Recommended Reading
The Shortlist for "The Bisto Book of the Year 2011" is shown below – with €10,000 for the winner, €3,000 for best first novel, €1,500 for Children’s Choice Award and prizes for the Judges choice awards. In other words – the BIGGEST prize for a children’s writer in Ireland.
Dancing in the Dark by Peter Prendergast
A Bit Lost by Chris Haughton
Mac Rí Éireann le Caitríona Hasting agus Andrew Whiton
Prim Improper by Deirdre Sullivan
Taking Flight by Sheena Wilknson
The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers
The Lunatics Curse by F.E. Higgins
The Owl and the Pussycat illustrated by Kevin Waldron
Tiny Little Fly illustrated by Kevin Waldron
Up and Down by Oliver Jeffers
Please ask our staff to assist in locating any of the above titles for you.
Recommended read's
Wondering what to read next? Why not try some of these titles, they include the quirky, wacky and rude!
It's all about underpants!
1. Captain Underpants Series by Dav Pilkey
2. Yuck's Amazing Underpants by Matthew Morgan
3. Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman
4. The killer Underpants by Michael Lawrence
5. Dinosaurs Love Underpants by Claire Freedman
6. Charlie's Superhero Underpants by Paul Bright
7. Horrid Henry's Underpants by Francesca Simon
Rude and Revolting Characters
1. Horrid Henry Series by Francesca Simon
2. Dirty Bertie Series by Alan MacDonald
3. Smelly Peter Series by Steve Smallman
4. Sir Charlie Stinky Socks Series by Kristina Stephenson
5. Yuck Series by Matthew Morgan
6. Morris the Mankiest Monster by Giles Andreae
I Don't Want To Books
1. I Don't Want to Have a Bath by Julie Sykes
2. I Don't Want to go to Bed by Julie Sykes
3. I Don't Want to Wash My Hands by
4. I Don't Want to Sleep Alone by
5. I Don't Want to go to Hospital by Tony Ross
6. I Don't want to go to School by
I Want To Books
1. I Want My Dinner by Tony Ross
2. I Want To Do It By Myself by Tony Ross
3. I Want a Mini Tiger by Joyce Dunbar
4. I Want My Light On by Tony Ross
5. I Want a Story by Tony Ross
Fairies
1. Fairy House Series by Kelly McKain
2. Rainbow Magic - The Twilight Fairies Series by Daisy Meadows
3. Fairy Bears Series by Julie Sykes
4. Silverlake Fairy School Series by Elizabeth Lindsay
5. Frangipani Fairies Series by Titania Hardie
Princesses, Ponies and Puppies
Princesses
1. Princess Evie's Ponies Series by Sarah Kilbride
2. The Tiara Club Series by Vivian French
3. Princess Poppy Series by Janey Louise Jones
4. Pony Mad Princess Series by Diana Kimpton
5. Petal Princesses Series
Ponies
1. Magic Pony Series by Elizabeth Lindsay
2. Tilly's Pony Tails Series by Pippa Funnella
3. Magic Pony Carousel Series by Poppy Shire
4. Sandy Lane Stable Series by Michelle Bates
5. Pony Club Secrets Series by Stacy Gregg
Puppies
1. Magic Puppy Series by Sue Bentley
2. Jenny Dale's Puppy Tales Series
3. Puppy Patrol Series by Jenny Dale
4. Animal Ark Pets Series by Lucy Daniels
CILIP Carnegie/Greenaway Nominations for 2010
CILIP Carnegie Medal Winner 2010
A double first for Neil Gaiman as he add UK's CILIP Carnegie Medal to the US Newbery Medal for The Graveyard Book.
Early this afternoon Neil Gaiman accepted the most sought after prize for children's fiction in the UK, the 2010 CILIP Carnegie Medal for The Graveyard Book. The Graveyard Book has already won the 2009 Newbery Medal, the prestigious US equivalent of the Carnegie, making Neil Gaiman the first author to complete the 'double' being awarded both these internationally recognised prizes for children's fiction for the same book ensuring his place in literary history. The Graveyard Book fought off stiff competition for the 2010 CILIP Carnegie. The shortlist included books by acclaimed writers and former winners, Terry Pratchett and Philip Reeve, as well as strong novels from Helen Grant, Laurie Halse Anderson, Julie Hearn, Patrick Ness and Marcus Sedgwick. The Graveyard Book also narrowly missed a 'triple' in 2010. Illustrated with evocative line drawings by Chris Riddell, it was also shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for outstanding illustration.
Asked what winning the CILIP Carnegie Medal means to him, Neil Gaiman commented: "For my seventh birthday I was given a boxed set of the Narnia Books by CS Lewis. The last of them, 'The Last Battle' had the words 'Winner of the Carnegie Medal' on it. I did not know what the Carnegie Medal was, but I knew it was something important. It was the first literary award I had ever heard of. And if the Narnia books had won it, then it had to be the most important literary award there ever was. Somewhere deep inside me, but not too deep, a seven-year old version of me is amazed and delighted that he's written a book that was given the most important literary award there ever was. And nothing you can say about Bookers or Nobels or Pulitzers will convince him otherwise." The Graveyard Book, for readers of nine years and over, is the spooky reworking of Kipling's The Jungle Book. The story opens with the violent murder of a toddler's parents and sister that manages to be horrifying without mentioning a drop of blood. The two year old, having escaped their fate, finds himself in a graveyard. There he is adopted by its resident ghosts who bring him up and call him Bod, short for Nobody Owens.
"This is an extraordinary book in every way: the style, plot and quality of the writing," says Margaret Pemberton, Chair of the Judges. "With great skill Gaiman has created a gripping page turner, expertly supported by well developed characters, that is full of humour and humanity. Not a word is wasted in this episodic tale that draws the reader through Bod's childhood to a well crafted and satisfying conclusion. A worthy winner."
The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal Winner 2010
Freya Blackwood Wins 2010 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for her illustrations inspired by the memory of a beloved pet dog.
Australian illustrator Freya Blackwood has won the 2010 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, the UK's most prestigious children's illustration award for Harry & Hopper (text by Margaret Wild). The book movingly portrays a young boy, Harry, coming to terms with the sudden death of his much-loved dog, Hopper. Blackwood's pictures for Harry & Hopper were partly inspired by one of her own childhood pets; Furlani, a beautiful grey whippet who met a similarly sad and sudden end.
Of this year's winning book, Margaret Pemberton, Chair of the CILIP Kate Greenaway judging panel comments: "In Harry & Hopper, Freya Blackwood excels in her use of muted colour, perspective, and exterior and interior space to give a powerful take on the father-son relationship, and a much-loved pet's death. A sensitive issue for young children is beautifully handled, with Harry's emotions and memories of Hopper expressed visually to great effect."
Freya Blackwood was born in 1975 in Edinburgh whilst her parents were travelling round the UK in a VW camper van. She grew up in Orange, New South Wales, the city where she currently lives with her four year-old daughter, Ivy. Before becoming a full-time illustrator, Blackwood lived in New Zealand where she worked on the set of the Lord of the Rings films, painting thousands of hobbit feet.