SCHOOL Librarian Phyllis Ramage is just about to start her second year as a judge on the Yoto Carnegies awards. Like all judges, she joined for a two-year period so she will be standing aside after the 2024 winners ceremony next summer.

Before moving into school librarianship, Phyllis worked in public libraries, starting out “in 1994 in a junior position with the London Borough of Barnet as a library assistant”. Phyllis says her early experience of visits to the library as a child helped shape her love for the profession, saying: “I’ve had a passion for libraries since I was seven.”

Having set out as a library assistant, Phyllis soon realised that she wanted to spend her professional life in libraries, saying: “I enjoyed the work so much that I decided to qualify and in those days you had to have an accredited degree. I went to the University of North London and got my BSc in Information Studies, accredited by the Library Association, as it was then [now CILIP]. I started working professionally in the London Borough of Harrow in 2000.

“I became a librarian with the express intent of doing children’s work – that was definitely the way I wanted to go.

“That was partly influenced by my upbringing and my early experience of libraries, but also I was the mother of a young child (who fortunately inherited my passion for books). She now has children of her own and is encouraging them to love books.”

Working in libraries has been a source of joy and pride for Phyllis – she remarks that during her time at Harrow Libraries “we had the highest children’s issues of the entire country. We had very busy libraries – activities as well as book borrowing”. However, she also realised that many of the books aimed at children were problematic in their depictions of people of colour.

She decided to undertake an MA in Children’s Literature and the focus of her dissertation was an analysis of representation of people of colour in non-fiction books depicting colonial and post-colonial countries. “My dissertation was on the representation of ethnic minorities in non-fiction from the 1950s to early 2000s. I was looking from a post-colonial perspective and trying to see if there was any improvement in representation of minorities – specifically in a social and economic context. The question was whether people are more sympathetically represented in those areas. I’m talking about whether there were a professional class of people, whether people are living in cities – that modernity of life that was missing. Even in books from the 2000s that modernity simply wasn’t acknowledged.”

It was clear to Phyllis that not a lot had changed in the post-colonial era – unhelpful tropes were abundant in books published long after the end of Britain’s colonial past. Phyllis says that there was a shift in the language used, but not the tone. Authors continued to present a paternalistic view of the relationship between the UK and its former colonies. There was little in the way of movement or change, “so these non-fiction books would focus almost exclusively on village life, not towns or city life; it would focus on people who were subsistence farmers or receiving aid; and there was this idea that people were living a largely agrarian lifestyle.

“There simply wasn’t an acknowledgement of commerce, manufacturing or even doctors and other professionals. The children didn’t go to school, or if they did it was a very basic village schools – the kind my mother went to in 1940s. Those were the kinds of images I was overwhelmingly confronting with my dissertation.”

While Phyllis’ original thesis was on the depictions from Britain’s colonial past, her own heritage stems from Africa and she says that she started looking at fiction books set in the continent. Again, she was presented with uncomfortable portrayals of people and places that did not reflect the reality of life for the vast majority of African people. She says: “I’ve got a pile of notebooks – I was constantly taking notes, and writing lists of books that I found to be particularly problematic.”

Some of the books were critical and commercial success stories, and Phyllis admits that they are often “very well written and have compelling storylines”. Despite having very narrow and unrefined portrayals of life in Africa, many received warm praise. But Phyllis describes the depictions as “the exotic spectacle of indigeneity, which refers to showing people living in tribes and a condescending folk wisdom”. Add to that clichés around “village life and children that don’t attend school, famine, child soldiers, child trafficking, and natural disasters”, and it is clear that writers are focusing on a stunted view of what life in Africa is like.

Latest population statistics show that around half of all people in Africa live in an urban setting. That proportion will grow as towns and cities absorb around two thirds of future population growth over the next 25 years. Like much of the world, the shift is happening in favour of urban living – yet you would be hard-pressed to find a portrayal in children’s books that matches the reality.

