CMIS Evaluation Fiction Focus

Announced in January, the Michael L. Printz Awards for Young Adult Literature were presented to the winners a few weeks ago.  Our own Judith Clarke’s  One Whole and Perfect Day was an Honor Book this year.

The acceptance speeches, including Judith’s, can be heard here.

As well as the overall winner, Geraldine McCaughrean (The White Darkness), other acceptance speeches can be heard from New Zealander Elizabeth Knox (Dreamquake), A.M. Jenkins (Repossessed) and Stephanie Hemphill (Your Own, Sylvia).

Libby Gleeson talks about the story behind Mahtab’s Story, her latest work, in this Radio National podcast, which will be available for a week.

The dedicated Allen & Unwin site has teacher’s notes and additional information.

Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant recently won the Red House Children’s Book Award - the longest running children’s choice award in the world. The popularity of this charming, although skeletal, detective and his adventures with Stephanie Edgley is as great in Australia and the United States as it is in Landy’s native Ireland.

Now, the second book, Playing with Fire, is out, and to celebrate , the dedicated website has the audio of Book 1 available online for free listening (but not downloading) for a limited time. The narration by Rupert Degas retains the Irishness of the tale and he is able to inject just the right amount of dark humour.

Skulduggery’s many fans should take advantage of the offer while it lasts.

• Thanks to Mike Shuttleworth from the Centre for Youth Literature for drawing attention to this post from Aidan Chambers’s blog. Aidan asks the question about literary prizes. It would seem that his novel This is All : the Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn, was too good (read ‘difficult’) to receive a prize in the Netherlands! Aidan is unhappy about the assumptions behind the decision. His reflective post - not at all bitter - raises interesting questions, as do the ensuing comments.
• Morris Gleitzman spoke about his latest book Then on ABC Radio National yesterday. The podcast will be available for a week.
• Neil Gaiman has been on the Radio National Book Show speaking about graphic novels. Podcast available for a short time.
• Shaun Tan speaking about Tales from Outer Suburbia, also on the Book Show, with podcast almost due to expire.
• David Levithan’s plea Kill the Vampires, at last year’s Reading Matters conference, still resonates. A recent post in the US shows just how hard it still is for some young people to read stories about their lives.