How my heroes are changing - by CBCA judge, Jenni Connor

I grew up on Detective fiction really, devouring every Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham in my youth and becoming addicted to the pantheon of Elizabeth George, PD James and Ruth Rendell as they came on the scene. The very early ‘lady writers’ invariably created an elegant, dignified gentleman as their brilliant crime solver. Lord Peter Wimsey, Inspector Alleyn and Albert Campion (not to mention Christie’s indubitable Poirot) used their incisive wit and extraordinary minds to seek out and destroy the most cunning villain and restore polite society to its rightful balance.

Have you read any of these recently? I have a friend in London who re-reads them all, regularly. I don’t know how she can bear to; the style now seems infuriatingly archaic, posturing and lacking in reality.
The same cannot be said for contemporary masters of the genre!

For 20 years, Ian Rankin took his tough, hard drinking cop, Detective Inspector Rebus, into Edinburg’s grimy underbelly – where he felt perfectly at home. Rankin describes his influences as Robert Louis Stevenson and the Gothic tradition which leads him to explore the Jekyll and Hyde qualities of a contemporary urban environment. I imagine I wasn’t the only devotee to mourn Rebus’ departure in Exit Music.

All of this grimness, of course, paled into insignificance when Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy burst on the scene, with Lisbeth Salander possibly the most oppressed and indomitable heroine of contemporary fiction.

Having relished the trilogy, like many fellow addicts, I turned to Jo Nesbo for another take on the Nordic landscape and culture. The Snowman (2010) made Nesbo’s name when it won the prestigious Glass Key Award for Best Nordic Crime Novel – joining Larsson and Henning Mankell in the illustrious list of recipients.

Recently, I tackled The Redbreast (2006), an ambitious and complex novel that spans from the Second World War to the present day. It delves deep into an unpalatable past, when Norwegian troops collaborated with Nazi Germany and fought for Hitler on the Eastern front. In the novel, surviving soldiers are being murdered one by one, and Harry Hole, a good, but troubled cop in the Olso Crime Squad has to stay off the grog long enough to bring matters to a close. There’s a rich palette of characters and the constant switching between the two time zones means it’s wise to keep a list of Dramatis Personae handy. Dedicated readers of the genre will find much to enjoy as well as much to mull over about old wounds, old debts and the grey areas of morality.

Then, a knowledgeable bookseller where I was travelling (don’t you love them?) recommended another Nordic writer – Camilla Lakberg –‘The hottest female writer in Sweden at the moment’ as the cover screams. Interestingly, the novel, The Hidden Child, also deals with a terrible secret from the darkest days of WW11. While the plot is intriguing, the characterisation is slightly stereotyped; the novel may have suffered in translation. There is almost a surfeit of ‘detectives’, including a young policewoman who is in a gay relationship whose partner is having a child through IVF, and a male detective who is on Paternity Leave.

We’ve certainly come a long way from an entertaining effete little man twirling his moustache!


* Who are your literary heroes? Have they changed over time?

Imagination Takes Flight!

Before our newsletter officer, Penny Garnsworthy, flew away to the other side of the world, she filled us in on a couple of books that made her mind travel to new and wondrous places!

I’m still on the adventure of catching up on my reading books for young people, and I've just finished two amazing books for young adults.

Mara, Daughter of the Nile was written by American author Eloise Jarvis McGraw in 1963. It is the story of a slave girl in ancient Egypt who gets herself involved in both sides of the political argument surrounding Hatshepsut and her brother Thutmose. The novel was brilliantly researched (I learned more about life in Egypt reading it than much of the non-fiction I have read over the years) and beautifully written with just the right amounts of romance, intrigue, adventure and suspense. And it has a typical happy ending. I guess you’d say it’s an old fashioned type of book.

By comparison, Triple Ripple was written by Australian author Brigid Lowry in 2011. It is three stories in one: the fairytale set in a typical fairytale setting; the reader’s story as she reads the fairytale; and the writer’s story as she writes it. The premise has been well thought out and this results in a story that’s quirky and fun and at times, very, very different. And it doesn’t have a 'typical' happy ending.

I guess you’d say it’s a modern, contemporary tale.

