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Find out moreCarnegie Medal | Kate Greenaway Medal
Just Announced! The winner of the CILIP Carnegie Medal is Geraldine McCaughrean for her beautifully written novel, Where the World Ends. The Kate Greenaway Children's Book Award goes to Town is by the Sea illustrated by Sydney Smith. Read on for more about the winners and the shortlisted books for both the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals for 2018 and we have also this year selected a few favourites from past winners.
Winner of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 | Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 | This haunting book, beautifully illustrated in ink and watercolour, bears record to a long-gone way of life. A young boy describes his day, from first thing in the morning when his father leaves for work, though playtime, lunch, shopping and his father’s return as evening falls. His descriptions are matter of fact, events presented as they happen, and the sea is a constant. It’s always there, visible from the house and playground, and the boy thinks of his father under the sea at work in the mines. Scenes underground are black and oppressive, forming a sharp contrast with the other pages, bathed in sunlight, the sea sparkling in the background. The boy accepts he’ll follow his father and grandfather into the mines: ‘I’m a miner’s son,’ he says, ‘In my town, that’s the way it goes.’ A book that demands to be studied and thought about. ~ Andrea Reece
Winner of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 | This haunting book, beautifully illustrated in ink and watercolour, bears record to a long-gone way of life. A young boy describes his day, from first thing in the morning when his father leaves for work, though playtime, lunch, shopping and his father’s return as evening falls. His descriptions are matter of fact, events presented as they happen, and the sea is a constant. It’s always there, visible from the house and playground, and the boy thinks of his father under the sea at work in the mines. Scenes underground are black and oppressive, forming a sharp contrast with the other pages, bathed in sunlight, the sea sparkling in the background. The boy accepts he’ll follow his father and grandfather into the mines: ‘I’m a miner’s son,’ he says, ‘In my town, that’s the way it goes.’ A book that demands to be studied and thought about.
***Recommended for 16+ due to content. Book of the Month for May 2018 | Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2018 |In a Nutshell: love, truth and the power of release | A gripping, soulful novel about a life-changing day, which will surely change the lives of those who read it. "Where on earth had this day come from? And where was it headed?" remarks 17 year-old Adam as a single day unfurls wave after wave of shattering disruption: first a revelation from his brother, next an ultimatum from his foul boss, then a destabilising announcement from his beloved best friend. And alongside Adam's unraveling, there’s the mesmerising narrative of the ghost of a murdered girl who’s risen from a lake in search of release. Partly modeled on two of the author’s most admired books (Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway and Judy Blume’s Forever), with this remarkable novel Ness once again demonstrates his profound understanding of the complexities of being a young adult, and of the human condition more generally. Adam’s story is pinpricked with truly nerve-touching moments, perhaps most poignantly between him and the overbearing father he fears coming-out to. At one point his dad reveals that he wishes Adam could be honest with him, and then Adam begins to let go. While revealing truths can be excruciatingly painful, doing so might also bring refreshing, life-affirming release. Heartbreaking, intense and acutely honest, this novel casts a subtle spell of hope. ~ Joanne Owen
Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 | Drawn from Debi's own experiences and with a moving testimony at the end of the book explaining how depression has affected her and how she continues to cope, Debi hopes that by sharing her own experience she can help others who suffer from depression, and to find that subtle shift that will show the way out.
UKLA Longlist Book Awards - 2019 | Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 | Two lonely girls are at the heart of Pam Smy’s strikingly told gothic story. Mary lives at Thornhill, an old mansion turned children’s home and is cruelly tormented by one of the other girls. Mary is selectively mute and we read her story through her diary entries as well as in the wordless, full page monochrome illustrations. Ella’s story is told entirely through the illustrations. She has just moved in nearby and we work out that her mother is dead. When Ella sees Mary in the grounds of Thornhill a friendship develops though by then Ella and reader both know that Mary is a ghost. Heartbreakingly sad and thoroughly chilling at the same time, this is an unforgettable read; powerful, atmospheric, skilfully paced, Pam Smy’s illustrations pull the reader into the creepy Thornhill world.
Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 | Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award | With its dedication, ‘For a united world …’, Britta Teckentrup’s new picture book is a celebration of the things that bring us all together. ‘Wherever we are’ reads the text, ‘we live under the same sky, feel the same love, play the same games, and dream the same dreams’. These short lines are cleverly highlighted in peek-through shapes that link the different pages together and each spread depicts animal families across the world. Teckentrup’s textured collage style illustrations are extraordinarily beautiful and create a real sense of calm, togetherness and hope. With a vital message of unity and friendship, this is an important and moving book to share with children.
Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 | Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award | What a wonderful book to give to a child. It’s one which will inspire a real interest in nature and the creatures that share our planet, as well as an appreciation of art and poetry. Nicola Davies shares her delight in animals in specially written poems, each of which is illustrated by Petr Horacek across dazzling double pages. Grouped by themes such as colours and shapes, or animals in action, creatures big and small are vividly brought to life, from the whale shark, ‘like a piece of fallen starry sky’ to a barn owl, ‘quiet as the floating moon’. The images are breath-taking, full of movement and colour; the poems too are varied and memorable, sometimes precise, sometimes ethereal. It’s a book that recipients will treasure into adulthood.
Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 | A wonderfully lyrical call and response text and an intricate, beautifully detailed and different illustrative style combine to great effect in this reassuring tale.
Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2018 | Shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award 2017 | Shortlisted for the 2018 Blue Peter Awards - Best Story Wed Wabbit is a tour de force! Lissa Evans’s hilarious, madcap adventure is both effervescent and tautly plotted making it impossible to put down. When Fidge furiously kicks her little sister’s beloved soft toy, the Wed Wabbit, into the road she unleashes an imaginary caper that sends her and her spoilt cousin Graham into the world of the ridiculous Wimbley Woos, blobby characters of different colours who only speak in rhyming couplets. But are they so ridiculous? By the end of their adventure, and with the help of the wonderful cast of ludicrous characters including a plastic carrot, both Fidge and Graham have been changed. Lissa Evans’s comic timing and her control of her richly imagined world is perfect. ~ Julia Eccleshare The Costa Judges say: ‘A deeply original riot of a novel that will delight children and adults alike, and keep you laughing all the way through.’ David Fickling says “Wed Wabbit is wildly inventive, dazzlingly funny and sometimes scary; it's a tautly plotted adventure that packs a surprising emotional punch. It has the makings of a classic and will be loved by readers of all ages for many years to come".
Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2018 | In a Nutshell: Gangs dice with death under the gaze of Mexican folk saint. A thought-fuelling thriller set in a gang-run neighbourhood near the border of Mexico and El Norte (America). The writing is poetically punchy. Exquisitely formed sentences are fired-off in smarting succession, and the juxtaposition of contemporary totems like Burger King buildings with the likes of folk saint shrines is smartly done. This is a richly layered novel in which important socio-political issues (gangs, poverty, corruption, migration, social divisions and dissonance) are made potently real through Arturo and Faustino’s predicaments. And alongside the enlightening Mexico-specific context, there’s much that is universal: friendship, loyalty, and searching for a sense of purpose. As paternal figure Siggy tells Arturo, “You just have to find out what it is you’re looking for.” Pacey and passionate, this truly exceptional book tells a tale that truly needs to be heard. ~ Joanne Owen
A search for identity and possible fortune that allows us to discover that the real treasure is to find love and a secure home. Evocative and powerful storytelling at its bext.
Winner of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2017 | Award-winning Lane Smith’s stunning illustrations create a delight of a story which imaginatively and vaguely hints at a pre-historic time and brings it vividly to life. A single child dressed in a leafy robe plays happily in a variety of dreamy settings which begin as quiet and lonely spaces but which become increasingly busy. The child’s playmates include a colony of penguins, a smack of jellyfish, a pod of whales, an unkindness of ravens, a parade of elephants, a troop of monkey, a band of rhinos and a crash of gorillas. And then, he finds a tribe of children who become his real playfellows. The minimal text makes brilliant use of the special descriptive words for each animal group. ~ Julia Eccleshare On winning the CILIP Kate Greenaway medal Lane Smith commented: “Years ago, when graduating from art school, I was told that my work was too stylised-looking for the kids’ book market in the States and I would probably have to move to London where they took a more enlightened view of quirky artworks. I told my instructor that he was wrong, and that there were many wonderful books being published in the States, and showed him my books by Wildsmith, Blake, Browne, Steadman, Cousins, Oxenbury, Foreman and Burningham. And my instructor politely informed me that those were all British artists. To be acknowledged from the land of many of my favourite illustrators is an enormous honour.”
