Children's Book Week

Yes, it’s Children’s Book Week this week! We love a good children’s book at UWTSD Swansea libraries, with lots of quality books for youngsters from early years to teens available in the Teaching Practice collection at Townhill, and a good selection of beautiful picture books available on the shelves at Griffith Library in Dynevor. We all have our favourite reads from childhood, and many so-called 'children’s' books make good reading whatever your age, so do feel free to have a browse next time you’re in.

Children’s Book Week has been going for over 80 years now and aims to support reading for pleasure. You can find out more on the Booktrust web  pages, where you’ll also find links to resources such as Booktrust’s 100 Best Books (how many have you read?) and a toolkit to help parents encourage a love of reading in their children. You can also take a look at the Booktrust Best Book Guide 2014, which has been published to coincide with this week's celebrations. Perfect if you’re looking for some new books for the special little someone in your life!

Festivities officially end tomorrow (4^th July), but we think every day is a good day to enjoy reading a good book. Let’s see how many of the 100 Best Books we can read over the summer!

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

 

 

Silly old Bear

It’s Winnie the Pooh’s birthday today! Well, sort of. Winnie the Pooh was first published on the 14^th October 1926 and told of the adventures of A. A. Milne’s son, Christopher Robin, and his toys: Pooh Bear, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga, Roo and of course Owl, Rabbit and all of Rabbit’s friends and relations. The book and its sequel, The House at Pooh Corner, are still firm favourites with children and adults alike and have even received the Disney seal of approval with various cartoon adaptations. The original books are surely the best, though, and E. H. Shepherd’s beautiful drawings are hard to beat.

You'd have to take a trip to the New York Public Library to see Christopher Robin's original toys (minus Roo, who is still missing in action in the real-life Hundred Acre Wood!), but the books are available for all to enjoy. You won’t be surprised to learn that both titles are available in Townhill Library’s Teaching Practice collection, as are Milne’s poetry books When we were very young and Now we are six. Well worth another read as they are just as engaging for adults as for children! You might also like to take a look at The Pooh perplex in Townhill Library at shelf mark 823.912 MIL. It’s an irreverent look at literary theory and criticism with some help from our astute and useful bear. Very funny!

T. Llew Jones Day

Tying in nicely with Children’s Book Week, it’s T. Llew Jones Day! The prolific Welsh writer and poet, who wrote for both children and adults, is celebrated every year on his birthday, 11^th October. He was born in 1915 and died in 2009, but his English and Welsh language books remain as popular as ever. He was committed to addressing the shortage of Welsh language books for children in post-war Wales and became involved in conferences and competitions to generate new works as well as helping the shortfall by writing his own books! You can find out more about T. Llew Jones from the National Library of Wales’ Welsh Biography Online and see what the Welsh Books Council has to say about T. Llew Jones Day on their website. If you’ve yet to discover T. Llew Jones yourself, we have a number of his books in Townhill Library.

Children's Book Week

Yes, it’s Children’s Book Week from today until Friday! You can find out all about it on the Booktrust’s web page. To celebrate this year’s book week, the Booktrust has selected 100 books to read before you’re 14 (and well worth a read if 14 is but a distant memory too!), handily broken down into different age categories. You can even vote for your favourite children’s book in each of the four age ranges – 0-5 years, 6-8 years, 9-11 years and 12-14 years – so if you want to cast your vote for Matilda over Harry Potter, or Princess Smartypants over the Jolly Postman, now’s your chance!

You’ll find many of those top 100 children’s books, as well as a whole lot more, in the Teaching Practice collection on the first floor of Townhill Library. Come in and have a look, or use our Catalogue to find the book you want and ask for it to be sent to your home campus library!

Roald Dahl Day

It’s Roald Dahl Day! Everyone’s favourite children’s author is celebrated every year on his birthday, 13^th September. You can find out more on the website and do catch Michael Rosen’s Puffin Virtually Live webcast from 2pm till 2.45pm today. The theme this year is mischief and mayhem, so it should be lots of fun!

We’ve got lots of books by and about Roald Dahl in Townhill Library, so why not pop in today to pick up some weekend reading. Roald Dahl Day is the perfect excuse to rediscover a childhood favourite, or find a new treat.

We’ll leave the last word to author Nadia Shireen, who this morning tweeted "As is customary on #RoaldDahlday, learn a new word, outwit a grown-up and scoff some Dairy Milk." Sounds good to us! 

