CMIS Evaluation Fiction Focus

Book Week 2008 draws ever closer. CMIS will be interpreting the slogan ‘Fuel Your Mind’ by suggesting that we challenge students to read and respond to literature that might be unusual or a little out of their comfort zone.

The Book Week 2008 pages are still a work in progress, but we have made a start on the lists for Older Readers and the Eve Pownall Award for Information Books.

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The Children’s Book Council of Australia biennial conference has just concluded in an autumnal Melbourne with the theme of All the Wild Wonders, the title of an Elizabeth Honey poem. The opportunity to network with colleagues always enriches the experience of any conference, so break times were also terrific catch-up times.

Three dominant themes seemed to emerge over the course of the three days:

• The importance of having a teacher-librarian in every school in Australia (and an exhortation for each delegate to lobby their member of Parliament over this issue).
• The literacy debate. Time and time again concerns were expressed about the obsession by governments with functional literacy at the expense of real literature. Jack Zipes passionately believes that we are ‘endumbing’ children and teaching them to misread i.e. read non-reflectively for quick absorption of information in order to pass tests.
• The trend in publishing towards sequel literature and multimedia spinoffs such as games and films coming at the expense of quality literature.

Highlights are always subjective, of course, but the standing ovation for Sonya Hartnett after she had opened the conference; Shaun Tan’s illuminating keynote; the enthusiasm of Wendy Cooling and the sheer niceness (not to mention talent) of Neil Gaiman were certainly some. Oh, and some of us learned a lot about manga from Queenie Chan, and we were all blown away by the surprise package that was Bernard Beckett.

And then there was the chance to get up close and personal with Australian and international authors, who patiently and cheerfully signed copies of their books, despite lengthy queues.

In two years, the CBCA moves to Queensland for its 10th national conference that references that Brisbane landmark - the aptly named Storey Bridge. Across the Story Bridge will be held between 29 April-2 May 2010. Make it a diary date claimer.

The countdown to Book Week has begun, with the announcement this morning of the Notable Books in all categories of the Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards. Short lists drawn from these notable titles contain the eventual winners, to be announced during August Book Week celebrations.

The Notable Books are in effect a long list of the very best titles presented to the judges from all the books published in 2007, so are definitely worth considering for your library collections. Reviews of most titles on the Notables list can be found on the CMIS Resource Bank.

Book Week 2008 runs from 15-22 August, with this year’s theme ‘Fuel Your Mind’.

The short list for each category usually produces disappointment, with titles missing out that many consider worthy. The judges can’t please everyone, even with their final notables lists, so comment here about titles that made it and those that didn’t is certainly encouraged.

Older Readers Shortlist 2008

• Jackie French - Pharaoh : the boy who conquered the Nile
• Sonya Hartnett - The ghost’s child
• John Heffernan - Marty’s shadow
• Meme McDonald - Love like water
• David Metzenthen - Black water
• Leonie Norrington - Leaving Barrumbi

We are delighted that Matt Ottley’s Requiem for a Beast, our cover book for Issue 3, 2007, has been short listed in the Picture Book of the Year category.