Mental health themes in Australian ‘prized’ books: Implications for school library collections

Mental health themes have been increasingly incorporated into contemporary young adult literature in recent years. This study reports on a sub-set of data taken from 11 years of CBCA shortlisted award-winners to understand whether mental health is a theme in these narratives. The research reported explores this through the research question: What are the recurring themes of mental health in the Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Shortlisted titles in the Book of the Year: Older Readers category from 2013-2024? While studies have examined the CBCA prize-winners for diversity and representation they have not focused on mental health themes. A sample of 72 titles was collated from the CBCA Shortlist, honours and winning titles in the Book of the Year: Older Readers category between 2013 and 2024. Researchers found that the development of the protagonist’s mental health concern was often preceded by a social or personal issue. These included domestic and family violence, grief, intergenerational trauma, bullying, negative self-image, homelessness, terminal illness, and issues around gender, racism or the experiences of refugees. With the increasing prevalence of mental health concerns in young people globally, providing access to texts that show the characteristics and behaviours associated with mental health concerns and how they affect adolescents is vital for supporting mental health literacy. Where limited budgets or a lack of time to fully explore options come into play, this research suggests that teacher librarians can use the CBCA Awards as a selection tool.