Award Winning Books
Ford Street Publishing - Winners and Shortlisted Books
Ford Street Publishing seeks to maintain our excellence as a publisher of high quality books for children and young adults. Below you will find a list of our books that have been shortlisted for, or won various Australian book publishing awards.
Alyzon Whitestarr
By Isobelle Carmody
- 2005 - Aurealis Award
- 2005 - Golden Aurealis for best novel
After a freak accident, Alyzon Whitestarr hears and sees and smells things no one else can detect. She begins to smell something truly terrible; a sickness of the spirit infecting some people, leading them to..
Augustin and the Hot Air Balloon
By David Metzenthen
- 2022 - Longlisted (CYA Category) - ARA Historical Novel Prize
- 2023 - Longlisted - Book Links Award for Children’s Historical Fiction
Augustin is a poor boy who lives in a barn. Celine is a rich girl who lives in a mighty palace.
Boris Goes Berserk
By Robert Favretto & Janice Bowles
- Shortlisted 2022 - Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year
Boris the huntsman wants his dinner! But Dad has other plans. Join in the family fun as Boris and Dad battle it out throughout the house.
Colin Cockroach Goes To Caloundra
By Chris McKimmie
- 2021 - CBCA Notable Book
Past the mountains where the dinosaurs used to roam. Past the big pineapple. Surfin’ at the beach. Dancin’ at the disco. Making new friends. Missing old ones. Colin’s accidental holiday has to come to an..
Country Town
By Isolde Martyn & Robyn Ridgeway & Louise Hogan
- 2024 Eve Pownall Award - CBCA Book of the Year
- Shortlisted (2024) - NSW Premier’s History Awards – Young People’s History Prize
Happy times, sad times, boom times and gloom times! From the First Peoples’ camp at the river crossing in the 1820s through to Carols by Candlelight at the showground in today’s world, this is a..
Crossing the Line
By Dianne Bates
Abandoned by long-term foster carers, teenager Sophie lives with Amy and Matt. For a long time and unknown to others, Sophie has been self-mutilating: more recently she has been in therapy.
Game Over!
By George Ivanoff
Tark and Zyra finally make it out into the real world ... but things are not quite what they expected. When Zyra is captured by the Designers, Tark finds himself among a group of teenage..
Gamers’ Quest
By George Ivanoff
Tark and Zyra are teenage thieves on a quest. In a world of magic and science, where dragons and mages exist alongside drones and lasers, they endeavour to reach the haven of Designers’ Paradise.
Gamers’ Rebellion
By George Ivanoff
Tark and Zyra finally make it out into the real world ... but things are not quite what they expected. When Zyra is captured by the Designers, Tark finds himself among a group of teenage..
Grace’s Mystery Seed
By Juliet M. Sampson & Karen Erasmus
- Shortlisted 2019 - Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year
‘Polly likes these stripy seeds,’ Grace said. ‘What are they from?’ ‘Let’s find out,’ said Mrs Marino. Grace and her neighbour plant a mystery seed. They wait and wait for ages. Then a little green..
Greylands
By Isobelle Carmody
- 1997 - Aurealis Award
One wakeful night in the aftermath of his mother’s death, Jack enters a land devoid of colour or scent. Here he meets the tragic laughing beast and Alice, a strange girl with a secret. Will..
Hedgehog the Wonder Dog
By Dannika Patterson & Ross Morgan
- 2023 - Shortlisted (Age Category: 5 to 8) - Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year
Anyone can see that Hedgehog the Wonder Dog is no ordinary dog. Tell her to sit, and she’ll shake a paw; tell her to fetch and she rolls over. But it’s only kids like Sam..
I NEED a Parrot
By Chris McKimmie
- 2020 - CBCA Book of the Year
- 2020 - CBCA Shortlisted Book
- 2020 - CBCA Notable Book
But what does a parrot need? A book about wanting and needing; what a child wants and what a wild bird needs.
Jacqueline: a soldier’s daughter
By Pierre-Jacques Ober & Jules Ober
- 2022 - CBCA Notable Book
An only child, Jacqueline always dreamt of having a sister. Amid the turmoil of a world at war she embarks on a perilous journey.
Jasper Juggles Jellyfish
By Ben Long & David Cornish
- Shortlisted 2019 - Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year
An octopus called Jasper gives up on learning the basics at school to pursue something he thinks will be more fun. He soon finds that even fun things can be difficult to learn. But luckily,..
Jump!
By Andrew Plant
- WINNER - 2021 - Little Pink Dog Books Authorstrator Prize
Stumpy is a Quig, a remarkable little creature living in the soaring towers of an alien city. Quigs are daredevils, acrobats and fearless leapers. But not Stumpy. He is different – he looks different, and..