I just can’t imagine two books for the same age group being such poles apart (and 48 years). And yet I loved them both. I loved the descriptions of the settings, the characters and their respective issues, and I learned a lot about people and places I didn’t previously know.

Just goes to show that books are an enduring medium. And whether they’re a hardcover, a paperback or an electronic file I’ll still be reading them for many years to come!

Have a great trip, Penny! We'll miss you but we know you'll come back with lots of wonderful stories!


What have you been reading lately that's made your imagination take a journey?

Want to be the Tasmanian judge for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards?

Applications are invited for the Tasmanian representative on the interstate judging panel for the 2013 and 2014 CBCA Book of the Year Awards.

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (Tasmanian Branch) Inc. invites applications for the honorary position of CBCA Book of the Year Awards Judge representing Tasmania on the National Awards Judging Panel for the 2012 and 2013 CBCA Book of the Year Awards. Reading commences in May 2012.

Selection Criteria:

· Recognised standing and qualifications in the field of children’s literature

· Wide and recent knowledge of children’s literature, especially Australian children’s literature

· Awareness of illustration techniques, design, editing, printing and production processes

· Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

Eligibility for serving as a judge:

Those seeking the position as Tasmanian judge must be current financial members of The Children’s Book Council of Australia (Tasmanian Branch) Inc.

A person with a current vested interest in the Awards may not be a judge. Examples include authors, illustrators, book editors and publishers.

Notes

Judges are appointed for a two-year term.

The reading period extends from approximately May till February. Reports on each book are compiled and circulated and discussed via email and teleconferences with other members of the panel during this time.

Between the end of February and the Short List announcement, judges prepare for the five-day Judges’ Conference in late March/early April, by rereading and refining potential shortlists. All judges attend the Judges’ Conference at which short lists, honour books and winners of the Awards are decided.

The Tasmanian judge is also expected to promote the Awards in the Tasmanian community, to write brief reports for the newsletter, and to contribute to the compilation of Notable Australian Children’s Books.

Detailed information of the process, role and responsibility can be found in the wards handbook section on the CBCA websitehttp://cbca.org.au/publisherinfo.htm - go to - Judges role and responsibilities

If you wish to apply for this position, please send a letter outlining your interest and addressing the selection criteria to The President, CBCA (Tas Inc.), PO Box 113, MOONAH 7009.

If you wish to send an application in electronic form, or require any further information, please contact the Secretary through the CBCA (TAS) website to be provided with an email address.

Applications close on 30 September.

To PD nor not to PD by CBCA Tas secretary and bookshop worker, Nella Pickup

The last few weeks I’ve had some interesting PD opportunities.

Recently Carol Fuller & I attended a lecture by Professor Len Unsworth “The literacies of image and languages and the new national English curriculum”.  I wasn’t sure what to expect – education speak and great long ugly words – yes, they were there in abundance but also an explanation/exploration of the visual choices authors make.

As with all PD, you must practise what you’ve learned. I’ve unsuccessfully tried to read graphic novels in the past. So I read an illustrated book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brain Selznick (Scholastic 2007).  When first published, this was a ground breaking book - a unique work of art, of spare text, and of sheer imagination.  The illustrations are essential to the story.  Four years later, it’s still an exceptionally good read.

Next PD was to attend Ellen Forsyth’s Connecting with people: Twitter reading groups, scenarios for the future of public libraries and games.  I’d heard Ellen speak at other sessions.  She’s entertaining and energetic.  Luddite that I am, I just don’t get why people would waste good reading time to twitter about the books they’ve read.  ***

Then some professional reading.  An article about what’s on your bedside table made me reflect about the books I’ve just been reading.  Then I read one of Will Manley’s discussions about weeding.  “When you are weeding your collection, forget the printout that the head of circulation gives you. Circulation statistics do not tell the whole story.... Why don’t you start by looking for food stains? Books with food stains are so good their readers could not put them down even while eating.”

So here are my bedside table’s recent highlights and their food stain ratings.

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan. Macmillan October 2011 ...

... is a toast burner i.e. you become so engrossed in the well crafted, sometimes blood chilling story, you forget about everything around you.

