BooksforTopics Reading for Pleasure Recommendations
CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal Winners 2020
This week, the 2020 winners of the prestigious CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals, the UK’s oldest book awards for children and young people, have been revealed.
The winning books were chosen by a panel of 14 Youth Librarians, narrowed down from a total of 162 nominations this year. The winners will each receive £500 worth of books to donate to a library of their choice, a specially commissioned golden medal and a £5,000 Colin Mears Award cash prize.
CILIP Carnegie Medal Winner: Lark
Lark by Anthony McGowan (available here) scoops the Carnegie Medal for writing. Lark tells the story of two brothers, Nicky and Kenny, who set out for an adventure in the North Yorkshire Moors only to be caught in a precarious blizzard when weather conditions take a turn. Throughout the book, the brothers display a deep respect and understanding of nature, which ultimately grants them consolation as they wait to be rescued. McGowan’s prose paints nature as a source of wonder and joy, but also peril.
Author Anthony McGowan said, “Every writer for young people dreams of winning the Carnegie Medal. Its incredible history, the rollcall of the great writers who have won it and the rigour of the selection process, makes this the greatest book prize in the world.“
Julia Hale, Chair of the judging panel, commented: “This novella was admired for its clear, simple storytelling; combining authentic characters and realistic situations in pared down prose with blunt humour, genuine tension and moments of pure poetry as fleeting and transcendent as birdsong…The book leaves the reader with hope for the future; that through the bonds of love from friends and family things can and will get better.”
Lark by Anthony McGowan is available here
CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal Winner: Tales From the Inner City
Tales from the Inner City written and illustrated by Shaun Tan (available here) wins the Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration. Tales from the Inner City is a collection of 25 illustrated stories, borne out of Tan’s life-long love of animals. The stories deal with the separation and tension between the natural and artificial world. Tan believes that many of the problems we face today may have something to do with the distance from nature in a post-colonial and post-industrial world, especially within urban spaces. Throughout the book, Tan reminds readers that we are all interconnected with nature.
Shaun Tan said, “I am surprised, delighted and then deeply honoured – what a wonderful thing to be! I am especially thrilled to receive the Kate Greenaway Medal in the fine company of so many brilliant artists and authors, many of whom inspired my own love of illustrated stories as a young West Australian scribbler.”
Julia Hale, Chair of the judging panel, commented: ““Every detail of the Kate Greenaway Medal winningTales from the Inner City mark it as a masterwork of illustration that generates an outstanding experience for the reader in every detail…The judging panel were moved, amused and astonished by the artistry and imagination of a stunning book that should be widely shared and celebrated.”
Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan is available here.
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CILIP will celebrate the conclusion of the Shadowing Scheme by announcing the winners of theShadowers’ Choice Award– voted for and awarded by the children and young people who shadow the Medals – on 9th October 2020, during National Libraries Week
The 2020 CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals shortlists
The full shortlist for this year’s awards are as follows
CILIP Carnegie Medal:
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta, illustrated by Anshika Khullar (Hachette Children’s Group) – available here
Nowhere on Earth by Nick Lake (Hachette Children’s Group) – available here
Lark by Anthony McGowan (Barrington Stoke) – available here
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay (Little Tiger) – available here
Lampie written and illustrated by Annet Schaap and translated by Laura Watkinson (Pushkin Children’s Books) – available here
Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black by Marcus Sedgwick and Julian Sedgwick, illustrated by Alexis Deacon (Walker Books) – available here
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas (Walker Books) – available here
Girl. Boy. Sea. by Chris Vick (Head of Zeus) – available here
CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal:
You’re Snug with Me illustrated by Poonam Mistry and written by Chitra Soundar (Lantana Publishing) – available here
The Iron Man illustrated by Chris Mould and written by Ted Hughes (Faber & Faber) – available here
The Suitcase written and illustrated by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros (Nosy Crow) – available here
The Undefeated illustrated by Kadir Nelson and written by Kwame Alexander (Andersen Press) – available here
The Dam illustrated by Levi Pinfold and written by David Almond (Walker Books) – available here
Mary and Frankenstein illustrated by Júlia Sardà and written by Linda Bailey (Andersen Press) – available here
Tales from the Inner City written and illustrated by Shaun Tan (Walker Books) – available here
Child of St Kilda written and illustrated by Beth Waters (Child’s Play) – available here
For more information about the award, visit https://carnegiegreenaway.org.uk.