Little Fur
By Isobelle Carmody
- 2006 - Aurealis Award
Little Fur is an elf troll who lives peacefully as a healer of small creatures in a grove of magical trees.
MoonFish
By Harry Laing
- Shortlisted 2019 - Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year
MoonFish is Harry Laing’s sparky new collection of poems featuring eye-catching and fresh art by some of Australia’s best known illustrators including Shaun Tan, Leigh Hobbs, Judy Watson, Marjory Gardner, Mitch Vane and Anna Pignataro. Children..
My Dog Socks
By Robyn Osborne & Sadami Konchi
- 2018 - CBCA Notable Book
- Shortlisted - Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year
Join Socks in his secret world, where imagination rules and the everyday becomes extraordinary. While most people think Socks is just an ordinary dog, through a child’s eyes he becomes an enchanted character of many..
My Private Pectus
By Shane Thamm
- Shortlisted - 2010 - Northern Territory Book of the Year Award
A story about footy, cars and a young man who discovers that revealing his greatest secret is the only way to hold on to the people he loves.
Our Mob
By Jacinta Daniher & Taylor Hampton & Seantelle Walsh
- 2024 - CBCA Notable Book
Kids from Lutruwita to Yolgnu say hello and welcome. Meet us and see what we love to do, from Ngiyampaa to Wadjak. Join our yarning circle and listen to our stories. Our Mob proudly celebrates..
Pool
By Justin D’Ath
When Wolfgang Mulqueen takes a summer job at the pool, he meets Audrey, a blind girl who claims she's nocturnal. With the discovery of a butterfly unknown to science, and an unusual request from Audrey's..
Rich & Rare
Edited By Paul Collins
- 2016 - CBCA Notable Book
Welcome to a world of 'beauty rich and rare', a world of natural (and unnatural) gifts on every page - from humour to horror, thriller to fantasy – encompassing the past, the present and the..
Salih
By Inda Ahmad Zahri & Anne Ryan
- 2022 - CBCA Notable Book
Like a turtle, Salih carries his home on his back. He must cross a raging sea in search of a safe home. Salih paints his happiest memories and sends them as messages in bottles. Will..
Scatterlings
By Isobelle Carmody
- 1992 - CBCA Notable Book
- 1992 - NSW 3M Talking Book of the Year
Merlin has no memory aside from a name whispered to her by one of the strange voices in her mind, and the knowledge that she is being hunted. She is determined to learn what happened..
Scorpion Falls
By Martin Chatterton
- 2023 - CBCA Notable Book
Loner Theo Sumner is a 14-year-old living in the isolated Queensland mining town of Scorpion Falls. Following the arrival of an unsettling guest at the Iguana Motel, teenagers start disappearing...
Super Nova
By Krys Saclier & Rebecca Timmis
- 2019 Finalist - Aurealis Award
Nova’s brother thinks she gets away with too much, until he finds out what she’s really planning. And it’s out of this world. Will he keep her secret? Super Nova tells the story of the most..
The Dingle Dangle Jungle
By Mark Carthew & David Atze
In the Amazonian jungle, you’ll find monkeys, rats and shrews . . . pumas, sloths and marmosets. Which ones would you choose? Come along on a rollicking romp through the jungle.
The Glasshouse
By Paul Collins & Jo Thompson
Clara lives in her balanced world where everything is perfect. But then one day a boy walks into her life and slowly Clara realises that her world is not perfect, and she must make allowances..
The Monster Who Ate Australia
By Michael Salmon
Meet Burra the boggabri. During his travels around the countryside, Burra meets – and eats! – many famous Australian icons, creating havoc wherever he goes.
The Thing That Goes Ping!
By Mark Carthew & Shane McG
- Winner 2021 - Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year
In the faraway town of Figgy-tra-ling, you may hear the faint ring of a thing that goes ping! Join in the quest for the thing that goes ping – and meet some fun animals along..
The Things We Can’t Undo
By Gabrielle Reid
Samantha and Dylan are in love so it’s nothing to be worried about when they leave Saturday night’s party in favour of a quiet bedroom. Right? When malicious rumours spread throughout their school Dylan discover..
Trust Me Too
Edited By Paul Collins
- 2013 - CBCA Notable Book
Trust Me Too delivers a wonderful diversity of writing and art. It contains a host of short stories, along with heartfelt and witty verse, and delightful yet thought-provoking illustrations.
Tulips for Breakfast
By Catherine Bauer
- 2023 - Longlisted - Book Links Award for Children’s Historical Fiction
As Hitler’s reign tightens on Amsterdam, Lena feels the door to her life closing. There are officers swarming every corner, and they’re out for blood. As the days drag on endlessly, one thing becomes clear:..