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Thursday 02 July 2009 So the secret is out, and after an exciting and enjoyable ceremony at BAFTA we all know that Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd is the 2009 Carnegie Medal winner, while Catherine Rayner’s Harris finds his feet has won the Greenaway. And what a journey it has been; Lots of reading and re-reading; lots of intense discussion – lots of thinking and then voting. And the goal – this great result….two outstanding books. Over these past weeks, I have also enjoyed a different journey, one I have tried to share with you through this blog; a journey to the past looking (briefly) at some of the past winners of both medals in the hope that some of you might also feel tempted to do the same, either to rediscover a book you remember or perhaps discover something new; something to excite or delight – there are great books and inspiring illustrations. So to end I shall take one more step back to look at a few of my very favourite winners But what would they be out of such a galaxy? Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Tom’s midnight garden by Philippa Pearce would be one. There are no heroics in this story of an unlikely friendship, no racing and chasing – it is a beautifully crafted and absorbing novel that draws the reader in to share the enchantment of that garden from the past. As a complete contrast , it is The God beneath the sea (Garfield/Blishen) – a dramatic and compelling retelling of the Greek myths of creation that stays in my mind. Here the savagery and beauty of these tales are really brought alive. And this is in a large part due to the powerful illustrations of Charles Keeping. Even in the Carnegie, artists make a contribution but the Greenaway is their award. What a range of wonderful books is on display in the archive! They should all be in print – but sadly aren’t. However on my shelf are two favourites – one from the earliest years, in fact the first recipient, Tim all alone written and illustrated by Edward Ardizzone . It has everything – a feisty hero, dramatic action and a happy ending, a text that works in perfect partnership with Ardizzone’s illustrations. The same qualities are evident in Wolves by Emily Gravett. This winner of 2005 demonstrates that there is no such thing as “a Greenaway style” except sheer quality. It is time to finish my journey - thank you everyone who has followed me, I have enjoyed putting a few thoughts down; I hope you have enjoyed reading them. Now for next year! Thursday 25 June 2009 Countdown…. and all will be revealed. The great thing is we are not just celebrating excellence in writing, but also in illustration. It is true that there are other awards that celebrate picture books – The Booktrust Early Years Awards for one – but not, perhaps, in quite the same way as the Greenaway Medal. Here the focus is completely on the quality of illustration. This is exhilarating – and quite a difficult concept to take on board, since we are on the whole so geared to looking at the story. However, it also allows an enormous range of material to be considered. What other prize could encompass the colour saturated, unhibited ABC by Brian Wildsmith (1962) to the decorative yet precise illustrations by Pauline Baynes for A Dictionary of Chivalry(Uden 1968). Or could demonstrate the range of an artist’s work, as was the case in 1959 when the medal went to William Stobbs for his illustrations for both Kashtanka (Chekhov), in which rich colours evoke the Russian background of the tale, and for his simple black and white drawings for A bundle of ballads (Manning Sanders). Naturally actual picture books do dominate the list, but even here the variety is exciting. There is the super realism of When Jessie came across the sea (P.J. Lynch 1997) and the wonderful exuberance of Mr Magnolia (Quentin Blake 1980); the drama of Pienkowski’s silhouettes in The Kingdom under the sea (Aiken 1971) to the humour of The adventures of the dish and the spoon (Mini Grey 2007). And the current short list shows a similar impressive range from the evocative realism of Chris Wormall’s Molly and the night monster , a picture book that can reach out to the youngest reader, to the simplicity of How to heal a broken wing by Bob Graham in which the story is conveyed through the minimal text combined with deceptively unassuming illustration; from the painterly evocation of the East Anglian coastline and drama of Dunkirk captured by Angela Barrett in The snow goose (Gallico) to the exuberance of Harris in Catherine Rayner’s Harris finds his feet. To provide an opportunity to look at such exciting work at one time must be part of the real legacy of the Greenaway Medal. Saturday 20 June 2009 Almost there. And the number of comments,,, reviews,,, pictures on the website goes on growing. What a great response to books that DO offer a challenge. As always there are questions – why not more for younger readers? This is a question that has been around for as long as I can remember. So is it true that Carnegie winners are always for the older reader? I looked back over the Archive and found plenty for the discerning young reader of 9 and older. I am thinking of titles such as Gene Kemp’s The turbulent term of Tyke Tyler (1977), a lively take on the school story with a terrific twist at the end. Going a bit further back and as a result, perhaps, a little dated but still full of humour and humanity, there is The family from One End Street (Garnett 1937). These are novels rooted in the real world dealing with relationships between friends and family, poignant, warm, laugh-out-loud – and this year Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce is just such a book too. However, if fantasy attracts you, why not join Dodder, Sneezewort, Baldmoney and Cloudberry on their epic voyage to find the source of Folly Brook in The little Grey Men (BB 1942). Or visit Moonacre with Maria in the enchanting – and enchanted – Little white horse (1946) by Elizabeth Goudge. This book, of course, has just been given the advantage of a film treatment (whether to its detriment, I cannot tell since I have yet to see it), It isn’t the only one in the Archive to have been adapted for the screen - Northern Lights (Pullman 1995) and Millions (Boyce 2004)are two examples – attracting different – and perhaps, younger, audiences, hopefully sending some back to the books. Which of the titles on this year’s list would you like to see on the big (or even small) screen? I think my vote would be for Eoin Colfer’s Airman. This is such a rattling good adventure with a wide appeal – a dashing young hero, a really nasty villain and plenty of opportunities for dramatic stunts. Do you agree? What would you choose? Tuesday 09 June 2009 Dramatic, even disturbing, illustration is not new to the Greenaway. This might seem surprising since the immediate association of “illustration” with “children’s books” leads to the assumption that this means picture books… and surely picture books are for very young children? This would be very far from the truth. The joy of the Greenway is that the illustrations could be for a novel - Gullivers Travels(Swift/Jenkins/Riddell) or Alice’s adventures in Wonderland (Carroll/Oxenbury); a “novelty” book - Haunted House (Pienkowski) or even non-fiction - Shakespeare’s theatre (Hodges). There is no limit to the range of illustrative styles – as can be seen from the current short list. This includes Dave Maclean’s illustrations for The savage by David Almond. Bold, uncompromising, immediate, the images instantly grab the attention, shocking the reader by their intensity. A sign of the times? Perhaps. However, look back to 1981 when Charles Keeping won the medal for The Highwayman (Noyes). This romantic poem would be so easy to trivialise. But seen through Keeping’s illustrations it is a stark and shocking tragedy. The impact is even greater, since, like McKean, Keeping relies on a limited palette – in this case black and white. He even resists the temptation to colour the ribbons in Bess’s hair or the blood on the road. But limited colour does not make for lesser impact - the lines created by both artists are full of energy and movement drawing the reader into the story, while the characters are powerfully alive. Look at the image of Tim the ostler, despairing and mad with jealousy, as he eavesdrops on the highwayman, or the fear felt by Hopper as he faces the savage – both unnerving and unforgetable. Who thinks illustration for young people is cosy, bedtime fare? Think again. Thursday 28 May 2009 Continuing my look back at previous winners of the Carnegie Madal – what a treasure trove! – I have been reading (yes, reading NOT re-reading – shame) Pigeon Post, the very first recipient of the medal and also The Grange at High Force by Philip Turner. What a pleasure. I do recommend rediscovering these titles; though they clearly reflect a very different scene, they are both well written and engaging with lively, believable characters. Both are rooted in the everyday. There are no “spies”, or international terrorists, no “high tech” gadgets. However, reading them today they are incredibly adventurous – hill scrambling, camp fires, exploring old copper mines, building working ballistas – and using them…. and little or no adult intervention. Cool. What about today? There seems to be so little opportunity for children to engage in such activities that adventures like these appear irrelevant. Not quite. In The Ostrich Boys, the author Keith Gray creates just such an adventure; an adventure that really could happen and one that is completely contemporary, involving as it does negociating a route across England into Scotland by train (mainly). The three boys involved are not super heroes, they are not even delinquents – or not more than many of their peers; they are – like the characters created by Ransome and Turner, entirely believable. It doesn’t sound much – but then neither does searching for a lost statue or looking for gold in the Lake District – but I can guarantee all are page turners thanks to the skill of the authors Monday 11 May 2009 I am slightly star-struck! No I haven’t been to Hollywood, I have just "enjoyed" my brief moment of fame in the Judges Video – perhaps "enjoy" is not quite the right word; you would not credit how nervous I felt just facing my two minutes in front of a camera – would I smile all right? Would I stutter? I hope it comes out well. However, the judges are not really the stars of this little video sequence – the books are. They are the ones to look at. In fact, this year one of the Greenaway titles comes straight from a film background – Varmints, illustrated by Marc Craste, text by Helen Ward. Marc is a filmmaker (and includes a Bafta among his awards), and Varmints invites the reader to “see” it as a film sequence. There are the transparent scene changes (you can hear that camera gently ticking). and then there is the use of luminous darkness – a darkness that draws the eye in, teasing the imagination to creep through the streets of his Matrix-like city, all towering buildings and shadowy walkways. In Way Home (1994), Gregory Rogers creates another dark, crowded urban setting. But this time you are on the ground, following Shane as he makes his tortuous way home, overcoming all kinds of obstacles to keep his new friend, cat, safe. The reader is drawn into this dark world – the gangs, the rubbish bins and behind it all the constant noise of traffic. But Shane is dauntless – and home is reached safely. But what is “home” – a dramatic twist. Both these titles may be picture books but they are full of atmosphere, tension – and spaces that take the eye and imagination beyond the pages. Brilliant Wednesday 29 April 2009 Now the rereading has begun in earnest - and this really is a test of a good book. Each time the author must transport the reader once more, and while the "shock of the new" may not be there, its should still resonate and at the same time new discoveries - fresh ideas - new connections should emerge. This certainly was the case with last year's winner "Here lies Arthur" by Philip Reeve. It is also the case with that other Carnegie medallist that takes the reader into the world of Saxon Britain at a time of crisis "The Lantern Bearers" by Rosemary Sutcliff . The world imagined by both these authors is a very distant one - as distant as that imagined by Patrick Ness in The knife of never letting go