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Carnegie Medal / Greenaway Medal
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TRUTH, HUMANITY, JUSTICE, RACISM: INCISIVE POLITICAL NOVEL ABOUT ASYLUM SEEKERS WINS CARNEGIE MEDAL
Today Nigella Lawson announces the surprise winner of the Carnegie Medal. Beverley Naidoo's powerful novel about asylum seekers, The Other Side of Truth, (Hardcover | Paperback) has beaten off strong competition from three former winners - Almond, Burgess and Pullman - to scoop the most prestigious children's book award.
"I hope this book will be a catalyst for young people to explore with sensitivity and intelligence issues of asylum and human rights both in the UK and abroad," says Beverley. "My purpose in writing is to open another window onto the world and to encourage my readers to make leaps of imagination, heart and mind as they explore our common humanity. I hope the drama that I reveal will stimulate them to ask questions, not just accept uncritically what they are taught or told."
Whilst exposing the bleak reality and plight of people seeking asylum in this country, The Other Side of Truth has been described by critics as enlightening, gentle, incisive; as heartrending emotional drama; as imbued with hope in humanity and belief in the power of truth.
The 11 children's librarians who form the Carnegie judging panel for The Library Association's Youth Libraries Group were united in their choice. "This book has everything," says Sarah Wilkie Chair of the judges. "It is an outstanding novel. The writing is of the highest quality, the storytelling well crafted and the characterization superb. It involves the young reader in the characters and their situation in a way they can relate to; it is never didactic yet it informs about the issues facing asylum seekers."
The Other Side of Truth begins in Nigeria under the dictatorship of General Abacha, not long after the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa. It is the story of two young children smuggled to supposed safety in England and is told through the eyes of 12 year old Sade.
Their courageous journalist father tells the truth under an oppressive regime, and in a bungled attempt on his life the children's mother is shot in front of their eyes. They leave Lagos that night with false identities - the beginning of a long journey. The children find themselves abandoned and alone on the streets of London before they are taken into care and become enmeshed in the 'system', seeking asylum along with thousands of others.
Beverley Naidoo is a writer and educationalist. Brought up in apartheid South Africa, she became politically active as a student in the 1960s and was detained without trial by the police. She came into exile in Britain which also offered asylum to her future husband, her brother and many other South Africans fleeing persecution. With her children growing up in this country, she began to write books for young people - the sort she wished has been available to her as a child.
The Carnegie Medal is awarded annually by The Library Association for "an outstanding book for children and young people". It was first won by Arthur Ransome in 1936 and has since been won by many of the great names in children's literature including CS Lewis, Eleanor Farjeon and Children's Laureate, Anne Fine. Beverley Naidoo is the first woman to win the Carnegie since Theresa Breslin in 1994.
Highly Commended and Commended Titles
David Almond
for Heaven Eyes, age range 10+ |
Hardcover |
Paperback |
Audio Cassette |
Large Print
Melvin Burgess for The Ghost Behind the Wall, age range 9+
|
Paperback
Sharon Creech for The Wanderer, age range 11+
|
Hardcover |
Paperback |
Audio Cassette |
Large Print
Jamila Gavin for Coram Boy, age range 12+ |
Hardcover
Adele Geras for Troy, age range 14+ |
Hardcover |
Paperback |
Audio Cassette
Alan Gibbons for Shadow of the Minotaur, age range 10+
|
Paperback |
Audio Cassette
Beverley Naidoo for The Other Side of Truth, age range 10+
Hardcover |
Paperback
Philip Pullman for The Amber Spyglass
Children's Book of the Year 2000 (His
Dark Materials Book 3 of the Series) by Philip Pullman
|
Hardcover |
Paperback |
Audio Cassette |
e-Book Microsoft |
e-book Adobe
Children's Literature Awards and Winners: A Directory of Prizes, Authors and Illustrators Dolores Blythe Jones | Hardcover
A Caldecott Celebration : Six Artists Share Their Paths to the Caldecott Medal | Hardcover
The Newbery and Caldecott Awards: A Guide to the Medal and Honor Books Annual Edition Paperback
Media
Releases
ILLUSTRATOR OF DOMESTIC MAGIC COLLECTS AWARD FROM DOMESTIC GODDESS!
LAUREN CHILD RECEIVES GREENAWAY MEDAL FOR
ILLUSTRATION FROM NIGELLA LAWSON
Lauren Child, a double nominee (see shortlist), wins The Library Association Kate Greenaway Medal for her cunningly titled I Will Not Ever Never Eat A Tomato (Hardcover)
The book features naughty Lola, a picky eater par excellence, and her inventive older brother Charlie who persuades her to try new things. It has already won a following from grateful parents.
"Lauren Child has a real insight into how a child's mind works, and a gift for finding the magic in the everyday," says Sarah Wilkie, Chair of this year's Library Association Youth Libraries Group judges, "Her work is deceptively simple and speaks to today's visually literate children. She has taken a classic picture book theme and interpreted it in a completely fresh, modern, edgy style using a unique combination of paint, photographs, computer generated artwork and typography. A book with immediate impact!"
Instigated in 1956, The Kate Greenaway Medal is awarded annually by The Library Association for "outstanding illustration in a children's book". The Greenaway winner also receives the annual £5000 Colin Mears Award. Colin Mears, a Worthing based accountant and children's book collector, left a bequest to The Library Association providing every Greenaway winner from 2000 onwards with a cash award as well as the coveted Medal.
Lauren was nominated for both I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato and Beware of the Storybook Wolves and was Highly Commended last year for Clarice Bean, That's Me!
Lauren's father was an art teacher and she knew early in life that she wanted to write and illustrate children's books. Lauren says that "Libraries were a big deal" when she was growing up. She and her sisters went regularly to explore their local library and select their books. Her work is influenced by illustrators she discovered as a child as well as by television. "In particular TV's 'Bewitched'," says Lauren, "I love the idea of finding magic in the humdrum, making the hoover clean the house by itself, getting the dishes done with a twitch of the nose."
For Lauren working on a book is not just about her ideas; it's an integrated experience. She works closely with her editor and designer to create a total feel to each book. "I integrate the text and pictures and use different typefaces for each character to give them their identity." Her characters are easy for young children to identify and relate to. When you open any of her books the sensation is one of energy and humor.
She lives in North London with her partner Soren, an ITN cameraman.
Today, Lauren received her Award from Nigella Lawson at a ceremony held the British Library. Anthony Browne was Highly Commended for Willy's Pictures and Ted Dewan was Commended for Crispin The Pig Who Had it All.
Carnegie Medal
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