Sonya Hartnett

In Leigh Hobbs’s Old Tom’s Holiday (ABC Books), long-suffering Angela Throgmorton decides against taking the anarchic Tom on holiday with her, but, as she journeys around the world, glimpses of whiskers, fish bones and scruffy ginger coat alert the reader to the presence of a stowaway in the tale. Hobbs is one of Australia’s best, yet most under-recognised artists: few illustrators can capture with such precision the emotions and personality of a character, allowing the artwork to say much more than the brief, wry text. Old Tom’s Holiday is joyful and exuberant. I like stories that teach children to respect and understand animals, and Simon James’s daintily illustrated Birdwatchers (Walker Books), in which a little girl accompanies her grandfather on his imaginative birdwatching expeditions, is a beautiful example of these. This is a quiet, softly coloured book, befitting its evocation of birdlife and the forest; blank pages alternate with sprawling illustrations, implying nature’s crowded peace. A gentle story of the young learning from the old, including the art of sharing a joke. It’s teatime in the Cat household and not one of Charlotte Voake’s Pizza Kittens (Walker Books) want what Mum has prepared (fish fingers). Voake’s wild-eyed, cartoonish illustrations convey an hilarious sense of the finnicky nature of children, the despairing efforts of their parents to raise them as civilised beings, and the mayhem which so often rules the dinner table. Anyone who grew up sharing meals with brothers and sisters will appreciate this funny and charming book, especially if they’re the ones doing the cooking now.

Pam Macintyre

My favourite is Markus Zusak’s The Messenger (Macmillan), a mysterious, darkly comic exploration of the nature of happiness and goodness, with an endearing array of sad-case characters. It builds intrigue until the last, unpredictable twist. For younger readers, Simon French’s gentle and unpretentious Where in the World (Little Hare) explores, with rare clarity and acuity, the nature and effects of Ari, a German–Australian boy, who possesses an extraordinary musical gift. Catherine Bateson chooses the hard topic of the death of a parent in Painted Love Letters (UQP). Chrissie travels with her father from diagnosis of his cancer to his final moments, and embraces the legacy of his talent. Short, pithy and frank, the story stirs the emotions without sentimentality.

Agnes Nieuwenhuizen

A strong, exciting year in YA publishing, but these outstanding books are for anyone. Njunjul the Sun (Allen & Unwin) continues the imaginative contribution to storytelling and reconciliation by Meme McDonald and Boori Monty Pryor, here telling of a young indigenous man in the complex world of urban Sydney. Lian Hearn’s sword and magic tale set in ancient Japan, Across the Nightingale Floor (Hodder), is already captivating readers all over the world. For something totally different, Ian Bone’s gripping, uncompromising The Song of an Innocent Bystander (Penguin) explores the impact on hostages of a fast-food store siege ten years on.

Robyn Sheahan-Bright

Acclaimed YA author Markus Zusak’s first adult novel The Messenger (Macmillan) is a cryptic moral fable detailing Ed’s ‘mission’ to fulfil several mysterious tasks. It’s intriguing, hilarious, immensely moving and wonderfully written. I reviewed Martine Murray’s first novel The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley (Allen & Unwin) for ABR earlier this year – it’s one of the most charming books I’ve read in ages. Finally, another adult title, Twelve (Text), by New York student Nick McDonnell, is a grim, powerful exposé of contemporary rich kids at play, the latest boutique drug, ‘twelve’, and a teenage dealer named White Mike. This take on teenage desires is written with a precision that would not shame J.D. Salinger, and has a horrifyingly riveting ending.

Ruth Starke

Across the Nightingale Floor (Hodder), by Lian Hearn, kept me up late at night, totally absorbed in an ancient and imaginary world that I was reluctant to leave. How could anyone put it down after its compelling first chapter? Pure storytelling – adventure, intrigue, romance – told in crystalline prose that makes you, like its young hero, Takeo, hear the singing of water in Japanese gardens. The book is also a beautiful production. For all ages, but particularly YA, Love That Dog (Bloomsbury), by Sharon Creech, had everybody talking at this year’s CBC conference. No, it’s not Australian, but there’s no local book remotely like it. In Miss Stretchberry’s class and over the course of a school year, an initially reluctant Jack learns how poetry can inspire, enrich the human experience, and soothe the soul