This is a page turning science fiction adventure thriller – first of the Sky Chasers series. Told through the alternating narratives of the kidnapped Waverley and Kieran, the victim of a Lord of the Flies style mutiny, it examines many important issues - survival, religion, politics, right versus might, the inviolability of the individual versus the needs of the whole community, the role of the charismatic leader and mob mentality.

The characterisation is brilliant – the villainous Anne Mather - grandmotherly, disarmingly sweet, until someone crosses her; Waverley - strong and steely character; Kiernan starts out as a cardboard cut-out hero (all dull and superior) but develops into a complex and broken young man; underdog and seemingly villainous Seth Ardvale is caught in a love triangle.

Pod  by Stephen Wallenfels Allen & Unwin July 2011

Food stains of great variety until you get to the Bathtub Man scene.

Another dystopian thriller. For 28 days giant spinning balls fill the sky.  They kill anyone who goes outside.  Josh (16 years old) and his obsessive compulsive dad are at home in suburban Washington; Megs, a 12 year old who lives in the back of a car with her mother, is trapped inside a multi storey car park. Food and water are running out – how will they survive?

Shift by Em Bailey Hardie Grant September 2011

Sorry – no food rating – too much of a roller coaster ride to eat.

Olive is a self imposed outsider with one friend: Ami. Olive watches the new girl, Miranda develop an unhealthy obsession with Olive’s former best friend Katie.  As Miranda begins to resemble Katie, Olive becomes suspicious and believes Miranda is a shape-shifter – sucking the life from people and then moving on.  But is Olive a reliable narrator? She fears the ocean, blames herself for her parents’ divorce, and talks cryptically about her past.

A mystery within a mystery shifting between psychological and paranormal, sinister and supernatural, horror and romance.

Straight Line to my Heart by Bill Condon. Allen & Unwin August 2011

Coffee, chocolate and (happy) tear stains.

A wonderful story about growing up and going with the flow.  Tiff has just finished school.  Work experience at the local newspaper is not what she expected.  Her life is filled with iconic Aussie characters, tough Reggie and his policeman son Bull, best friend Kayla, interview candidate Clarence  a 98 year old centenarian (read the book) and the awkward goofy yet lovable Davey.

And last but not least – a picture book.

The Carrum Sailing Club by Claire Saxby & Christina Booth. Windy Hollow September 2011

No food stains on my picture books!  But if there were, they’d be melted icy pole drips and sandy sandwich crumbs. A glorious celebration of summer at the beach.

*** As an avid Twitterer who sees reading as a sharing, communal experience as much as a personal one, and Twitter as a wonderful medium for connecting with other avid booky tweeps, website officer Kate Gordon wonders what other CBCA members think about the sharing of booky love via social media. And don't forget you can follow the Tasmanian CBCA branch on www.twitter.com/CBCATas!

Squeezing in some reading - Carol Fuller blogs on books she's read and enjoyed

In between travelling from Smithton to Dover, talking to parents about how to choose good books for children I have managed to read some books, both children’s and adults.  Thought you might like to hear about some.

‘Trouble Twisters’, by Garth Nix and Sean Williams published by Allen & Unwin is a fairly new one. If you have read Sean William’s ‘The Changeling’, the voices in this joint writing effort will probably ring bells and resonate with you.  Sean Williams seems to like voices that speak inside the protagonist’s head and the device worked really well in ‘The Changeling’ series.

'Trouble Twisters' seems set for a younger audience more in keeping with the audience of Nix’s previous series which used the days of the week as its guiding and naming gambit.  Personally I preferred William’s series for older readers but the partnership has not gone to waste.

The Trouble Twisters, Jack and Jaide will appeal to that horde of youngsters who love magic, fantasy, a quest and the traditional good versus evil theme. But I can’t help thinking, “I’ve read all this before.”  There is a slightly new approach when the twins start to think that in fact their grandmother is the evil they must defeat and this as it happens is almost their undoing.  The twins and the reader are kept in the dark about the real facts about the Family until a good way into the story, hereby creating a niggling desire to keep reading just to find out.  One almost reaches the point of exasperation!  Just what is going on?

