BfK News: May 2007
NEWS
CILIP Carnegie and Greenaway shortlists announced
In this, the Carnegie Medal’s 70th anniversary year, the shortlist for 2007 is:
The Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks (The Chicken House)
A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd (David Fickling Books)
The Road of Bones by Anne Fine (Doubleday)
Beast by Ally Kennen (Marion Lloyd Books)
Just In Case by Meg Rosoff (Penguin)
My Swordhand is Singing by Marcus Sedgwick (Orion)
This shortlist pits established writers such as two-time former Medal winner Anne Fine, and the previously shortlisted Kevin Brooks and Marcus Sedgwick, against newer writers such as Meg Rosoff, Siobhan Dowd and Ally Kennen. Dowd and Kennen have both been shortlisted for their first published novels.
The Kate Greenaway Medal is in its 50th anniversary year. The 2007 shortlist is:
The Elephantom by Ross Collins (Templar)
Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett (Macmillan)
The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon by Mini Grey (Red Fox)
Scoop! An Exclusive by Monty Molenski by John Kelly and Cathy Tincknell (Templar)
Augustus and His Smile by Catherine Rayner (Little Tiger)
The Emperor of Absurdia by Chris Riddell (Macmillan)
This shortlist features two former holders of the coveted Medal, Chris Riddell and last year’s winner, Emily Gravett. Shortlisted for the second and third times respectively are John Kelly and Cathy Tincknell, and Mini Grey. Two Scottish illustrators, Ross Collins and Catherine Rayner, make the shortlist for the first time, Rayner for her debut book.
The Carnegie Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal are awarded annually by CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. The winners will be announced on Thursday, 21 June 2007.
Anniversary celebrations
The Carnegie and Kate Greenaway website at www.ckg.org.uk has been completely redesigned and enhanced. It includes an online public vote to decide the nation’s favourite Carnegie and Kate Greenaway winners of all time. People of all ages are being encouraged to re-read and discuss two Top 10s of former Carnegie and Kate Greenaway books, chosen by a distinguished panel of experts, and vote for their all time favourites in an online poll at www.ckg.org.uk before 12 noon, Thursday, 14 June.
A specially commissioned series of reader development, visual literacy and collection interpretation packs for librarians and teachers is available free of charge from www.ckg.org.uk/celebration. These packs are designed to help children and young people engage with the material across the whole collection of Carnegie/Greenaway winning books.
Special point of sale material to celebrate the anniversaries has been created in partnership with publishers and booksellers for bookshops, schools and libraries. A2 double-sided posters, A5 anniversary leaflets that fold out into wall charts featuring all the past winners, bookmarks featuring the 2007 shortlisted titles and shortlist book stickers are all available to order online at www.ckg.org.uk/pos
Over 3,000 reading groups in schools and public libraries have registered to take part in the shadowing scheme for the awards, involving over 60,000 children and young people. For further information visit www.ckg.org.uk/shadowing
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
‘Teaching’ poems for children
Dear Editor
I enjoyed Robert Hull’s contribution in BfK 163 about the wonderful Dinka poem which begins ‘My bull is white…’ I agree with him that it is an excellent poem to use with children. Can I just point out that, contrary to the leader which suggests that this poem has not been anthologised before, I included it in the first poetry collection I compiled for children in 1984, I Like That Stuff: Poems From Many Cultures (CUP).
Morag Styles
EVENT
Marxism and Children’s Literature 2
Saturday, 9 June at the University of Hertfordshire. Speakers include Jeannie Robinson (Nottingham Trent University) and Victoria de Rijke (Middlesex University) and authors China Miéville, Jonathan Neale, Ann Turnbull, Alan Gibbons and Michael Rosen. Papers on any of the following: the problems posed by talking of, and writing for differentiated children as ‘the child’; the ideological limits set by the publishing industry and/or educational directives; how the writings of such critics as Raymond Williams, Pierre Bourdieu, Terry Eagleton and Frederic Jameson might be useful in readings of children’s literature; considerations of the critical work of e.g. Robert Leeson, Herbert Kohl, Ariel Dorfman, and Jack Zipes; naturalism, realism, fantasy – equal but different?; works in context; celebrations of pioneers, radicals, subversives and oddballs; is it possible to discern the presence of an epoch in a work of children’s literature? Proposals for papers (40 minutes in length) should be sent to Michael Rosen (rosenmichael@hotmail.com).
