We challenged the students of Australia to send us their best haiku inspired by a book on Reading Australia, and we received more than 900 entries! This competition was run in partnership with the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and was shared by librarians around the country.
Each entry demonstrated the creativity and beauty that can be achieved within the limits of a haiku (a three-line poem that has five, seven and five syllables per line respectively) as well as the enthusiasm Australian students have for reading.
For your enjoyment, below are the winning entries. Each student has won a $100 Booktopia voucher and in doing so has also won a $100 Booktopia voucher for their school library. Congratulations to our winners!
Winner one
Round up all the chooks
Feathers flying everywhere
Though not a red one
Book: Banjo and Ruby Red by Libby Gleeson and Freya Blackwood.
Student: Zoelle, Year 7 from Dominic College, TAS.
Winner two
The fences loom high,
A sparrow as white as bone,
The taste of freedom
Book: The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon.
Student: Matsya, Year 7, from Orbost Secondary College, VIC.
Winner three
Weapon is the flood
River is the enemy
Daylight came at last
Book: Flood by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley.
Student: Tia, Year 5, from Lauderdale Primary, TAS.
Winner four
We slept with the stars,
And swam in bright blue oceans.
We laughed to the sky.
Book: Are We There Yet? by Alison Lester.
Student: Hazel, Year 9, from Moss Vale High School, NSW.
Winner five
No words, just drawings.
A new feeling of magic.
Welcome the new world.
Book: The Arrival by Shaun Tan.
Student: Marie, Year 11, from Rutherglen High School, VIC.