Twenty-nine books made the longlist for the 2025 ASLA DANZ Children’s Book 
Awards, selected by over 110 children and teenagers from across Australia and New Zealand. The longlist came from an outstanding field of 135 books made up of Graphic Novels, NonFiction, Poetry, and Young Adult Novels celebrating diverse people and communities in a balanced and authentic way. 

Here are the winners:

Nonfiction: The Trees by Victor Steffensen and illustrated by Sandra Steffensen (Hardie Grand Explore) 

Poetry: Pasifika Navigators by 52 Pasifika Student Authors (Mila’s Books)

Graphic Novel: Ghost Book by Remy Lai (Allen & Unwin) 

Young Adult: Catch a Falling Star by Eileen Merriman (Penguin Random House New Zealand) 

I am delighted to see Eileen Merriman has won the YA category with her novel To Catch a Falling Star (Penguin, 2023). The book, with both nuance and complexity, navigates tough issues. Aged fifteen, Jamie Orange participates in school musical productions, is secretly in love, but faces persistent and crippling mental health challenges. The story and the characters are utterly moving. The novel is an unforgettable, thought-provoking read, so I am pleased to see it get this recognition.

In my Poetry Shelf review I wrote: “Ah. Triple ah. Quadruple ah. Catch a Falling Star is a sad, contemporary, thought-provoking, must-read story that revives you no matter how little sleep you have had! The word I take with me is hope, the image I hold is two teenagers bonding over books and coffee. Utterly riveting! Utterly humane.”

You can read my review here.

I look forward to celebrating Pasifika Navigators by 52 Pasifika Student Authors on my blogs.