2014 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway winners announced!

The winners of the most hotly contested prizes in children’s literature were announced yesterday. Kevin Brooks has won the CILIP Carnegie Medal for The Bunker Diary and Jon Klassen has won the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for This is Not my Hat.

Jon Klassen seems a bit fixated on hats. He was shortlisted for the Greenaway award last year with I Want my Hat Back. Both books are excellent and good fun whatever your age, so do take a look. This is Not my Hat has a bit of a shock ending, though, so approach with care if you’re of a sensitive disposition! We should also point out that Klassen doesn’t just write about hats. In fact, he had an extra chance of winning this year as he was also nominated for The Dark, his collaboration with Lemony Snicket (of A Series of Unfortunate Events fame). Nothing to do with hats!

Kevin Brooks is no stranger to the Carnegie Medal, having been shortlisted three times before for Martyn Pig (2002), The Road of the Dead (2007) and Black Rabbit Summer (2009), so it’s good to see him finally take home the prize. Brooks has never shied away from tough issues and his books can be a gruelling read. The Bunker Diary deals with homelessness, drug abuse and imprisonment, amongst other things, and as such has caused some controversy. It’s certainly not a book for young children! Despite its bleak nature (Brooks believes that teenagers and young adults don’t always need a happy ending, and it’s patronising to suggest they do), The Bunker Diary won the judging panel over on good old-fashioned literary merit and a compelling storyline.

The Carnegie and Greenaway medals are the oldest and most prestigious awards in children’s literature. They are judged solely by UK librarians. The process of selecting the long lists started back in the autumn, with a shortlist announced in March this year. You can find out more about the awards and this year’s ceremony, including comments from the winners and judges, on the official CILIP awards website. The shortlists for both awards are below. All are available from Townhill Library, so call in and make your own judgement! You’ll find them on our New Books display on the first floor.

CILIP Carnegie Medal shortlist 2014:-

The Bunker Diary, Kevin Brooks

Liar and Spy, Rebecca Stead

Blood Family, Anne Fine

Rooftoppers, Katherine Rundell

Ghost Hawk, Susan Cooper

The Child’s Elephant, Rachel Campbell-Johnston

All the Truth That’s in Me, Julie Berry

The Wall, William Sutcliffe

 

CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal shortlist 2014:-

This is Not my Hat, Jon Klassen

The Paper Dolls, Rebecca Cobb (written by Julia Donaldson)

Where my Wellies Take me, Olivia Gill (written by Clare and Michael Morpurgo)

The Day the Crayons Quit, Oliver Jeffers (written by Drew Daywalt)

The Dark, Jon Klassen (written by Lemony Snicket)

Mouse Bird Snake Wolf, Dave McKean (written by David Almond)

Oliver, Birgitta Sif

 

 

Sally Gardner and Levi Pinfold win the CILIP Carnegie and Greenaway Medals

Yes, Sally Gardner has won the CILIP Carnegie Medal for her novel Maggot Moon whilst Levi Pinfold has won the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for his picture book Black Dog. The Carnegie Medal is awarded for an outstanding book for children and young people and the Greenaway for outstanding illustration in a book for children or young people. Both winners are available to borrow from Townhill Library, as are the other shortlisted titles for both awards, so you can make your own mind up about the outcome. Let us know what you think!

Both books are well deserved winners, though competition was stiff this year, as it often is. Maggot Moon is a dystopian tale of standing up to dictatorship which takes a dyslexic teenager as its hero. Gardner herself is dyslexic and used her winner’s speech as a platform to speak up for those children who find reading and writing to be particularly challenging. She also spoke in praise of librarians and teachers, so she must be a good sort!

Black Dog is a stunningly beautiful picture book which centres on a fearsome, black dog which is seen one night outside the Hope family home. Only the youngest, Small Hope, is brave enough to venture out and take a closer look. The illustrations really are wonderful, and the story is charming and thought provoking. Levi Pinfold has quite a talent!

The Carnegie and Greenaway medals are well-respected awards in the field of children’s literature. Nominees and winners are chosen by librarians, which makes these prizes a bit different from the other children’s book awards out there. You can find out more about the Carnegie and Greenaway medals, including previous shortlists and winners on the official website. Not a bad introduction to the best in children’s books through the years!

What we are reading - A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness

This Children’s Book Week you might be wondering about the cream of the crop in the world of children’s literature. Everyone has different tastes, of course, but Patrick Ness’ A Monster Calls must be considered among the best of the bunch this year. This book made history in the summer when it became the first book to win both the CILIP Carnegie Medal for best children’s book and the CILIP Greenaway Medal for best illustrations (find out more about these prizes from our previous blog posts).



Hannah, who works in Townhill Library, was quick to snap the book up when it arrived in the library this summer. She shares her thoughts below:-



A Monster Calls – A Novel by Patrick Ness, from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd

This book is interesting for two reasons:

1.       It is the first book to win both The Carnegie Medal and The Greenaway Medal.

Hannah

2.       The author adapted a story originally thought up by another author; Siobhan Dowd.

Siobhan Dowd wrote in the young adult/teenage category of children’s literature.   Her books ‘A Pure Swift Cry’ shortlisted for The Carnegie Medal in 2007, and ‘Bog Child’ which won the award in 2009 both deal with controversial, and social realist issues.  ‘A Monster Calls’ is aimed a little younger than a typical Dowd book – which is fine: – Ness was not trying to be Dowd; he was writing her story in his own style.

