Judges’ Comments on Past Entries

​“It’s really important how the stories sound - after all, children hear the stories from their parents. So, I found the best entrants made their stories sing.”

“…there were so many creative writers, writing in such a diverse way.”

“I was pleasantly surprised by how many talented writers there are out there. The stories were colourful, imaginative and diverse which made the judging difficult but always interesting!”

“Good picture books benefit from layers too. Layers of meaning add complexity for readers at different levels of interest and capability. That way the book can grow and have a wider appeal as the child grows.”

“It was inspiring and a pleasure to see the imagination and creativity of the entrants. It was also great to see how many people knew the correct ways to use grammar and punctuation and I really look forward to seeing some of these stories in schools, libraries and bookstores.”