Winner for the Children's Book Award 2017 - Books for Older Readers Category | One of our Books of the Year 2016 | Winner of the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2016. Joint Winner of the CLiPPA 2016 (CLPE Children’s Poetry Award). Longlisted for the UKLA 2017 Book Awards. Shortlisted for the Children's category of the Books are My Bag Readers Awards 2016 | Winner of The Bookseller's 2016 prize for young adult fiction. Ireland's Children's Book of the Year Award 2016. | Award-winning Sarah Crossan tells an astonishing and difficult story with the surest of touches in this tender, funny and life affirming book. Grace and Tippi are twins. Not just twins but conjoined twins, sharing the lower half of their bodies. Somehow they have always managed to be individuals while also part of each other. Now teenagers, Tippi and Grace are facing increasing difficulties. They are off to school for the first time meeting new experiences and especially new friendships and relationships. While Tippi longs for things to remain the same, Grace yearns for something more. Falling in love with classmate Jon she begins to imagine a future full of romance and love. But will there be a future for Grace and Tippi? When a desperate decision needs to be taken the girls lives must change forever. Sarah Crossan tells an original and utterly gripping story brilliantly. One of our Julia Eccleshare's Pick of the Year 2015.
Winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal 2015 | Greenaway Medal winning debut from William Grill whose images range from tiny vignettes to sweeping frozen vistas which, together with an absorbing narrative, tells the powerful story of the ill fated voyage.
Winner of the 2004 CILIP Carnegie Medal | When a bag stuffed full of money falls out of a train and into their camp, Damian and Anthony are suddenly rich. Very, very rich, to be precise. But, there is a problem. They only have a few days in which to spend the money. When the Euro arrives, it’ll be worthless. A thrilling story about the real value of money but Millions is more than an adventure as the boys have recently lost their mother and their search for happiness is tinged with the sadness that, however much money they have, they’ll never be able bring her back. Reading Guide available to download for this title. This book was selected by Marcus Sedgwick, July 2010 Guest Editor, as: "Another book I would be very proud to have written - I think comic writing is the hardest thing to do well, and this book is not only funny, it's a very happy book too, and we could all do with a few more of those in the world."
Winner of the 2004 CILIP Carnegie Medal | When a bag stuffed full of money falls out of a train and into their camp, Damian and Anthony are suddenly rich. Very, very rich, to be precise. But, there is a problem. They only have a few days in which to spend the money. When the Euro arrives, it’ll be worthless. A thrilling story about the real value of money but Millions is more than an adventure as the boys have recently lost their mother and their search for happiness is tinged with the sadness that, however much money they have, they’ll never be able bring her back.
Winner of the 1972 CILIP Carnegie Medal A book that resonates as vividly today as it did nearly half a century ago, this keepsake Oneworld Classic edition showcases more than twenty sumptuous, evocative paintings from Aldo Galli, an illustrator chosen by Richard Adams himself. It is the first full-colour illustrated edition of a celebrated modern classic and international bestseller. Stunning and compulsive are two words that best describe the story of Fiver, of Hazel and the rabbit warren full of family and friends. Rejected by most publishers before eventually being snapped up by Rex Collings in 1972, it was an instant hit and has since sold millions of copies the world over. Beautifully written with some of the best characterisation you'll come across in children’s literature, it tells the story of a group of rabbits and their will to survive despite human attempts to do otherwise. Full of adventure, humour, excitement and sadness it will enthral as much now as it did when it was first published.
Winner of the 1969 CILIP Carnegie Medal K.M. Peyton won the Carnegie Medal for this romantic and passionate story set in the run up to World War 1. A sequel to Flambards, it tells how Christina, now seventeen, fleeing her raging uncle and his plans for her marriage, elopes with Will and begins a new life with him as he pursues his passion for flying. Will finds work on an airfield where he can fly and design planes in the hope of being able to earn enough money to marry Christina. To be near him, Christina gets work in a hotel. K.M. Peyton captures their happiness despite the dangers of flying and the threat of the possible war. When war is declared, Will signs up swiftly for the newly formed Royal Flying Corps and all the dangers it will entail.
Shortlisted for the 2015 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal - Winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2013 Bestselling author/illustrator Chris Riddell creates a fantastical world in which Ada Goth, daughter of the strange Lord Goth of Ghastly-Gorm Hall, is growing up. Ada’s mother is dead and her father is very, very strange! Surrounded by a motley crew of servants and many ghosts, Ada’s life is lonely until she meets Ishmael, a ghostly mouse. Soon Ada and Ishmael are off on some very special adventures! Magic and invention pour forth in this splendidly entertaining story which is also packed full of jokes. Chris Riddell’s illustrations bring everything he imagines to life. _______________________ The Costa Book Awards honour some of the most outstanding books of the year written by authors based in the UK and Ireland. The full shortlist for the Children's Book Award is... Alex, the Dog and the Unopenable Door by Ross Montgomery. The Hanged Man Rises by Sarah Naughton Goth Girl: and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein Keep up to date with the Costa Book Awards @CostaBookAwards
Winner of the 1973 CILIP Carnegie Medal The Ghost of Thomas Kempe is a timeless and haunting story, critically acclaimed, this Carnegie award winning novel also made it into The Independent’s ‘Top Ten Ghost Stories of all time’. Penelope Lively is the only author to have won both the Booker Prize and the Carnegie Medal, the two most prestigious awards, one for an adult book and the other for a children’s book. It was this novel, The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, that won the Carnegie Medal. It is a story that will keep the reader gripped to the page as it builds to an incredibly exciting climax as Thomas Kempe the ghost seems intent on getting James into awful trouble with his family and yet whatever James does his family won't believe in ghosts!