A few pages into ‘A Monster Calls’ I thought I probably wouldn’t finish it.  Even though the illustrations were very creepy, I thought the book was just too young for an adult to give it a fair go.  But something kept me going.  It was deep, dark and intriguing and before long I forgot I was reading a children’s book at all.

Ness worked in his own style, on a story he adapted in his own way, and let it go in its own direction. Yet it still managed to capture the heart wrenching drama and tragedy of a Dowd book. Her books can touch teenagers and adults alike and this story is no different. Yes, the book is about a monster-tree.  But this book about a monster-tree DOES deal with serious issues. This book about a monster-tree CAN be taken seriously by adults.Like any Dowd book, it deals with subjects that are hard to deal with:

Illness and death: “I can’t stand it anymore!.. I can’t stand knowing that she’ll go!”

Bullying: “Harry had tripped Conor coming into the school grounds… And so it had begun…and so it had continued.”

Feeling guilt: the need to be punished: “Why didn’t it kill me?..  I deserve the worst.”

Anger: “TEAR THE WHOLE THING DOWN!” 

The book also contains three tales told by the monster-tree, which are actually very philosophical. Each of the three tales has a surprising moral to it.  The conclusions about ethics, intentions, justice and punishment are debatable, and will really make children stop and think.  

The story is not only told with Ness’s words, but also with Jim Kay’s pictures.  Each picture, scattered with minute detail is not only a superb piece in its own right, but also compliments and enhances the feel of the story.  The illustrations are thicker and darker when Conor is feeling gloomy; light and minimalist when there is hope in his life.  When Conor is feeling under pressure, the drawings engulf the pages and surround the words creating an almost claustrophobic atmosphere.

This is a thrilling yet moving read, full of twists and irony.  The way the story is told is excellent.  Children will be enthralled within its world of magic and fantasy,   while adults will accept it as realistic and allegorical. The illustrations are dark and detailed; harsh yet elegant. 

Well. That definitely sounds like it’s worth a read! Thanks Hannah. A Monster Calls is available in the Teaching Practice section of Townhill Library, as are the two Siobhan Dowd books mentioned. Hankies at the ready!

And the 2012 CILIP Carnegie and Greenaway winners are...

Patrick Ness (CILIP Carnegie Medal) and Jim Kay (CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal) for A Monster Calls. This is the first time in the history of the awards that both prizes have been awarded for the same book (there was some speculation that this might happen in 2010 for The Graveyard Book, but in the end, although Neil Gaiman won the Carnegie, the Greenaway award went to Freya Blackwood for Harry and Hopper). A Monster Calls is a particularly poignant win as it is based on an idea conceived by author Siobhan Dowd, who sadly passed away before she could write the book herself. Dowd posthumously won the CILIP Carnegie Medal for Bog Child in 2009.

You can go to the official website to find out more about the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals. They are much respected awards in the field of children’s literature and are very close to the hearts of librarians as they are awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). You’ll find previous winners and past nominees on the website as well as a brief history of the awards.

We’ve put an order in for A Monster Calls, so that should be winging its way to our shelves soon! In the meantime, come and visit the Teaching Practice section of Townhill Library to see a display of some of the previous winners. And please borrow any that take your fancy to share with your children or just to enjoy yourself!

Carnegie and Kate Greenaway award 2012 shortlists announced!

It’s that time of year again! The shortlists have been compiled for the Carnegie Medal, awarded to an outstanding book for children and young people, and the Kate Greenaway Medal, awarded to outstanding illustration in a book for children and young people. The winners are due to be announced on the 14th June. We’ll keep you posted!

These prizes are awarded annually by CILIP (the Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals, an organisation which some of us at SMU belong to) and shortlists and winners are chosen by children’s librarians. These awards are highly respected and represent the best in children’s literature.

Find out more about the 2012 awards here.Some of our favourites are up for the prize this year – past winners Emily Gravette and Catherine Rayner are up for the Greenaway award, whilst David Almond is amongst those competing for the Carnegie Medal. Let us know if any of your favourites have been nominated!

Our Teaching Practice section is well worth a browse over the next few weeks as we’ve put some orders through for quite a few new children’s books. They’re not necessarily prize winners, but they are all jolly good! We’ve also got lots of the past Carnegie and Greenaway winners here, so pop in and have a look at those too.

Children's literature prize winners announced

The 2011 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals were awarded last week. Patrick Ness has won the Carnegie Medal for his book, Monsters of Men, which is the finale to the Chaos Walking trilogy. Grahame Baker-Smith is the Greenaway winner for the picture book FArTHER.

These prizes are awarded annually by CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals and are highly respected in the publishing industry, as well as by us librarians! The Carnegie Medal, awarded to the writer of an outstanding book for children, was established in 1936 in memory of Andrew Carnegie, a wealthy philanthropist who used his fortune to establish over 2800 libraries all over the world. Kate Greenaway was a popular children's illustrator in the nineteenth century. The medal that bears her name was established in 1955 and recognises distinguished illustration in a children's book.

You can find out more about the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals on the website: http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/. You'll also find lists of past winners, many of which are available to borrow from the Teaching Practice collection in Townhill Library. You'll find lots of popular authors amongst the prize winners. Many of these books are classics which are well worth a read or a re-visit, even if you're all grown up! Don't forget, books borrowed during this summer vacation won't need to be returned until the 6th October 2011.