Writing it for the kids
Tony Hickey looks at the winners of the 2006 CBI Bisto Book of the Year Awards for Children's Literature
The Bisto Book of the Year Awards are now in their sixteenth year and prize money has been doubled to €15,000, making these awards very important to Irish writers of books for children.
This year's premier award of €6,000 went to Kate Thompson for The New Policeman (The Bodley Head, €16.50). The book has already won the Whitbread Children's Book Award, the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the Dublin Airport Authority Irish Children's Book of the Year Award. As if that is not enough, Kate has been given the perpetual trophy to keep in recognition of the fact that it is the fourth time she has won this award.
Reviewing the book for Village last year I wrote, "The world of surrealism and actuality that it explores is totally original and contains many elemental ideas about time past, time present and the future and the continuing influence of legend and music." It is a book I will be returning to again and again.
The Eilis Dillon Award of €3,000 and a glass sculpture went to Deirdre Madden for Snakes' Elbows (Orchard Books €6.99), a great book full of wonderfully eccentric characters and events. Nasty arms dealer Jarvis ("He slapped the stewardess on the bum as he passed. By the time he arrived at his destination, he was burping and farting from all the free champagne he had drunk during the flight.") is also planning to steal the art collection of the lovely Barney Barrington. There are stray cats, abused dogs, a lady who wears bats attached to her hats, terrible policemen and lightning action. Although I couldn't help thinking that horrible Jarvis's horrible parties sounded like great fun.
€2,000 and framed certificates went to Oliver Jeffery's Lost and Found (Harper Collins €16.15), a delightful picture book about a boy and a penguin; and to Kevin Kiely for A Horse Called El Dorado (O'Brien Press €7.95), one of my favourite books of the past year. Epic in scale, the latter moves from the jungles of Columbia to the horse racing world of Co Meath: it is a major achievement. Penny the Pencil (Mercier Press €6.95), written by Eileen O'Healy and illustrated by Nicky Phelan was also in this section; a wonderful original idea, brilliantly carried through.
Also shortlisted were the new Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer; Fancy That by Lobel and Geoghean; Briona ag Briongloideach by Dairine Ni Dhonnchu (author) and Maria Mirray (illustrations), another of my favourites with its great pictures and a very funny description of an Irish family of today. John Quinn's Bill and Fred? is another shortlist entry worthy of attention. And another great favourite of mine, Under Fragile Stone by Oisin McGann (O'Brien Press €7.95) was also in this section.
In the shadowing school system to the awards, St Columcille's National School from Knocklyon chose Under Fragile Stone as their favourite. Sandford Parish National School in Rankling, Dublin, chose The New Policeman.
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