The Tale of Beatrix Potter

It’s Beatrix Potter’s birthday on Sunday (28^th July). If she was still alive she’d be 147-years-old! The author is probably best known for her enduringly popular children’s books about Peter Rabbit, the Tailor of Gloucester, Jemima Puddleduck and Tom Kitten, to name but a few. I’m sure most of us are familiar with her beautiful illustrations of these animal characters, especially Peter Rabbit in his blue jacket.

Helen Beatrix Potter was born in 1866 in South Kensington, London. Despite a city upbringing, the Potters enjoyed long holidays in the countryside and had an array of much-loved family pets, many of whom went on to appear in Beatrix’s books! You can find out lots more about the author from TheBeatrix Potter Society and from books at Townhill Library. Amongst those shelved at 828.8 POT, you’ll find The Journal of Beatrix Potter from1881 to 1897 and you’ll see conference papers from The Beatrix Potter Society at 823.912 POT.

As you’d expect, we’ve got books written by Beatrix Potter too! You’ll find Peter, Jemima and the gang in the Junior Fiction section of Townhill Library. The linguists amongst you might like to read about their exploits in French! Find L’histoire de Toto let Minet and more at Teaching Practice 843.91 POT. Magnifique!



The House of the Tailor of Gloucester (photo by Hannah Meiklejohn)

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!

Malorie Blackman has been announced as the new Children’s Laureate

Yes, Julia Donaldson’s tenure as Children’s Laureate has come to an end, and the mantle has passed to Malorie Blackman, who will hold the position till 2015. You can find out more about the Children’s Laureate on the official website.

Blackman is the latest in a line of laureates which began with Quentin Blake in 1999. The list of former incumbents reads like a list of who’s who in modern children’s literature: as well as Blake, there’s Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo, Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Rosen, Anthony Browne and, of course, Julia Donaldson. Malorie Blackman will certainly hold her own amongst these writers and has already stated that her goal is to encourage more children to spend more time reading, which sounds good to us! She also plans to continue Donaldson’s support of public libraries, which must also be a good thing.

If you’ve yet to discover Blackman as a writer, you can borrow some of her books from Townhill Library. You’ll find them in the Teaching Practice section, so if you call in for them now you won’t have to renew or return them until the 4^th October! (This is because our 6 week Teaching Practice loans have already rolled over to next term. Look out for this happening with our other loan categories as summer vacation approaches!)

Before we say a final goodbye, you might like to see what we had to say about Julia Donaldson in her role as laureate. Of course, it’s not really goodbye as she’ll still be writing lots of lovely books. You can borrow those from Townhill Library too, including some in Welsh! (Wwsh ar y brwsh, anyone?)

Share-a-Story Month

It’s Share-a-Story Month! This event is organised by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups (FCBG), which was set up to encourage children’s interest in books and reading. Every May they promote the idea of reading aloud to your children, or asking them to read aloud to you. In other words, it’s all about sharing stories! (And no reason to restrict this to the children – Why not share some stories with the grown-ups in your life too?) You can find out more about the month on the FCBG website.

We’ve got lots of stories to share at Swansea Met libraries, of course! You’ll find tons of lovely picture books and junior fiction books in Welsh and English in the Teaching Practice section on the first floor of Townhill Library. The junior fiction section covers teenage and young adult fiction too, but there are lots more novels downstairs if you’re looking for something for an older audience!

If you’re stuck for inspiration and don’t know which books are the best to read aloud, you could try some of the titles from Mal Peet’slist in the Guardian. Mal Peet won the CILIP Carnegie Medal for his novel Tamar, which you can borrow from Townhill Library. His list of 10 books to read aloud is a very personal choice based on stories enjoyed by him and his children. For a wider range of titles, you might like to try Great Books to Read Aloud which explains why reading to children can be so beneficial and suggests 70 titles which work well when read out loud. The books are sorted in different age ranges from babies to 11-year-olds and each recommendation includes a synopsis of the book. There are even a few celebrity choices in there, so if you’d like to know which book J. K. Rowling and her daughter enjoyed together, take a look!

It's National Pet Month!



Muzzie the rescue dog having a snooze in his new home

This year, National Pet Month runs from the 1^st April to the 6^th May, so it’s well underway by now. It aims to encourage responsible pet ownership, draw attention to the work of pet care professional and companion animals, and raise money for pet charities. You can find our more on the official website, which also includes lesson plans and information for schools wishing to take part as well as some tips on getting a classroom pet.

 

We love our furry friends here at the library, so we thought we’d take this opportunity to highlight some of our recent new books which have dogs as their stars. (We’ve got nothing against other pets, but as it happens we’ve had a lot of books about dogs recently!) These are great for the kids and rather lovely for the grown-ups too!

