Children are the winners
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday August 22, 2009
Writers and illustrators provide literary treats for young readers. Angie Schiavone samples the offerings. DOLPHINS took a back seat to books at SeaWorld yesterday when the Gold Coast theme park hosted the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year awards ceremony. The annual awards are Australia's most prestigious for children's and young-adult literature, with five categories: three based on age (older, younger and early readers); one on medium (picture books); and one on genre (nonfiction or "information" books). This year, the judges considered 451 titles, narrowing the field to 30 shortlisted titles, with previous Children's Book Council award-winning authors featuring prominently.The awards often create controversy but the disputes frequently come down to semantics, with picture books proving the most contentious. Last year's picture book of the year, Requiem for a Beast, by Matt Ottley, ruffled more than a few feathers with its length, course language and heavy subject matter not in keeping with the common but false assumption that picture books are intended only for very young readers. The growing popularity of graphic novels and illustrated books for teens and adults and the fact that the Book Council clearly states its awards encompass books for readers up to 18 doesn't seem to quell the debate.Controversy notwithstanding, the awards provide an invaluable opportunity to discuss Australian children's literature, the books that won and those that missed out.OLDER READERSThe undeniably brilliant author-illustrator Shaun Tan took out this category with his collection of short stories, Tales from Outer Suburbia. This is the first time since the awards were split into categories that an illustrated work has won this section. It remains to be seen whether Tan's victory will be regarded as proof of the changing perception of illustrated work, or if it will simply raise more questions. (It's worth noting that books entered into the picture-book category must also be entered into a second category. Tales from Outer Suburbia was submitted but not shortlisted in the picture-book category.)Tan breathes life and wonder into each story using his trademark illustrative style to increase meaning and enjoyment, the judges said. As a whole work, from the end-pages and contents page to the stories themselves, Tales from Outer Suburbia is an immense achievement.Tan edged out prolific author Jackie French, whose moving war story, A Rose for the Anzac Boys, was recognised as an honour book alongside the epic Antarctic adventure Into White Silence, by Anthony Eaton. The remaining shortlisted titles included Kill the Possum, by James Moloney; Lamplighter, the second book in D.M Cornish's Monster Blood Tattoo series; and Finnikin of the Rock, Melina Marchetta's terrific first venture into fantasy writing.Ten additional titles featured on the notable books list for this category, with several surprising exceptions, including Give Me Truth, which many consider the best work to date by former Children's Book Council award-winning author Bill Condon. Also not on the notables list was A Brief History of Montmaray, by Michelle Cooper, which won the Ethel Turner Prize at this year's NSW Premier's Awards.YOUNGER READERSVictorian writer Glenda Millard has charmed many with her Kingdom of Silk books, the third of which, Perry Angel's Suitcase, has won the younger readers' category. Perry's story is a heart-warming one, illustrated by Stephen Michael King, and set to continue with the release of All the Colours of Paradise, a fourth Silk book due out next month.The gentle language is enhanced by whimsical illustrations, the judges said of Millard's book, adding that the story is rich in colour, in childhood emotions, and in early understandings about how the world works.Honour books were Catherine Bateson's The Wish Pony, which has a lovely mix of realism and magic, and Morris Gleitzman's Then, the sequel to his Holocaust tale Once (both masterpieces and testament to Gleitzman's immense storytelling skill).The remaining shortlisted books were The Wizard to Rondo, by five-time Book Council award winner Emily Rodda; Polar Boy, by Sandy Fussell; and Audrey of the Outback, by Christine Harris, with illustrations by Ann James.EARLY CHILDHOODThis category is defined as recognising books that are "intended for children in the pre-reading to early reading stages", so it's a surprise to see some rather wordy books on the list. Even those with few or no words seem more complex or longer than books usually featured in this category. While the stories themselves are quite simple and straightforward, the books on the shortlist would also be suitable for more mature readers.In any case, the winner, Bob Graham's How to Heal a Broken Wing, is a wonderfully warm story about a young boy who rescues an injured bird. The judges commended Graham's use of perspective and colour to reflect the emotions of his characters and to convey the story. Full of hope and optimism, the story exemplifies respect for the feelings and efforts of the very young and has a warm sense of family, they said.Honour books in this category were Stephen Michael King's wordless tale Leaf, about a boy who has a plant growing out of his unkempt hair, and Tom Tom, a day in the life of a small boy from a remote Aboriginal community in the Top End, written by Rosemary Sullivan and illustrated by Dee Huxley. The remaining shortlisted titles were Puffling, by Margaret Wild and Julie Vivas; Special Kev, by Chris McKimmie; and Applesauce and the Christmas Miracle, by Glenda Millard and Stephen Michael King.PICTURE BOOKSThe picture book of the year is Collecting Colour, the debut book by artist Kylie Dunstan. The concept for this book about friendship and the traditional art of basket weaving won Dunstan an Australian Society of Authors mentorship with author-illustrator Sally Rippin. The illustrations are textured and create a great sense of movement.The author/illustrator has used colour, materials, page design and artistic techniques to bring vividly to life the activities of the traditional basket-weavers in the Northern Territory, the judges said. Varying perspectives draw attention to the outdoor setting of the craft and the environment that supports it.Colin Thompson's bittersweet tale The Big Little Boy of Happy Sadness was selected as an honour book, as was Home and Away, a disturbing story that sees an Australian family become refugees, written by John Marsden and illustrated by Matt Ottley. Rounding out the shortlist were Tohby Riddle's sweet big-city story Nobody Owns the Moon; the comic-book-style Captain Congo and the Crocodile King, with text by Ruth Starke and illustrations by Greg Holfeld; and last year's early-childhood category winner, Aaron Blabey, with Sunday Chutney.INFORMATION BOOKSMountaineer Lincoln Hall won the Eve Pownall Award for Information Books with Alive in the Death Zone, an account of his life as a mountain climber and the ordeal that saw him left for dead in extreme conditions after a successful ascent of Mount Everest in 2006. To say the content is engaging is an understatement Hall's story of survival is truly incredible, while the book's layout is clear and approachable.This hard cover, real life-and-death adventure story is an absorbing, compelling, inspirational tale of endurance and survival, the judges said.The NSW Premier's Award-winning book The Word Spy, with text by Ursula Dubosarsky and illustrations by Tohby Riddle, was selected as an honour book, along with Simpson and his Donkey, written by Mark Greenwood and illustrated by Frane Lessac. The shortlist also included Tuart Dwellers, by Jan Ramage and Ellen Hickman; Every Picture Tells a Story: Adventures in Australian Art, by John Ross and Anna Booth; and The Story of Chicken in Australia, by Catriona Nicholls, Janet Paterson and Rod Waller.
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