The 2026 YABBA Shortlist

Picture Story Books

• Bigfoot vs. Yeti: A Love Story
  James Foley

• Bob and Dob
  Sean E Avery

• Dropbear
  Philip Bunting

• Emmie Builds Something New
  Marjory Crosby-Fairall

• Happy Barry Capybara: Gone Bananas
  James Foley

• Mum for Sale
  Zanni Louise and Philip Bunting

• O.M.G: Oh My G.O.A.T! (G.O.A.T #3)
  Kate and Jol Temple, and Rebel Challenger

• Shmoof
  Heidi McKinnon

• Spiro
  Anna McGregor

• Valerie: Australia's Bravest Sausage Dog
  Lucinda Gifford

Fiction for Younger Readers

• You Choose Mega: Prehistoric Peril
  George Ivanoff and James Hart

• You & Me and the Peanut Butter Beast
  Andy Griffiths and Bill Hope

• Worst Week Ever! Friday
  Eva Amores and Matt Cosgrove

• Shower Land #1: Break the Curse
  Nat Amoore and James Hart

• Rosie the Twilight Dragon (Dragon Girls #7)
  Maddy Mara

• Invisible Ninja! (Ninja Kid #17)
  Anh Do and Mario Gonzalez

• Hello Twigs, Look Who's Grumpy
  Andrew McDonald and Ben Wood

• Popstar Power (Ella Diaries Super Special #4)
  Meredith Costain and Danielle McDonald

• Cat on the Run in Hidden Layers! (Cat on the Run #3)
  Aaron Blabey

• Billie B Brown: Billie's Super Stories
  Sally Rippin and Aki Fukuoka

Fiction for Older Readers

• Perfect Score (Ella at Eden #9)
  Laura Sieveking

• Painted Dogs & Doom Cakes (Exploding Endings #1)
  Tim Harris

• The Girl and the Ghost
  Jacqueline Harvey

• Hatman
  Adam Wallace & James Hart

• The Wicked Ship (Oceanforged #1)
  Amelia Mellor

• The Peak (Spy Academy #1)
  Jack Heath

• The Goodbye Year
  Emily Gale

• The Thing About Oliver
  Deborah Kelly

• Mim and the Baffling Bully (The Travelling Bookshop #1)
  Katrina Nannestad & Cheryl Orsini

• Wandi
  Favel Parrett

Fiction for Years 7-9

• Andromache Between Worlds (Andromache #1)
  Gabriel Bergmoser

• Drift
  Pip Harry

• The Midwatch
  Judith Rossell

• Respawn (Villain Book #2)
  Adrian Beck

• Romeo v Juliet
  R.A. Spratt

• Run
  Sarah Armstrong

• Silver Linings
  Katrina Nannestad

• The 113th Assistant Librarian
  Stuart Wilson

• Villain
  Adrian Beck

• Waiting for the Storks
  Katrina Nannestad