Carnegie/Greenaway News

Martha Kearney’s Speech at Carnegie/Kate Greenaway Awards 2003

Sharon, Martha and Bob I am a great enthusiast for children’s literature (my mother was a librarian!), so it is a treat to be here. This is something we cover on Woman’s Hour extensively – over the years I have interviewed Philip Pullman, JK Rowling, Shirley Hughes and Babette Cole. It was terrific to meet the latter and I keep buying “Bad Habits” for as many children as possible. I do enjoy reading children’s books myself from time to time – the horrible expression is a kidult. In fact I recently had a row with my husband – who was clearing out books and couldn’t understand why I wanted to hold on to several yellowing puffins: The Family at One End Street and Ballet Shoes. I was trying to work out why. Part of it is like eating mashed potato – comfort food. Alison Lurie, novel professor of children’s literature, was not interested in children but fascinated by her own childhood, and I think there is also something in that. What you try to capture with every novel you read is that total absorption in a book when the world around you stops – it happened all the time when I was a child but it is a much rarer experience now.

A huge amount has changed since I was engrossed in The Family at One End Street or Ballet Shoes. I realised that when I pressed The Little Princess on a sophisticated ten year old the other day – so I hope today I can get some more up-to-date recommendations.