Even at the end of the book, obviously the first in the series, there are many questions still to be answered.

Coincidently the next two books I read were for older readers, Sonya Hartnett’s ‘The Midnight Zoo’ and Cath Crawley’s, ‘Graffiti Moon’.  That’s right, both featured very highly in the Book of the Year awards.  Was this a spooky premonition on my part that I choose these?  Don’t know, but I can certainly see why they were up there.  I loved ‘The Midnight Zoo’ with its post-apocalyptic setting and the unusual part reality, part fantasy characters of the animals. The video of the story that ran through my head as I read was very dark and shadowy and it was impossible to predict what was going to happen. I think 'gripping' might be an appropriate adjective.  ‘Graffiti Moon’ is also a dark book in that it is set at night, but this time the reader knows more than the characters about what might happen, it’s just a matter of when and if and how.  Having observed graffiti art all over the world; on train carriages and railway walls all through Europe and our own local contributions in Royal Park, I’ve always wondered if this stuff is art or trash.  After this novel I believe I gained an extra insight into and an appreciation of this aspect of youth culture.

Squeezing in a couple of adult books; I read Jodi Picoult’s ‘Nineteen Minutes’ and Steve Conte’s ‘The Zoo Keeper’s War’.   There seems to have been a thread there with war and zoos and young people and relationships.   These are all quite different books but I enjoyed them all and gained new information about the effects of bullying and what happens to animals in war time amongst other things.  That’s a good eclectic mix for you.

Sally Sara’s, ‘Gogo, Mama’, is another book I would recommend to older readers and adults.  I can’t say it is an enjoyable book in that it describes the incredible abuse and injustices perpetrated on females in African cultures even as I write. The book, published in about 2007, features Sally’s interviews with 12 women from different African countries. We are given a fascinating insight into their lives, their courage, and their incredible capacity to survive and flourish despite suffering such enormities as female circumcision, slavery, HIV and the Rwandan and other wars that seem to plague that continent.  How lucky we are to live in Australia!   And how lucky are we to have so many diverse books to read and enjoy.

What have you been reading and enjoying lately?

I guess ‘controversy sells?’ - by CBCA judge Jenni Connor

Christopher Bantick, in the Mercury 23 August, went into quite a rant about the CBCA judges selecting Nicki Greenwood’s Hamlet as joint winner of the Picture Book of the Year category. Bantick’s burning concerns were two-fold:

1. that ‘new mums’ (a patronising term I wouldn’t have used) might somehow take the CBCA sticker as a global mark of ‘quality’ and choose Hamlet for their newborn baby; 
2. that ‘the once sacrosanct world of children’s books where the good guys always won, animals talked, possums ate lamingtons and princes and princesses fell in love, has been appropriated ... by hard core peddlers of violence, sex, incest, suicide and family dysfunctionalism’ (Shakespeare, of course, DOES deal with all of the above and I’m not sure devotees would take kindly to him being described as a ‘hard core peddler’)

In the first instance:  ‘mums’, as the Mercury headline to my letter points out, are ‘not that silly’. They are not going to pick an enormous, visually complex & expensive tome off the shelf, flick through it and conclude that ‘baby might like this’. They will go to the picture book shelves and/or seek the advice of a good bookseller. Or they might refer to the CBCA Book of the Year: Early Childhood list, from which they will find a wealth of suitable titles, including Lester’s Noni the Pony and Niland’s It’s Bedtime William as well as the very deserving Winner and Honour Books in that category. My absolute favourite is Maudie and Bear, by Jan Omerod and Freya Blackwood.

Secondly, CBCA does badge its categories for the Awards and the Picture Book category clearly states ‘Some books may be for mature readers’.

Bantick is obviously out of touch with developments over at least the last ten years, in which ‘picture books’ have broadened from ‘books for the very young’ to include sophisticated works in which literary and artistic unity is achieved, and which are worthy of serious study by young people in secondary schooling. Hence the establishment of two categories – ‘Early Childhood’ and ‘Picture Book Award’.