Oh no George! by Chris Haughton

This fun picture book is about George, a pet dog who desperately tries to be good when his owner leaves him alone for the day, but is met by temptation at every turn! Will he manage to resist eating the cake and chasing the cat? Only one way to find out – read the book!

Black dog by Levi Pinfold

This beautiful picture book deals with themes of fear and perception. A big, black dog, which gets bigger as each family member spots him, appears outside a house one night. Only the littlest child is brave enough to go out and meet the beast. The illustrations are stunning and the story great for stimulating discussion with children. Wonderful!

A greyhound of a girl by Roddy Doyle

We have a few Roddy Doyle books in the library and they’re all to be recommended, but this is his most recent. The pets in this don’t feature very heavily, but it’s such a good one that we’ve snuck it in anyway! Don’t be put off that this is primarily aimed at children as there’s plenty for the more mature reader too! It centres round four generations of the same family – one dead, one dying and two living. It’s a beautifully told story about coming to terms with loss and the power of family. It will probably make you cry!

A dog called Homeless by Sarah Lean

Another weepy! This one centres on Cally, who’s trying to come to terms with the loss of her mum. She can’t help but feel that the mysterious Irish wolfhound she keeps seeing offers some link to her mother. Meanwhile, she struggles to fit in at school and makes friend with the boy downstairs, who is deaf and blind. This is really rather a gripping tale!

Sid and the Cwmhendy dog show by Tanya L. James

A lovely, fun one to end with! Sid is a good natured but mischievous Jack Russell, based on the author’s own dog. In this delightful story he’s been entered in a dog show and needs to stay clean and out of trouble. You’ve probably got a good idea of what happens, but it's very charmingly told!

Do any of these grab your fancy? Remember, as with all our books, once you’ve read them, you can give them a five star rating on our catalogue so other library users know how good or bad they are. (Strictly speaking, you can rate them without reading them, but we’d prefer you passed on an informed judgement!)

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!

Children’s Book Week – Let’s celebrate reading for pleasure

Children’s Book Week is an annual event in support of children reading for pleasure.  This year’s event takes place 1^st – 7^th October with the theme of Heroes and Heroines. It’s aimed at children of primary school age and anyone who is involved with the support of children’s reading (teachers and trainee teachers, we're thinking of you, as well as any parents out there), but might also be of interest to some of our illustration students. You can find out more from Booktrust.

The Booktrust website is an excellent resource in itself (see our blog post from April). It has all sorts of information about books, authors and illustrators, including interviews and reviews. It’s also a great place to go if you’re looking for a book to read and need some recommendations!

If you’re particularly interested in children’s reading, you might also like to take a look at Books for Keeps. This is a freely available online magazine which focuses on books for children from babies to teenagers. This is a fantastic place to go to keep up to date with the children’s book world. There are lots of articles, interviews with children’s authors and illustrators, and reviews of the latest publications for different age ranges. Books for Keeps was also published as a paper magazine up until 2010. You’ll find lots of back copies in the journal stack on the ground floor of Townhill Library (where the photocopier is). Definitely worth a browse!

It is generally accepted that the practice of reading for pleasure benefits a child (see the report from the Department of Education) so it’s definitely worth trying to instil a love of books in our children. If you’re in need of inspiration, give the resources above a try, and also call into Townhill Library to have a look at our Teaching Practice collection where you’ll find lots of lovely books for children of all ages.

It’s Roald Dahl Day!

The wickedly funny children’s author is celebrated every year on the 13^th September, which was his birthday. Roald Dahl Day 2012 is a particularly special one as the BFG (Big Friendly Giant, for those who don’t know), one of Dahl’s most iconic creations, is 30 this year! Click in to the Roald Dahl Day website for quizzes, activities and “50 Scrumdiddlyumptious Ways to Celebrate Roald Dahl Day”! We’ll be tweeting our favourite words on our Twitter page and posting some Roald Dahl-related quotations and information on our Facebook page, so keep an eye on both today. It’s going to be gloriumptious!

Happy birthday J. K. Rowling!

Yes, today is author J. K. Rowling’s birthday! Rowling is of course the creator of literary and cinematic phenomenon, Harry Potter. As you’d expect, we’ve got all seven Harry Potter books in the Junior Fiction section at Townhill Library (borrow one today and you won’t have to bring it back until the 4^th October at the earliest!), as well as one in Welsh: Harri Potter a maen yr athronydd is the Welsh translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. For the scholars amongst you, we’ve also got Quidditch through the ages and Fantastic beasts and where to find them, which are two of Harry’s school books from the novels, and text books which critique the Potter books and look at the social and political implications of the series. I wonder what Hermione would make of that!

