Carnegie/Greenaway News

National YLG Chair’s Carnegie/ Greenaway 2003 Award Ceremony Speech

Today is the culmination of a year of reading to find the most outstanding books in terms of literary and artistic quality and I consider it a great privilege to have been involved in the process to judge the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards.

the judges

I’d like to take this opportunity to celebrate several things today – firstly, my fellow judges. They come from libraries up and down the country and work with children on a daily basis, recommending books, running reading groups, listening to children’s discussions and enthusing young people with their own love of books. I want to thank them for their professionalism in our Judging meetings and their dedication to the task of reading the many books originally nominated for the Awards. Then reading again when the shortlist has been decided, and finally of course, deciding unanimously on the winners.

Then there are the thousands of teachers and librarians who work with the children in the Shadowing Groups, all 1350 of them which have been officially registered and all the rest who haven’t but are still reading the books. Some of the Shadowing Groups are with us today and I’d like to welcome them to this event. The groups meet in lunch breaks, after school, sometimes in the early evenings in public libraries – they also meet virtually via on-line discussions – so far, there have been more than 10,000 reviews posted on the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway website, which is fantastic. These are probably the most high-tech Awards in the country with the shadowing website and schools’ own intranet Reading Groups contributing daily. Teachers and librarians view the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards as a great opportunity to focus young people’s attention on specific titles of quality – enabling them to develop as readers and also, when Shadowing the Kate Greenaway Award, to become more visually literate. It’s all about celebrating Creativity – and reading, writing and illustration are, of course, very creative art forms.

It’s also about the importance of stimulating young minds, and allowing them to explore issues, such as those on this year’s Carnegie shortlist, as a vicarious experience from the security and comfort of their home or school situation. One teenage Internet reviewer said ‘young people will and should question the life lessons and values they learn from different sources and individuals, and should be trusted to make the right choices.’

Children’s and school librarians have found this a particularly difficult year with financial challenges besetting them on all sides – ironically at a time when Reading Initiatives abound. The bookfund is always the first thing to be reduced; yet these people’s determination to keep young people reading deserves far more credit than they receive. They are the unsung heroes of literature promotion and reader development in this country and we should celebrate their successes in encouraging children to experience a whole book for the sheer pleasure and enjoyment it gives.

Next, to the young people themselves for whom the books are intended. I have attended a number of Shadowing Group meetings this year and listened enthralled to the confident way in which the young people articulated their opinions about the books, and the mature and enthusiastic way in which they entered into discussion and debate. In these days when there are so many other activities to divert and entertain them, it is both extraordinary and gratifying that young people still like these funny little flattish packages, (though in the case of the latest Harry Potter, not so little and not so flat). That these boxes of delight, full of text or art work, can still hold their attention, transport them to other worlds, make them laugh out loud, identify with the characters inside and make their imagination take flight is something we should celebrate.

We also need to celebrate libraries. Libraries are powerhouses of knowledge – they can be real or virtual, providing information and entertainment in a variety of ways. Many library authorities have transformed their libraries by working in partnership with other organisations and agencies and of course with the IT development of the People’s Network, there has been an explosion of interest in them and what they offer.
At the beginning of the document, which heralded the People’s Network, the late Ted Hughes penned a poem, which epitomised what a good library service should do:

Even the most misfitting child
Who’s chanced upon the library’s worth
Sits with the genius of the Earth
And turns the key to the whole world

This is what we, as librarians, are all about. The CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards are an important part of that process and we should celebrate the Awards themselves and the way they have gone from strength to strength over the years. According to Peters Bookselling Service, who supply many of the sets of books to Shadowing schools, the numbers have risen by at least 50% over the last two years, and publishers are reprinting on the basis of their books being on the shortlist. This has to be of benefit all round – to the readers, the authors and the supply chain in between. The shortlisted books will inspire, inform, provoke and entertain and give you the opportunity to let your imagination soar. For them we must thank our honoured guests the authors, illustrators and their publishers who continue a tradition of excellence, which leads us all to realms of gold.

The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal is awarded annually for an outstanding book in terms of illustration for children and young people.

All categories of illustrated books for children and young people are eligible.
The book that wins the Kate Greenaway Medal should be a book of outstanding artistic quality. The whole work should provide pleasure from a stimulating and satisfying visual experience.

The winner of this Medal also receives the Colin Mears Award and a cheque for £5000. Colin Mears, an avid book collector, had a long-standing interest in illustration and was a keen collector of the works of Kate Greenaway. His collection has been left to the Worthing Museum and art gallery.

The book Commended for the 2002 Kate Greenaway Medal is:

‘That Pesky Rat’ by Laren Child published by Orchard Books.

I am delighted to announce that the Winner of the 2002 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal and the Colin Mears Award is

‘Jethro Byrde, Fairy Child' by Bob Graham, published by Walker Books
Carnegie

The CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded annually for an outstanding book for children and young people.

All categories of books for children and young people written in English are eligible.
The book that wins the Carnegie Medal should be a book of outstanding literary quality. The whole work should provide pleasure, not merely from the surface enjoyment of a good read, but also the deeper subconscious satisfaction of having gone through a vicarious, but at the time of reading, a real experience that is retained afterwards.

The book Highly Commended for the 2002 Carnegie Medal is:

‘Up on Cloud Nine’ by Anne Fine, published by Doubleday

Unfortunately, Anne is unable to be with us today, but Clare Hall-Craggs/Philippa Dickinson will accept the Commendation on her behalf.

I am delighted and proud to announce that the Winner of the 2002 Carnegie Medal is

‘Ruby Holler’ by Sharon Creech, published by Bloomsbury