Winner of the 2012 Carnegie Medal AND 2012 Kate Greenaway Medal. This is the first time, in the Awards 75 year history, that one book has won both prizes! Rachel Levy chair of the 2012 CILIP Carnegie judging panel said: "A Monster Calls" is an exquisite piece of writing. It is a beautifully economical, structurally brilliant and lyrically descriptive account of a challenging episode in one child's life." ------------- Prize-winning Patrick Ness displays brilliant new skills of sensitivity in this hauntingly touching story of how a boy deals with the looming threat of his mother’s death from cancer. Haunted by a monster in his dreams, denied much information by his family and treated as a weirdo by his class mates and a ‘special case’ by his teachers, Conor struggles to get to grips with the devastating emotions which threaten to overwhelm him. How he finds the courage and strength to face the end when it happens is both utterly shattering and deeply satisfying. Costa Award winner Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final idea of much-loved Carnegie Medal winner Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. Winner of the Red House Children's Book Award 2012. Winner of the Galaxy Children's Book of the Year Award 2011 A Lovereading4kids 'Great Read' you may have missed 2011 selection.
Winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal 2000 | Witty, colourful and unpredictable this is a delightful picture book that has a very original presentation. With a fussy eater at its core we discover that various vegetables come from all manner of planets in space so that by the end of it even Lola is happy to empty her plate. It’s a must in every home and will genuinely help to make your child less fussy.
Winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal 2000 | Winner of the 2000 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal Witty, colourful and unpredictable this is a delightful picture book that has a very original presentation. With a fussy eater at its core we discover that various vegetables come from all manner of planets in space so that by the end of it even Lola is happy to empty her plate. It’s a must in every home and will genuinely help to make your child less fussy. (0-5)To find out more about this book CLICK HERE to visit the Carnegie Greenaway site
Winner of the 1999 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal Full of the most wondrous wit and humour, wonderful magic and believable nonsense, this particular edition has the most stunning illustrations that complement the imaginative story that’s anything but dull. The story is timeless and can be read at so many different levels. It’s a book that can be read by people of all ages; for children it’s a wonderful underworld fantasy that will develop a passion for reading imaginative writing and for everyone else there’s innuendo, puzzling situations that require deciphering, political machinations and bucket loads of surrealism. Plenty of food for thought and a real antidote to the modern world. From Philip Pullman: "Indispensable. The great classic beginning of English children's literature."
Winner of the 1996 CILIP Carnegie Medal When it was published in 1996 it created a Storm of Protest - especially from those who didn't bother to read it. The book, however, is credible, honest, realistic, moving and sympathetic - not to drug taking, but to some of the reasons for it and how the young fall into it and then, with luck and a bit of help, get themselves out of it. Junk not for the faint-hearted for it is utterly compelling and terrifying by turns – from bliss through to complete despair we see all manner of emotions that at times will make you feel utterly drained. It’s a real roller-coaster and yet it is completely honest and real to today’s world. Controversy has always gone where this book has gone for it’s hard-hitting approach to the subjects of drink, of drugs and of sex. Junk is an absolute must-read for any teenager and an essential eye-opener to any parent of a teenager. Winner of the Carnegie Medal 1996 and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize A Note from the Author, Melvin Burgess This book is set roughly in the early and middle 1980s, when I myself was living in Bristol. All the major events have happened, are happening and will no doubt continue to happen. I saw many of them myself and heard about many more. As for the people here . . . some are pure invention, some are seeded from real people and then fictionalised, some are fictitious with bits of real people stirred in. The only proper portrait is Richard, one of the nicest and strangest people I’ve ever met, who is beyond praise or prosecution, bless him. He died on the motorway some years ago. The book isn’t fact; it isn’t even faction. But it’s all true, every word.
