for 2010 Book of the Year in the categories of Older Readers, Younger Readers, Early Childhood, Picture Book and Information Books (the Eve Pownall Award). Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors and their publishers. Here are the shortlists:

Book of the Year: Older Readers

• Stolen by Lucy Christopher (Chicken House)
• The Winds of Heaven by Judith Clarke (Allen & Unwin)
• Liar by Justine Larbalestier (Allen & Unwin)
• Jarvis 24 by David Metzenthen (Penguin Group Australia)
• A Small Free Kiss in the Dark by Glenda Millard (Allen & Unwin)
• Loving Richard Feynman by Penny Tangey (University of Queensland Press)

Book of the Year: Younger Readers

• The Whisperer by Fiona McIntosh ( Angus & Robertson, HarperCollinsPublishers)
• Tensy Farlow And The Home For Mislaid Children by Jen Storer (Viking, Penguin Group Australia)
• Matty Forever by Elizabeth Fensham (University of Queensland Press)
• Darius Bell And The Glitter Pool by Odo Hirsch (Allen & Unwin)
• Pearl Verses The World by Sally Murphy (Walker Books)
• Running With The Horses by Alison Lester (Viking, Penguin Group Australia)

Book of the Year: Early Childhood

• Fearless by Colin Thompson and Sarah Davis (ABC Books, HarperCollinsPublishers)
• Bear And Chook By The Sea by Lisa Shanahan and Emma Quay (Lothian Children’s Books, Hachette)
• Clancy and Millie and the Very Fine House by Libby Gleeson and Freya Blackwood (Little Hare Books)
• The Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky and Andrew Joyner (Viking, Penguin Group Australia)
• The Wrong Book by Nick Bland (Scholastic Australia)
• Kip by Christina Booth (Windy Hollow Books)

Picture Book of the Year

• The Hero Of Little Street by Gregory Rogers (Allen & Unwin)
• Fox And Fine Feathers by Narelle Oliver (Omnibus Books, Scholastic Australia)
• Mr Chicken Goes To Paris by Leigh Hobbs (Allen & Unwin)
• Isabella's Garden by Glenda Millard and Rebecca Cool (Walker Books)
• To The Top End: Our Trip Across Australia by Roland Harvey (Allen & Unwin)
• Schumann the Shoeman by John Danalis and Stella Danalis (University of Queensland Press)

The Eve Pownall Award for Information Books

• Australian Backyard Explorer by Peter Macinnis (National Library of Australia)
• Lost! A True Tale From The Bush by Stephanie Owen Reeder (National Library of Australia)
• Maralinga: The Anangu Story by The Yalata And Oak Valley Communities (Allen & Unwin)
• Prehistoric Giants: The Megafauna Of Australia by Danielle Clode (Museum of Victoria)
• M is for Mates: Animals in Wartime from Ajax to Zep (Department of Veterans’ Affairs in association with the Australian War Memorial)
• Polar Eyes: A Journey to Antarctica by Tanya Patrick and Nicholas Hutcheson (CSIRO)

A list of Notable books for each category have also been announced and can be viewed here. The winners of each CBCA Book of the Year category will be announced during Book Week in August 2010.