The Bookseller.com

17th May 2008

Previous winners line up for library prizes

18.04.08

The shortlists have been unveiled for this year's CILIP Carnegie Medal for children's writing and Kate Greenaway Medal for illustrated children's books.

The Carnegie shortlist has an international flavour with some of the nominated titles set in Jerusalem, Mexico and South Africa. Seven children's writers, including previous winners Meg Rosoff and Kevin Crossley-Holland, as well as first-time novelist Jenny Valentine, are on the shortlist. "Each [writer] illuminates something different about the world we live in today, making the past accessible and relevant to the present," said Tricia Adams, chair of the judges. "This is strong, imaginative writing for young people that unlocks history way beyond the classroom."

Meanwhile penguins, mice, monkeys and cats will be battling for the Kate Greenaway Medal for illustrated titles. Three former winners, Chris Riddell, Emily Gravett and Anthony Browne, are on the shortlist. Gravett is nominated for two titles. Adams called the shortlist a "delightful mixture". "There is a mixture of techniques, styles and appeal . . . something for everyone who appreciates the illustrator's art, from babies to adults," she said.

Both winners will be announced at a ceremony at the British Library in London on 26th June.

Carnegie nominees:
Gatty's Tale by Kevin Crossley-Holland (Orion)
Ruby Red by Linzi Glass (Penguin)
Crusade by Elizabeth Laird (Macmillan)
Apache by Tanya Landman (Walker)
Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve (Scholastic)
What I Was by Meg Rosoff (Penguin)
Finding Violet Park by Jenny Valentine (HarperCollins)

Kate Greenaway nominees:
Silly Billy by Anthony Browne (Walker Books)
Penguin by Polly Dunbar (Walker Books)
Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears by Emily Gravett (Macmillan)
Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett (Macmillan)
The Lost Happy Endings by Jane Ray and Carol Ann Duffy (Bloomsbury)
Ottoline and the Yellow Cat by Chris Riddell (Macmillan)
Banana! by Ed Vere (Puffin)

children's Prize Home CILIP Carnegie Medal Kate Greenaway Medal

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