Don't let nostalgia cloud your judgment: some of the best picture books are actually the newest. While classic Aussie picture books from the 1980s like Possum Magic, Animalia, and Who Sank the Boat? remain beloved, the publishing landscape has changed, making it increasingly difficult to create new homegrown classics. Today's children's authors face challenges such as the proliferation of celebrity authors, AI books, diminished shelf time, and the vanishing of school librarians. This has made getting new books into small hands a tricky endeavour. But what contemporary books do that most legacy titles don't is reflect the world that children currently live in and its values. For instance, books that reflect diverse cultures and different family structures allow young readers to see the fullness of their community in fiction. They also feed a child's natural curiosity and help them develop greater empathy towards others. Legacy titles have been crucial in representing Indigenous culture, but there are many contemporary First Nations authors who are generously sharing their culture and stories with young readers today. Modern children's fiction also plays a unique role in helping children unpack difficult social and environmental issues and create space for them to safely explore. To create the next generation of life-long readers, we need to foster our local creative industry and encourage new classics anchored in this era. Next time we go into a bookshop, we need to ask: what's new? What are kids reading today? If we don't make more room on the shelves next to our legacy titles, we may be left asking: Who Sank The Boat?
