THE CILIP KATE GREENAWAY MEDAL SHORTLIST 2005
(presented in 2006)
JUDGES’ COMMENTS

TONY DiTERLIZZI (Text by Holly Black) ARTHUR SPIDERWICK’S FIELD GUIDE TO THE FANTASTICAL WORLD AROUND YOU
Simon & Schuster, (Age range: 8+)
ISBN: 1-416-90136-1

A satisfying, quality production with a wealth of detail, which cleverly employs a variety of artistic styles and media to make it appear like the work of more than one artist. A beautifully accomplished, treasure of a book which makes its subject matter seem completely real, even though it is drawn wholly from imagination.

‘For fans of the bestselling Spiderwick Chronicles series, a compendium of Arthur Spiderwick’s eyewitness accounts of creatures previously believed to exist only in legend - goblins, unicorns, griffins, boggarts and many others. Essential reading for every true faery enthusiast.’

EMILY GRAVETT WOLVES
Macmillan (Age range: 6+)
ISBN: 1-405-05082-9

A real page-turner of a book. The style is spare, but at the same time there is so much in it, and the device whereby the book becomes the book within it is brilliantly employed. The illustrator’s style is totally unique, and the love and attention to detail here is obvious, even down to her having chewed the book herself to get the right effect.

‘A book about the power of library books! Too many rabbits believe everything they read. A wolf’s favourite food is unfortunately NOT small girls in red hoods, but small furry creatures with long ears.’

MINI GREY TRACTION MAN IS HERE
Red Fox (Age range: 6+)
ISBN: 0-099-45109-3

A very original tale told from a real child’s eye perspective, through illustrations which give vivid personification to inanimate objects like a scrubbing brush and a piece of toast. The whole thing is very well controlled, and has a subtle sophistication which means you see more things each time you look at it.

‘Traction Man is here! With an action outfit for every occasion, he patrols the house saving toys, guarding toast, searching for lost wrecks and rescuing damsels in distress. Traction Man is ready for anything…or is he?’

OLIVER JEFFERS LOST AND FOUND
HarperCollins (Age range: 3+)
ISBN: 0-00-715036-9

It employs a restrained style to great effect: a dot and a line can say so much. The sense of light, and the penguin’s body language are wonderfully conveyed, and there is a great sense of space and scale throughout. The story is quite bleak, but because it is so well-controlled, it does not pitch too overtly to the emotions

‘Once there was a boy who found a penguin at his door. The penguin looked so sad he thought it must be lost. So he decided to help it find its way home, even if that meant rowing all the way to the South Pole…’

DAVE McKEAN (Text by Neil Gaiman) MIRRORMASK
Bloomsbury (Age range: 11+)
ISBN: 0-7475-8111-8

A sophisticated and challenging graphic novel which employs striking images, collage and film stills to work with an extensive text for older readers. It has an edgy, fragmented feel, and this lack of cohesion reflects what is going on in the story, giving great synergy to the whole. A book with real visual impact, which takes us out of our comfort zone.

‘Raised in a family of circus performers, Helena dreams of leading a more ordinary life. But when she is drawn into a strange and magical realm, her real life is stolen by a runaway from the other side, and Helena must rescue the realm from chaos to win back her not-so-ordinary life.’

JANE RAY (Text by Berlie Doherty) JINNIE GHOST
Frances Lincoln (Age range: 7+)
ISBN: 1-84507-292-8

It employs sumptuous colour, and layers of exquisite decorative detail to really draw you into the story. You can feel the presence of the ghost; there is a real sense of her movement. Though the illustrator has not stuck to a single colour palette, there is no jarring. There is plenty for children to look at in this book which repays revisiting.

‘Jinnie Ghost slides through walls and glides up stairs, bringing children their favourite dreams and changing fearful shadows to fun. The break of day takes Jinnie away, leaving children brushing wonder from their eyes…’

DAVID ROBERTS (Text by Lynn Roberts)
LITTLE RED: A FIZZINGLY GOOD YARN
Chrysalis (Age range: 7+)
ISBN: 1-84458-409-7

By setting it in a new period (18th century America), the illustrator refreshes a story everyone knows, and employs all sorts of amusing touches, and a highly distinctive style, in his innovative and unusual approach. The book demonstrates superb draughtsmanship, a brilliant use of perspective, and great sense of light; all in a wonderfully subtle colour palette.

‘Little Red is on his way to visit his grandmother on the other side of the wood, when ignoring all warnings, he strays from the path. A greedy wolf hatches an evil plan, and gobbles up grandmother: can a keg of fizzy ginger beer save Little Red from a similar fate?’

ROB SCOTTON RUSSELL THE SHEEP
HarperCollins (Age range: 5+)
ISBN: 0-00-720622-4

A book that makes friends! Its limited colour palette works very well, particularly in its use of white. It also gives a great sense of texture – the sheeps’ fleeces really do look fluffy. It is actually more sophisticated than it first appears, working at different levels whilst providing something to laugh at on every page.

‘Sometimes Russell the sheep is just a little bit out of step with the rest of the flock. All the other sheep are falling asleep – but not Russell. He’s tried everything, but he’s still wide awake. What’s a sheep to do?’