where it is a different planet, and yet these worlds are incredibly real - look up from the book open the door, and you are there - you can smell the wood smoke, hear the Noise. More importantly, the characters that inhabit these worlds are real too with recognisable feelings, motivations, confusions ?but they are not just 21st century characters stuck in the past. . . or the future. How is this? I was struck particularly in the way that Ness and Sutcliff both use speech to convey an sense of immediacy but also distance. It is very skilful - in the case of Sutcliff it creates an impression that another language is being spoken, subtle rhythms the reader hears with the inner ear but never enough to be unreal; the moment Todd speaks to us on New World, we hear a very specific voice that doesn't just introduce Todd himself, but makes the reader think of the pioneers who travelled across America to establish new lives for themselves. You don't need long boring description to create vivid, living worlds - you can join Aquila facing the Saxon charge or Todd, desperately trying to reach Haven, just by listening to them. Listen. Thursday 23 April 2009 Just a day to go! Then, I hope, the shadowing groups across the country will swing into action. I am very much looking forward to seeing how the redesigned Shadowing Site will be used – and I hope that groups will take the opportunity to be really imaginative and to see that looking at the books can be fun in a great many ways. I don’t think it is just about reading all the books – though that is important if possible. I am hoping everyone is going to be talking... discussing... creating... looking at the stories AND the illustrations…and telling us all about it. I work through primary schools and using the Carnegie books is not really an option, so I like to introduce the Greenaway Short List. I work to do this across the whole school. Sometimes it is a Year 6 that takes up the challenge, or maybe a Year 3 – or Year 5. The books may be used to inspire more illustration – one year, a class wrote and illustrated their own versions of Mini Gray’s “Traction Man”. Brilliant – I still have the work. Sometimes we go for the more formal approach. Or the books may be used for shared reading – or even a read aloud for the teacher – “Ottoline” proved ideal. This year I am aiming to involve several schools and maybe we can link up…One thing I can say that when I go into a class and start my presentation, there is often a slight sense of bewilderment. What is she on about? When I go back, I can guarantee there will be a real buzz and excitement as the children find out what fun these books can be and they have something to show for it. That’s shadowing. Friday 17 April 2009 The shortlists for this year will soon be revealed so I’m sure you are interested in how we decide what books make each shortlist. It is both easy and very difficult. It is easy because we are not arguing against each other about our “favourite” book. We have a very clear set of Carnegie Medal criteria and the books we are looking for are the books that stand out in terms of plot, characterisation and style and, unlike other prizes, these criteria are published and everyone can see them. It is a very transparent process. The books that end up on the short list are the books that have taken the reader that special journey – and the ultimate winner is the most outstanding book of that group. This is the difficult part. However, as the discussion goes on, as the criteria are checked, it is extraordinary how that special book makes itself felt. It has nothing to do with whether it has been “liked” or even “enjoyed” – we are a large group of individuals with very different likes and dislikes – nor are we thinking about “popularity”. All the books on the shortlist will challenge, surprise, possibly disturb – they are books that will take the reader on a journey that may not be comfortable but will be rewarding for those prepared to travel. We also have the Kate Greenaway Medal to judge. The principles are the same except this is awarded for illustration – but it is not confined to picture books. The nominated works can be illustrated novels or even non-fiction. As with the Carnegie there are clear Kate Greenaway Medal criteria to be followed and once again we are looking for those illustrations that take the reader beyond the confines of the book; as with the Carnegie, the discussions can be intense but always we are looking for the outstanding. I hope over the coming weeks you will join me on a journey looking at the 2009 shortlists and some past winners. Monday 13 April 2009 Hello, I am Ferelith, one of the judges for this year’s CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals. Like my fellow judges, I am a Children’s Librarian, and one of the reasons I enjoy my work is the opportunity to explore children’s literature. Indeed, the main reason I chose the part of the librarianship course that dealt with working with young people was that you were encouraged to read novels, stories and picture books. How great was that? Thirty years later I am still reading them. Of course, most of this reading is for pleasure alone. However, it has always been my ambition to be involved in judging the two most important prizes in the world of children’s books here in the United Kingdom the CILIP Carnegie Medal for a novel and the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration. And here I am … in my second year as a judge, because we are allowed two years on the judging committee. Once upon a time there were very few awards for children’s books. Now, there seem to be quite a few, both national and local. This is a great situation, but where does it leave our awards? I believe passionately that they are very important – indeed increasingly so. Why? For a start, qualified children’s librarians, both individually or as an authority nominate all the books. This produces the Carnegie Medal long list and the Kate Greenaway Medal long list . This year that totalled 84 books altogether (44 for the Carnegie Medal and 39 for the Kate Greenaway Medal). The judges read all these books, no excuses, over a couple of months!
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