The winners of this year's Speech Pathology Australia awards have been announced.

The three titles to receive a book of the year award, having been chosen by a panel of expert paediatric speech pathologists, were:

• Young Children: Is your Grandmother a Goanna? (Pamela Allen, Viking)
• Lower Primary: Going Bush (Nadia Wheatley, illus by Ken Searle, A&U)
• Upper Primary: Stride's Summer (Jenni Overend, A&U).

‘The alarming decline in literacy skills in Australia over the past decade highlights the importance of developing children's language and literacy from an early age,' said Speech Pathology Australia's national public affairs coordinator Natalie Ellston. ‘As the peak professional body for speech pathologists, we are in a unique position to recommend books to parents that can assist children's speech, language and literacy development.'

Each year, Speech Pathology Australia selects three 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 visit www.speechpatholoyaustralia.org.au.

http://www.booksellerandpublisher.com.au/articles/2008/08/09319/
This article from Thorpe Bowker's Weekly Book Newsletter and Media Extra is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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