This week in Storytime

Thanks to Saturday’s audience; we know you were sneaking glances at the pictures even though you pretended not to. 🙂 This week we have some staff favourites for you:

• Imagine, by Alison Lester: Because the whole world can be found in our imaginations if we believe hard enough

• Smelly Louie, by Catherine Rayner: The picture-book equivalent of canine smellovision

• Rose Meets Mr Wintergarten, by Bob Graham: Because fairy cakes are the best magic for waking up a sleeping heart

• The Swap, by Jan Ormerod, pictures by Andrew Joyner **CBCA Book of the Year Winner**: Because we’ve all wanted to swap someone we love for a person who doesn’t drool

Children’s Book Council Awards: 2014 winners announced!

The Children’s Book Council of Australia have announced their winners for 2014, and we congratulate the winning authors and illustrators!

     Older Readers
      Wildlife by Fiona Wood (PB, $17)
(We’ve got signed copies of this one!)

 

 

 

 

     Younger Readers
       City of Orphans: A Very Unusual Pursuit by Catherine Jinks

 

 

 

 

 

     Early Childhood
       The Swap by Jan Ormerod, with illustrations by Andrew Joyner (HB, $24.95)

 

 

 

 

     Picture Book
       The Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan (HB, $25)

 

 

 

 

     Eve Pownall Award for Information Books
       Jeremy by Chris Faille & Danny Snell

CBCA Awards 2013

We are very lucky to live in a country where authors, illustrators and publishers are dedicated to producing quality literature for young people. The Children’s Book Council of Australia celebrates this with their annual awards, and have recently announced this year’s winners. By all accounts it was difficult to decide due to the number of wonderful books on the shortlists! The winners are:

Older Readers

Winner: Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan

Honour: The Ink Bridge by Neil Grant

Honour: Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield

Younger Readers

Winner: The Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett

Honour: Pennies for Hitler by Jackie French

Honour: The Tender Moments of Saffron Silk by Glenda Millard, illustrated by Stephen Michael King

Early Childhood

Winner: The Terrible Suitcase by Emma Allen, illustrated by Freya Blackwood

Honour: With Nan by Tania Cox, illustrated by Karen Blair

Honour: Too Many Elephants in This House by Ursula Dubosarsky, illustrated by Andrew Joyner

Picture Book

Winner: The Coat by Ron Brooks and Julie Hunt

Honour: Herman and Rosie by Gus Gordon

Honour: Sophie Scott Goes South by Alison Lester

Eve Pownall Book of the Year

Winner: Tom the Outback Mailman by Kristin Weidenbach, illustrated by Timothy Ide

Honour: Lyrebird! A True Story by Jackie Kerin, illustrated by Peter Gouldthorpe

Honour: Topsy-Turvy World: How Australian Animals Puzzled Early Explorers by Kirsty Murray

Well done to all the winners!

When We Were Two by Robert Newton

When the Children’s Book Council announces the short lists for the annual awards, I always look at them with interest, and usually quite a bit of frustration. While there are always books that are very good, there are always some which are more, shall we say, worthy.  By that I mean, books that some adults think children should read, rather than want to read.  Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want bad books, or dumb books to be on the lists, but I would just like the Council to think more about their audience, and the fact that WE WANT CHILDREN TO READ BOOKS.  Not be put of by books which are too wordy, or dark, or a strange format. My view is that a child with a book in their hand is a good thing, no matter what it is.  Children go through phases of wanting easy reads, and then more challenging reads at different times.  Think about your own reading.  We all like to relax with something that is easy.  It can’t be War and Peace all of the time. At least not for me.  Anyway enough of the rant.

I’ve just read When We Were Two by Robert Newton which is on the short list for older readers, and I’m very happy to say that it is one that I think thoroughly deserves to be there.

It is about Dan and Eddie, brothers who are escaping their violent father, and trying to get to their mother.  It is during the early stages of The Great War, and the boys are in the country, so it is no small matter to cover  to walk to Port Macquarie from their home, and on the way they meet a few different people, some good and some bad. When they meet a group of men who are on a march to join up for the war, the two boys become part of their troup.

Dan had planned to leave on his own, but his brain damaged brother Eddie and his dog Bess wouldn’t let Dan go on his own. The relationship between the two boys is done beautifully and the reason for Eddie’s brain damage is slowly revealed, along with the guilt Dan has about it. Eddie is a wonderful character, very sweet and gentle, when he isn’t being exasperating that is. The times are evoked well, and as a coming of age story, it is a winner.

There are Teacher’s note available from the Penguin website, and so this would be a terrific choice for classroom discussion for 12 and up.

Highly recommended.  Paterback, $17.95