News Round Up!
But seriously, where do we start?
Perhaps it's pretty important to start with the CILIP Carnegie Medal and Kate Greenaway Award. If you're unfamiliar with the Carnegie Medal or Andrew Carnegie at all, here's a brief introduction: Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was a Scottish philanthropist. He once said, "if ever wealth came to me that it should be used to establish free libraries." By his death, he'd paid for 2800 free libraries in the English speaking world and by his death, over half of library authorities in the UK had Carnegie libraries. Kate Greenaway is definitely someone to be reckoned with too: she studied at the Royal College Of Art, and her first book was published in 1879 and it was a bestseller. Known for her set ways of illustrating children with late eighteenth-century and Regency fashions, she died at the age of 55 of breast cancer and is buried in Hampstead Cemetery, London.
In memory of them both, CILIP (Chartered Institute for Librarians and Information Professionals) run an annual Carnegie Medal and Kate Greenaway, now the UK's oldest awards. This year's winners, as voted for by UK librarians, were Tanya Landman's Buffalo Soldier, which is based on the story of slave Cathy Williams, the only known African-American to enlist in the US army posing as a man and who served for three years before she was found out. The Kate Greenaway Award goes to William Grill for Shackleton's Journey, making William the youngest ever winner of the Award.
If you'd like to read more, check out this press release from CILIP.
Staying on the theme of awards, on Friday the United Kingdom Literary Awards were announced and the winners were:
- For the 12-16 category: Every Day by David Levithan
- For the 7-11 category: Oliver And The Seawigs by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre
- For the 3-6 category: The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers.
The UKLA spoke about each book, describing Every Day as a “highly original book which is handled with real integrity”, billing The Day The Crayons Quit as a “a very funny book that encourages children to be adventurous and creative,”, and on Oliver And The Seawigs, saying, "it has been written and illustrated with such wit and so many highly original ideas that it reaches out to everyone.” The awards were announced at a ceremony in Nottingham, and for more information, check it out over at The Bookseller!
The Guardian run their Children's Fiction Prize every year, and they've just announced their longlist (hot off the press this!) for the Prize, which last year went to Piers Torday. Eight books have found themselves on the longlist, and they are:
The Guardian run their Children's Fiction Prize every year, and they've just announced their longlist (hot off the press this!) for the Prize, which last year went to Piers Torday. Eight books have found themselves on the longlist, and they are:
- Five Children on The Western Front by Kate Saunders
- My Name's Not Friday by Jon Walter
- An Island Of Our Own by Sally Nicholls
- The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
- El Deafo by Cece Bell
- A Song For Ella Grey by David Almond
- All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
- Apple And Rain by Sarah Crossan
Plus, any young person can enter their Young Critics Competition too, and it's never too early to enter either! Entries have opened, and you can find out all the information here!
Like many other book lovers, I think everyone's been on the edge of their seats anticipating Tuesday 14th July, but in case you have been living under a book world record, this Tuesday sees the highly anticipated launch for Harper Lee's sequel to To Kill A Mockingbird, as Go Set A Watchman is released. Everyone has gone Harper Lee mad in the days leading up to the event, as many prepare to storm bookshops for her latest novel. There's still time to pre-order it, so make sure you guarantee yourself a copy! I myself have gone and bought To Kill A Mockingbird, having not being familiar with Harper Lee, and I intend to read it before Tuesday too!
But let's not forget a UK annual tradition in our libraries: the Summer Reading Challenge is back! The theme this year is Record Breakers, and just like last year, the goal is the same: read 6 books over the course of the summer holidays from your local library! Run by The Reading Agency, it launched yesterday and runs through until the 5th September 2015, so get any children you know registered, and show a tiny bit of appreciation for the volunteers (like me!) who are helping their local libraries make it happen. If you are one, good luck to you over the summer too!
It's come to near the end of this round up, but what incredible books have been released over the last few weeks? Here are some of my picks!
- Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten
- Lorali by Laura Dockrill
- The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward
- Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas
- The Baby by Lisa Drakeford
- Way Down Dark by James Smythe
That's it for this month! Let us know what stuff you want included in next month's round up by emailing bloggersbookshelf@gmail.com and I'll see you next time!
Adios booklovers!
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