As with many of these poor portrayals of marginalised people in all walks of life, the issue can often be found in a lack of research and an outdated world view. For Phyllis, an obvious solution is to focus on the character rather than the place – ensuring that ethnically marginalised characters are the centre of the story.

“What’s lacking is the breadth of subject matter,” says Phyllis. “Where are the typical types of characters that you see in other children’s books? Where is the African wizard, for instance?”

There are issues closer to home as well, with British children from ethnically marginalised backgrounds struggling to find that type of representation in the books they read. Phyllis says: “The Americans have been doing it rather well with people like Jason Reynolds – a previous Carnegie Medal winner.

“But things are changing here – there have been some books out recently that are putting black and brown characters in some really fun and funny books. Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston, Anisha, Accidental Detective series by Serena Patel, and the Planet Omar books by Zanib Mian.

“When I’m recommending the Amari books I can talk about it being a kind of black Harry Potter with the central character being an 11-year-old girl. It’s great that it is a female character as well. There is the magic element, and she goes on this journey of discovery. It also features high academic achievement and it’s certainly a worthy, compelling read and shows the black characters with agency.”

She adds that readers are starting to discover something different in the books they are reading, explaining: “I work in a multicultural school in North London. And those sorts of books are very much appreciated by children. It shows publishers that there needs to be a broader range of topics and backgrounds.

“I think the mainstream publishing industry will eventually pick up on it and I’m hoping it doesn’t just become a short-term trend.”

Phyllis points to the role of decolonising libraries as a starting point for making long-lasting changes. Librarians are already on the journey, but research shows that not all schools have a trained librarian working for them, meaning it can be difficult to know where to begin. Local authorities’ school library services are a good place to seek advice. Other resources are available, including www.booksforkeeps.co.uk, which offers free articles and reviews. Inclusive Books for Children launched in September, and Pen&inc. also features hundreds of new and inclusive titles in its listings.

As well as being able to recommend more books featuring characters like Amari, Anisha and Omar in her day job as a school librarian, Phyllis has also been part of the judging panel for CILIP’s long running and respected children’s book awards, the Yoto Carnegies.

Phyllis is half-way through her two years as a judge, which she describes as “incredibly hard work, but incredibly rewarding”. That hard work starts with the announcement of the year’s nominated titles – a list that can stretch to well over 100 books in each category – for writing and illustration. Within a few months, those books have to be read and evaluated before drawing up a longlist for further consideration as a judging panel – this is announced in early spring, followed by the shortlist announcement which is due in March. So the turnaround is incredibly quick, and like many judges Phyllis has already started reading eligible books in order to get a head start.

Despite the very, very long reading list, Phyllis says the experience is one that she is incredibly proud to be part of. She says: “Sitting in a room with a group of people who are as equally as experienced as equally as passionate as you are, with regard to children’s literature, is just one of the most wonderful things. It feels like an absolute privilege and it’s a joy to be part of. It has been incredible.”

The Medals have been through their own process of change in recent times, as CILIP looked to create a more inclusive and representative awards. That saw an independent review carried out by Margaret Caseley-Hayford, and a series of recommendations were implemented. Among those was a change to the judging criteria and moves to ensure a more diverse judging panel.

Judges for the awards must be CILIP members and be active in children’s librarianship. Phyllis became involved following a call for new judges from award organisers. She says: “An email came through at work, specifically asking for judges of colour and I thought ‘I fit the bill’. The Carnegies were something I’ve followed throughout my career, so I decided to go for it and I applied.”

As well as being a judge, Phyllis also ran her own shadowing group in the school where she works, saying it is not only a great way to engage students, but it also helped her with judging. She says: “It’s a great way to get through all the reading and it is also useful to hear the perspectives of my students. When Ruta Sepetys won the Shadowers’ Choice award, I was not remotely surprised because I Will Betray You was very much favoured, not just by my group but also others that I spoke to.

“The shadowing process is incredibly positive. Because there isn’t always a consensus, students can really get involved in discussions with each other and it generates some very good debates. It’s very worthwhile.”

You can find out more about the Yoto Carnegies and the Shadowing Scheme here.

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