Books for Little Bookaburras title, Say Hooray, shortlisted for Speech Pathology Book of the Year Award
Say Hooray by Renae Hayward and Rebecca Mills has been identified as one of the best Australian books to help children get the most literate start in life. Judged by a panel of Certified Practising Speech Pathologists with specific knowledge and skill in children’s language and literature development, the Speech Pathology Book of the Year Award is a trusted guide for families, educators and speech pathologists.
Each nominated book is judged on its appeal to children, interactive quality and ability to assist speech pathologists and parents in facilitating the development of communication and literacy in children.
Author and Books for Little Bookaburras Ambassador Renae Hayward said early literacy was a huge passion. Renae said, ‘I’ve always marvelled at the brilliant books shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards and it’s such an honour to now have Say Hooray be one of these books. I wrote Say Hooray in celebration of the countless wonderful things my children learned to do as babies and it’s so exciting to know that this book is now out in the world, encouraging other young children to “say hooray” and build their language skills.’
Fremantle Press CEO Alex Allan said the shortlisting made Renae’s work as a Books for Little Bookaburras Ambassador even more meaningful. She said, ‘We selected Say Hooray for our Bookaburras program because we believed it was the perfect title to engage our very first readers and their families. It’s extremely gratifying to know that the experts agree, and that more than 4,000 Western Australian children will be enjoying a book that helps develop key early literacy skills.’
Now available as a board book, Say Hooray was shortlisted in the birth to three category and is available in all good bookstores and online. A follow-up title, Say Hello, is out in September.
More information about Speech Pathology Australia is available here:
