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Speak Out
February 2015
Speech Pathology Australia
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Best Books for Language and Literacy Development
The Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards raise awareness of the role speech
pathologists play in assisting people of all ages to develop their language and literacy skills.
Call for nominations
Do you have a favourite children’s book
that you believe should be nominated for
this year’s awards?
We are seeking children’s books that
speech pathologists feel promote oral
language development and literacy skills
in the award’s five categories.
A book needs to be exciting and
stimulating, and satisfy the eligibility
criteria:
•
written by an Australian author;
•
readily available in Australia;
•
published in 2014 or 2015;
•
retail for no more than $30;
•
facilitate interaction and
collaboration;
•
appeal to children; and
•
maintain high production standards
(graphics, design, paper stock, etc.).
The nomination form is available from
the
Book of the Year page on the Association’s website .The deadline for
nominations is
15 March 2015
.
Hall of fame nominations
When it is warranted, Speech
Pathology Australia presents its
Children’s Language and Literature
Award. This is the Association’s ‘Hall of
Fame’ award. In 2013 it was awarded to
Ursula Dubosarsky.
This award recognises authors who
have contributed significantly to
children’s language and literature. The
award is not presented every year and
only when a stand-out candidate is
nominated by a member. There was no
award in 2014.
The relevant nomination form and
selection criteria are available from
the Book of the Year page on the
Association’s website. The deadline for
nominations is
15 March 2015
.
Seeking judges
Each of the five categories of the Book
of the Year uses the services of eight
volunteer judges. All judges are asked to
read and critique the shortlisted books
according to a pre-prepared judging
template. Once the judging process is
complete all the reviewed books are
donated by a judge to an organisation
that will benefit from receive them.
If you are interested judging the
Book of the Year Awards in 2015
you need to satisfy the following criteria:
•
an interest in children’s language
and literature;
•
some paediatric experience (this
may be through work or family
experience);
The Speech Pathology Australia
Book of the Year Awards is now in its 12th year of rewarding
Australian books that promote oral language development.
There are five award categories:
•
Birth to 3 years of age
•
Three to 5 years of age
•
Five to 8 years of age
•
Eight to 10 years of age
•
Indigenous Children.
As in 2014, the Birth to three years category is strongly supported by Let’s Read Australia.
book of the year news