Perhaps the image accompanying Bantick’s article gives us a clue – although, to be fair, he may not have chosen it. The image is of a delightfully privileged-looking mother, with two squeaky clean blonde children, reading a book from the Moomintroll series published in Finland and Sweden. Moomintroll is beloved worldwide but it’s an odd choice for an article castigating the Children’s Book Council of Australia (also, note from Kate, I wonder if Bantick has seen this wonderful blog post about sexuality in the Moomintroll series http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/05/tove-jaanson-out-of-the-closet).

The merits of Hamlet, the graphic novel for adolescents and beyond, can and should be debated. Debate about books for children and young people is healthy and informed choice is very much encouraged.
But, it really does pay to get on top of your subject matter before you attack an organisation as prestigious and hard-working as the Children’s Book Council.

And the winner is ...

... and so do the CBCA judges after another tough year!

Another year, another list, and from that list an even smaller list of booky awesomeness. Book lovers watch the CBCA Award announcement with keen little owl eyes, and it always provokes its shares of contention and controversy. Here are this year's winners and honour books:

Older Readers Book of the Year 2011

NOTE: These books may be for mature readers

WINNER Hartnett, Sonya – The Midnight Zoo, Viking Books, Penguin Group (Australia)

HONOUR Crowley, Cath – Graffiti Moon, Pan Macmillan Australia

HONOUR MacLeod, Doug – The Life of a Teenage Body-Snatcher, Penguin Books, Penguin Group (Australia)

Younger Readers Book of the Year 2011

NOTE: These books are intended for independent younger readers

WINNER Carmody, Isobelle – The Red Wind, Viking Books, Penguin Group (Australia)

HONOUR Bauer, Michael Gerard – Just a Dog, Omnibus Books, Scholastic Australia

HONOUR Branford, Anna, Illus: Davis, Sarah – Violet Mackerel's Brilliant Plot, Walker Books

Early Childhood Book of the Year 2011

NOTE: Intended for children in the pre-reading to early reading stages

WINNER Ormerod, Jan, Illus: Blackwood, Freya – Maudie and Bear, Little Hare Books

HONOUR Champion, Tom Niland & Niland, Kilmeny, Illus: Niland, Deborah, The Tall Man and the Twelve Babies, Allen & Unwin

HONOUR Norrington, Leonie, Illus: Huxley, Dee – Look See, Look at Me, Allen & Unwin

Picture Book of the Year 2011

NOTE: Intended for an audience ranging from birth to 18 years. Some books may be for mature readers

JOINT WINNER Baker, Jeannie – Mirror, Walker Books

JOINT WINNER Greenberg, Nicki – Hamlet, Allen & Unwin

HONOUR Bancroft, Bronwyn – Why I Love Australia, Little Hare Books

HONOUR Riddle, Tohby – My Uncle's Donkey, Viking Books, Penguin Group (Australia)

Eve Pownall Book of the Year 2011

NOTE: Intended for an audience ranging from birth to 18 years. Some books may be for mature readers

WINNER Ursula Dubosarsky, Illus: Riddle, Tohby - The Return of the Word Spy, Viking Books, Penguin Group (Australia)

HONOUR Brooks, Ron – Drawn From the Heart: A Memoir, Allen & Unwin

HONOUR One Arm Point Remote Community School – Our World: Bardi Jaawi: Life at Ardiyooloon, Magabala Books

Now, it's over to you! What do YOU think of this year's list? Let us know. We love a bit of debate and controversy!!!

The CBCA Awards - a judge's perspective

Don’t forget: next Friday (August 19^th at noon), the CBCA Book of the Year results will be announced, and Children’s Book Week will be underway. This is always a time of excitement and debate. Some people will think the judges have made exactly the right decision and others will wonder how our children’s book awards can be so wrong. And then of course there are those who stand somewhere in the middle. I wonder where you will be this year.

Literature is such a personal choice. What I adore today may not be what I really like tomorrow, because in that short time I have read something else which changes my outlook slightly. And we need to remember that the judges have read all the books submitted and make their decisions based on this. None of the rest of us has done this. The judges use very clearly stated criteria based on literary merit for their choices. But it is wonderful that there is discussion about the awards because that keeps the world of Australian children’s literature thriving.

