What should win the Carnegie and Greenaway Awards?

THE CARNEGIE MEDAL SHORTLIST (AUTHORS)

Junk by Melvin Burgess (Andersen)

Weirdo’s War by Michael Coleman (Orchard)

The Tulip Touch by Anne Fine (Hamish Hamilton)

Secret Friends by Elizabeth Laird (Hodder)

Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett (Corgi)

Clockwork by Philip Pullman (Doubleday)

Love. In Cyberia by Chloe Rayban (The Bodley Head)

Bad Girl by Jacqueline Wilson (Doubleday)

THE KATE GREENAWAY MEDAL SHORTLIST (ILLUSTRATORS)

Ishtar and Tammuz by Christina Balit (Frances Lincoln)

Down by the River by Caroline Binch (Heinemann)

The Tale of the Monstrous Toad by Ruth Brown (Andersen)

The Baby Who Wouldn’t Go to Bed by Helen Cooper (Doubleday)

The Smallest Whale by Susan Field (Orchard)

Mr Bear to the Rescue by Debi Gliori (Orchard)

Oops! by Colin McNaughton (Andersen)

The Duck that had NO luck by Korky Paul (The Bodley Head)

Elizabeth Hammill, Project Director, The Centre for the Children’s Book

Carnegie: Clockwork is a literary tour de force that is as much about the uncanny relationship between clockwork and storytelling as it is about the relationship between science and art; a compelling tale which is as innovative as it is exciting. Greenaway: The Baby Who Wouldn’t Go to Bed plays with the page and with the reader’s imagination in an idiosyncratic exploration of the merging of a child’s real and imagined worlds.

Sarah Cattermole, school student, Leiston Middle School, Suffolk

Carnegie: Love. In Cyberia – it has a stunningly clever end and was extremely well written from a 16-year-old’s point of view. It left me amazed.

Quentin Blake, illustrator

Greenaway: Shortlists are often weird assemblies, but I can’t for a moment believe that these are the best eight illustrated children’s books of last year. Not that there aren’t good artists here; but the cumulative effect of this shortlist, spread out in front of you, is to prompt all sorts of questions, such as: what became of Bob Graham, Chris Riddell, Louise Brierley, John Lawrence, Patrick Benson, Ian Beck (and others)? Why are these all full-colour picture books? What is the importance of taste, wit, design, drawing, professionalism? And, does the Kate Greenaway quite know what it’s all about?

If I have to choose a winner from this shortlist it’s Colin McNaughton’s Oops! for his assurance and expertise and the other attributes that quite properly won him the Smarties prize for the same book. But really I’d rather the jury went back and started again.

Lindsey Fraser, Book Trust Scotland

Carnegie: Secret Friends – it’s so powerful and has stayed with me. I keep coming back to it.

Greenaway: Mr Bear to the Rescue – it has worked so well, so immediately when I’ve read it with children.

Anne Marley, Chair, Children’s Book Circle

Carnegie: Clockwork is the nearest thing to perfection of structure, form and style and a rattling good yarn. Johnny and the Bomb is crisp, very funny dialogue, wonderful characters and has an acute sense of place whichever trouser leg of time you’re down. I can’t choose between them.

Greenaway: The Baby Who Wouldn’t Go to Bed – I love the somewhat surreal yet warm illustrations and the wonderfully complementary text. A masterpiece.

Julia Eccleshare, children’s book critic and broadcaster

Carnegie: Clockwork – it’s a brilliant display of how best to play with traditions of telling. A story within a story, it is hard edged and razor sharp in its structure, telling and exciting use of language.

Greenaway: Down by the River – Binch has turned real images into illustration giving her pictures immediacy, strength and purpose.

Samuel Thornhill, school student, The Earls High School, West Midlands

Carnegie: Secret Friends – bullying takes place all over the world and the reader can imagine how Rafaella would be feeling. Very moving.

Rosemary Stones, editor, Books for Keeps

Carnegie: Secret Friends – it’s beautifully written, well structured and charged with meaning and for younger readers.

Greenaway: Some wonderful illustrators but they have been poorly served – cf the awful typography in The Duck that had NO luck which would have been my choice.

Jan Pienkowski, illustrator

Greenaway: The Duck that had NO luck is vividly alive. Korky Paul’s soaring imagination reaches a climax in a bravura double spread – a multiple-exposure rendering of a dog fight with a deliciously evil vulture. Down by the River also deserves a mention for its marvellously accomplished watercolours of Caribbean children.

Joanna Carey, children’s book editor, The Guardian

Carnegie: Junk is a powerful, uncompromising novel with a bold, controversial theme and a kaleidoscope of structural complexity that fully respects the intelligence of its readers.

Greenaway: Down by the River – subtle observation, faultless drawing and a fluid, sparkling watercolour technique go hand in hand with an easy spontaneity.

Keith Barker, reviews editor, The School Librarian, and former chair, Carnegie/Greenaway panel

Carnegie: Junk has flaws (the major one being its length) but its achievement raises it above the level of the other contenders.

Greenaway: I feel the judges have confused outstanding illustration with an outstanding picture book; The Baby Who Wouldn’t Go to Bed has the most originality in its design.

The Carnegie and Greenaway winners will be announced on 16th July at an award ceremony in London. The award is sponsored by Peters Library Service.

Thanks to Tricia Andrews of Leiston Middle School and Ros Bartlett of The Earls High School whose students are shadowing the Carnegie.