You can find out more about J. K. Rowling (aka Joanne Rowling – the J. K. was at the request of publishers who thought that boys might not want to read a book written by a woman!) on her website: http://www.jkrowling.com/. You’ll find all sorts of information about Rowling’s books and about the woman herself, including which Hogwarts House she’d like to be in (Gryffindor, of course!). You’ll also find her Twitter address in the FAQs section in case you want to tweet her some birthday greetings.

Winnie the Witch is 25 years old this week

Although it has to be said that she looks a good deal older than a quarter of a century! Winnie is the much-loved creation of writer Valerie Thomas and illustrator Korky Paul. She first came to prominence in the self-titled picture book, Winnie the Witch, which tells of the hapless witch’s attempts to change the colour of her black cat, Wilbur, so she can better see him in her black house amongst her black furnishings.

The ensuing troubles and the final remedy (I won’t give too much away!) have turned Winnie and Wilbur into icons for the social model of disability, which states that disability is caused by the organisation of society rather than a person’s impairment. Using this model, disabled people become equal in society when the barriers which restrict their choices are removed. To find out how Winnie and Wilbur fit in with all this, take a look at the explanation on Scope’s website, which also includes a You Tube link to Jon Simm reading the story on CBeebies!

Winnie is more than a symbol of social injustice, though, and went on to have more adventures with Wilbur the cat. You can find out all about her on her website, where you’ll find details of all the books as well as extras such as free wallpaper for your computer (I’ve got mine!). Naturally, you can borrow some of the Winnie books from Townhill Library. Just search our catalogue for “Winnie the Witch” or come in and browse the shelves of our picture book section.

150th anniversary of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

It is 150 years since Lewis Carroll first told the story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. A quick search on Oxford Reference Online, one of the databases available via the Swansea Met library web pages, reveals that Carroll, real name Charles Dodgson, wrote the tale for young Alice Liddell ("Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"  The Oxford Companion to English Literature. Edited by Dinah Birch. Oxford University Press Inc. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Swansea Metropolitan University.  5 July 2012  http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t113.e146). There is a Welsh connection to all this as the Liddell family had a holiday home in Llandudno, though Carroll befriended them in Oxford.

Whether you consider Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and her further adventures Through the Looking Glass, as delightful nonsense tales or darker, complex satires of Victorian society, they’ve certainly stood the test of time. We have a number of copies of the Alice books in Townhill Library and in Griffith Library at Dynevor, all beautifully illustrated. If you borrow one this summer, you won’t need to bring it back until the 4^th October. Remember, though, we’re not open in the evenings or at weekends during vacation time, so don’t do a White Rabbit and turn up late!

Coming soon, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The musical!

 A new musical based on Roald Dahl’s classic, Charlie and the chocolate factory, will open in the West End next June. The BBC News website reports that Sam Mendes, he of American Beauty fame, will direct the show. Dahl is a firm favourite with children and adults alike and Charlie and the chocolate factory is one of his best known books. It has already been adapted for the big screen twice – once in 2005 starring Johnny Depp and before that Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory was released in 1971 and starred Gene Wilder. (The 2005 version is on telly this weekend if you fancy a look!)

The producers are sure to be hoping that Charlie can replicate some of the success of the RSC’s production of Matilda the musical, also based on one of Roald Dahl’s books. Matilda has not only proved popular with audiences, but also won a record breaking seven Laurence Olivier Awards this year.

As you’d expect, Matilda and Charlie and the chocolate factory are available, along with lots of other Roald Dahl books, from Townhill Library’s Teaching Practice collection. If you haven’t already read it (or if you have!), Dahl’s autobiography, Boy, is well worth a look. His preoccupation with the sweet shop and his boarding school’s location next to the Cadbury factory might offer clues as to his inspiration for Charlie and the chocolate factory!

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!

RIP Maurice Sendak

We were really sorry to hear of the death of Maurice Sendak, the pioneering illustrator who passed away today at the age of 83. Sendak is probably best known for his picture book Where the Wild Things Are, which uses beautiful language and striking illustrations to tell the tale of Max on his “wild rumpus” through a magical land. The book was groundbreaking in the way it introduced rather sinister imagery into a children’s book. Despite an initially wary reception from the public, it has remained a firm favourite with children and grown-ups alike over the decades since its publication in 1963.

If you’d like to remember or discover Maurice Sendak through his work, you’ll find plenty of copies of Where the Wild Things Are and some of his other picture books at Griffith Library in Dynevor and at Townhill Library. If you’d like to hear what a wild rumpus sounds like in Welsh, try the translation, Yng Ngwlad Y Pethau Gwyllt.