Carnegie Winner, Geraldine McCaughrean said “When I won the Carnegie 30 years ago, it felt like a licence to go on writing – to call myself an author. I am almost ashamed of how much I wanted to win again – just to prove to myself that it wasn’t a fluke!”
Sydney Smith, winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal said: “Although this story is specific to a place and a time, the context of childhood is universal. There is something so beautiful about the universality of the complicated richness of youth. It is a dream come true to see my work, crafted from my heart, for family and my home to be honoured by the highest of praises. There is no better feeling than to be recognized for something that was created with sincerity and joy. I regard this honour as a challenge to continue to work with such tools.”
Jake Hope, Chair of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals judging panel for 2018, said: "2018 has been an exceptional year for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals. A record number of nominations were received leading to incredibly strong shortlists. This has presented a real challenge for the judges as any of the books would have guaranteed a solid winner. As librarians, we promote education and knowledge for all, and we heartily endorse Geraldine's call for intellectual freedom through stories with rich language and complex themes which equip all children with the tools to understand - and, in some cases, change - the world around them. Her book, Where the World Ends, is outstanding and a hugely deserving winner of the Carnegie Medal. Each of the characters caught on Warrior's Stac has their own tale and the tension built through the predicament they find themselves ensnared in - quite literally caught on a precipice - is palpable. Like a diamond, this is a story with an impressive array of sides and surfaces, each reflecting and refracting experience and understanding in ways that judges feel will stay with readers for a lifetime. Sydney Smith's Town Is by the Sea skillfully balances an intimate story of a child's world of play and wonder alongside a bigger story of a whole community and culture built around mining. Its illustrations are impressive and expansive in scope and beautifully evoke both time and place. Both winners are expertly crafted and hold interest and appeal for a range of readers of all tastes and ages."
Themes of empowering children to stand up for their beliefs and encouraging them to shape the world around them are celebrated in both the Amnesty CILIP Honour commendations. From the CILIP Carnegie Medal shortlist, the Honour went to American debut author Angie Thomas for The Hate U Give (Walker Books). Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, it tells the story of 16-year-old Starr following the fatal shooting of a best friend by a white police officer. The Amnesty CILIP Honour from the Kate Greenaway Medal shortlist went to British artist and former Medal winner (Black Dog, 2013) Levi Pinfold for his black and white illustrations in The Song from Somewhere Else by A.F. Harrold (Bloomsbury). One of his first commissions to illustrate a novel, the book explores friendship, betrayal, acceptance and doing what's right. The Amnesty CILIP Honour is selected by a separate team of judges, which this year included Jordan Stephens, writer, performer and one half of hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks, who presented the commendations.
The CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards are arguably the world’s most prestigious literary prizes for children's books and the titles on the shortlists are contenders for the highest accolades in children’s literature, with previous winners including legendary talents such as Arthur Ransome, C.S Lewis and Mary Norton for the CILIP Carnegie Medal and illustrators Quentin Blake, Shirley Hughes and Raymond Briggs for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal.
Read a personal reflection of 80 Years of the CILIP Carnegie Medal by Julia Eccleshare, Editorial Expert at Lovereading4kids.
The winners for both the CILIP Carnegie Medal and the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal were announced on 19 June and each received £500 worth of books to donate to their local library.
To view the full list of previous winners of the Carnegie Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal click here and we have a selection of our favourite past winners, just click on the Previous Winners tab.
In 2017, the special 80th anniversary year, the winner of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal was There is a Tribe of Kids written and illustrated by Lane Smith. The 2017 CILIP Carnegie Medal went to Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys.
The CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded by children's librarians for an outstanding book for children and young people. The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal is awarded by children's librarians for an outstanding book in terms of illustration for children and young people.
The CILIP Carnegie Medal:
It was established by The Library Association in 1936, in memory of the great Scottish-born philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). Carnegie was a self-made industrialist who made his fortune in steel in the USA. His experience of using a library as a child led him to resolve that "if ever wealth came to me that it should be used to establish free libraries."
It was first awarded to Arthur Ransome for Pigeon Post. The medal is now awarded by CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. The winner receives a golden medal and £500 worth of books to donate to a library of their choice.
The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal:
The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal was established by The Library Association in 1955 and it is named after the popular nineteenth century artist known for her fine children's illustrations and designs.
It was first awarded to Edward Ardizzone for Tim All Alone. The winner receives a golden medal and £500 worth of books to donate to a library of their choice.
To find out more visit www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk
And keep up with news about the Carnegie Greenaway Medals @CILIPCKG
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