CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
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News from CILIP
Friday 29 April 2005
For immediate release (Please copy to online discussion lists)
The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal Shortlist
The power of picture books
The seven books on the 2004 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal shortlist, announced today, offer a powerful combination of text and illustration, taking young readers aged 5-10 years on a variety of journeys - emotional, perilous, mythical and escapist.
The shortlist showcases the exciting range of style and content to be found in picture books for older children. As they become independent readers, picture books remain invaluable in helping children to develop their literacy skills, imagination and enjoyment of books.
The importance of picture books for this age group is often overlooked because of a perception that they are only for the very young. In today's multimedia world, the development of visual literacy is crucial in helping children make sense of the world around them.
And as for the journeys: there's diver Dougal's one-way ticket from daily commuting to the wonders of Atlantis; a perilous rescue mission by boat to save an old man and his animals; and a recreation of the four incredible voyages of Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver". Elsewhere, we meet Amber and Monty in a feline retelling of Romeo & Juliet; and will a farmer to count his sheep and stay awake to save them from a big bad wolf. Another nasty wolf's fiendish plot goes badly wrong when he invites two well-fattened guests to stay for the weekend, and finally, emotions run high in a moving anatomy of grief which speaks to young and old.
"The books on this year's shortlist are as diverse as ever," says Sharon Sperling, Chair of the Judges. "It's particularly interesting that we encountered such high calibre titles for children of five years plus, amply demonstrating that today's picture books are not just for the youngest age-groups, but are an important source of pleasure and learning for older children too".
The Kate Greenaway Medal, established in 1956 and named in honour of the distinguished illustrator is awarded for "outstanding illustration in a children's book". Sister award to the CILIP Carnegie Medal, it is judged by an expert panel of children's librarians, and follows the same unique process of nomination, and judging. Since the bequest left in 2000 by children's book and illustration collector, Colin Mears, the winner receives a cheque for £5000 in addition to the coveted medal.
Both the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals are awarded annually by CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. The 2004 winners will be announced at a ceremony in central London on Friday 8 July 2005.
The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal Shortlist 2004 Announced 2005
IAN ANDREW The Boat
(Text by Helen Ward)
Templar Age range: 7+ ISBN: 1-84011-402-9
RUSSELL AYTO One More Sheep
(Text by Mij Kelly)
Hodder Age range: 5+ ISBN: 0-340-80585-4
SIMON BARTRAM Dougal's Deep-Sea Diary
Templar Age range: 5+ ISBN: 1-84011-508-4
QUENTIN BLAKE Michael Rosen's Sad Book
(Text by Michael Rosen)
Walker Age range: 7+ ISBN: 0-7445-9898-2
NICK BUTTERWORTH The Whisperer
HarperCollins Age range: 5+ ISBN: 0-00-712017-6
JOHN KELLY Guess Who's Coming For Dinner?
(Text by Cathy Tincknell)
Templar Age range: 7+ ISBN: 1-84011-628-5
CHRIS RIDDELL Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver"
(Text by Martin Jenkins)
Walker Age range: 10+ ISBN: 0-7445-8642-9
For more information on these shortlisted titles and the illustrators visit www.ckg.org.uk
Further information for the media from
Louisa Myatt, CILIP Marketing Manager
Tel: 020 7255 0650 Fax: 020 7255 0651 Email: [log in to unmask]
Notes for Editors
Over 2,100 reading groups in schools and public libraries have registered to take part in the shadowing scheme for the awards, involving over 36,000 children and young people. For further information visit www.ckg.org.uk/shadowing
The winner of the CILIP Kate Greenaway also receives The Colin Mears Award of £5000, made possible by a bequest from Colin Mears, a collector of children's books. Mears, a Worthing-based accountant had a long-standing interest in children's illustration and was a keen collector of works by Kate Greenaway and Edward Ardizzone.
CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers. It forms a community of around 35,000 people engaged in library and information work, of whom around 23,000 are CILIP Members and around 12,000 are regular customers of CILIP Enterprises. CILIP members work in all sectors, including business and industry, science and technology, further and higher education, schools, local and central government, the health service, the voluntary sector, national and public libraries. For more information about CILIP, please go to www.cilip.org.uk
The Youth Libraries Group (YLG) is a Special Interest Group of CILIP. It works in a "pressure group" role, independently and with other professional organisations, to preserve and influence the provision of quality literature and library services for children and young people, both in public libraries and school library services.
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