You can find the short list on the Children’s Book Council of Australia website (http://cbca.org.au/Shortlist_2011.htm), so check it out if you haven’t already done so. And the criteria used by the judges can be found under Information for Publishers: http://cbca.org.au/userfiles/file/Downloads/Nat%20Site/2011/awards%20criteria.pdf .

I have recently been in Canada and spent time looking at some of their many awards given to children’s and young adult literature there. I chose my favourite genre of picture books and especially the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, administered by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. You can find details of all Canadian children’s books awards at http://www.bookcentre.ca/awards/canadian_awards_index.

The Short List for the 2011 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award was announced June 14 and the winners will be named October 4. To be eligible, the book must

• have artistic and literary unity,
• be a seamless integration of text, illustrations and design,
• be an original work in English (or the translation published simultaneously),
• be aimed at children ages three to eight,
• be written and illustrated by Canadians and first published in Canada.

The prize money is $20,000. The choices are made by a panel of three children’s literature specialists. Details of the awards can be found at http://www.bookcentre.ca/awards/marilyn_baillie_picture_book_award

And here are the shortlisted books:

I Know Here 
Written by Laurel Croza, illustrated by Matt James

Groundwood Books, for ages 5-7
A young girl (first person narration) learns that her family is to move from her known rural environment to Toronto with all the worries and fears that going into the unknown produces. She shows the reader all her favourite places full of great memories, comparing the certainty of now with the uncertainty of the future. As adult readers we understand that her family are itinerant workers and this would lead to some great discussions with child readers. The illustrations are child-like and there’s good use of whitespace on the page. The endpaper maps would help all readers, but especially those from outside Canada.

In Front of My House

Written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc. Translated by Yvette Ghione
Kids Can Press, for ages 3-7.
This circular story reflects the imagination of a child who starts by looking at her immediate environment but quickly expanding into a broader journey, the whimsical and the improbable but eventually coming home again. The format remains constant throughout the book. The right hand page includes a positional phrase. Turn the page and on the left an object is named and is illustrated opposite, with the next positional phrase below it. There is wonderful use of white space, with plenty of scope for young imaginations to create their own environment.

Singing Away the Dark

Written by Caroline Woodward, illustrated by Julie Morstad
Simply Read Books, for ages 4-8
The child narrator starts her song with the words, “When I was six and went to school, I walked a long, long way …” and then takes us on her journey through the dark and snowy woods to catch the bus. For most Australian children this winter journey is outside their experience but many will understand the worries of being alone and the fear of getting lost. This is another book with great use of white space which rests the eyes but also represents the wintry journey.

Spork written by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
Kids Can Press, for ages 3-8
Spork is the child of a spoon and a fork and doesn’t quite have any of the advantages of either of his parents. He doesn’t fit in with either the various shaped forks nor the spoons, until one day a messy thing arrives and Spork is exactly what is wanted. This book is a celebration of difference and the need to fit in. I am not a great fan of anthropomorphism but in this story it works and the humour in both verbal and visual texts adds to the finished product.

Stanley’s Little Sister written by Linda Bailey, illustrated by Bill Slavin
Kids Can Press, for ages 3-7
This is the most recent of the Stanley series. When a new kitten comes into Stanley’s house, his nose is put out of joint but he tries to make friends. He hasn’t yet learned how to behave around this new sibling. Through trial and error, creating mayhem and annoying his people in the process, Stanley finally gives up trying so hard. The result is friendship and acceptance. Children will enjoy the humour in illustrations and words. For me, though, some pictures are too dark and the text placement isn’t as successful as it could be.

So which is my favourite? At the moment I’m wavering between I Know Here and In Front of My House. My three year old grandson much prefers In Front of My House with its whimsy and outlandish inclusions. I wonder what the judges will choose. Much like I wonder which will be winners in the CBCA Book of the Year Awards. We’ll soon know.

Have you read any of the books on the Canadian shortlist? Do you think major book awards lead to international recognition?

What do you think of the CBCA Awards? Do they have their finger on the pulse of great contemporary Australian literature?

And, finally, what do YOU think of THIS year's list? What will win? What SHOULD win? And which books SHOULD have been on the list?