Reading frenzy as young judges deliver book of the year verdict

Published on Tuesday 1 December 2009 21:04

HUNDREDS of schoolchildren cheered and stamped their feet with excitement at an awards ceremony at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh last week.

The youngsters were not applauding the newest pop sensation or welcoming the newest reality television stars – but paying tribute to the authors of their favourite books of the year.

The Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children's Books has become one of the biggest prizes in children's publishing – not least because thousands of Scottish pupils take part in choosing the winners.

And the ceremony to award the prizes was deliberately glitzy – with onstage fireworks, short films about each of the short-listed authors and an onstage question and answer session.

Scottish Book Trust children's programme manager Anna Gibbons said: "These awards have been our biggest ever. Thousands of young readers have read, debated, reviewed and, most of all, enjoyed a selection of the best Scottish children's books of the year – we are really proud of their achievement."

This is only the third year the awards have taken place and the numbers involved have grown exponentially. In 2007, more than 10,000 children enrolled to take part; in 2008 that rose to 18,000 and this year, 30,000 pupils from 450 schools across every education authority, from Shetland to Dumfries, signed up to take part.

A panel of children's authors, teachers, young people and critics chose nine books from the 50 to 60 published this year by Scottish authors. The schools received the short list in May and votes had to be cast by last month.

Only children who have completed all three titles on the short list for their age group can vote, but this year that added up to an impressive 15,000 votes cast.

Taking a leading role in the ceremony at the Queen's Hall was 12-year-old George Heriot's pupil Alana White, who was on the short-listing panel and who conducted an onstage interview with the short-listed authors in the younger readers (8-11) category.

Commenting on her role in selecting the finalists, Alana said: "For me, there were definitely a couple that stood out from the rest. I was looking for something that would appeal to both boys and girls and that would make children think about what they were reading."

Amy McColgan, 14, and also a Heriot's pupil was a reviewer for the 12 -16 category. She said it was important for writers to engage their readers' interest – particularly at an age when many were turning away from reading.

"They are pushed by adults and teachers who want you to read books – and there are so many other distractions. It takes effort and commitment to read a book. Something like this shows that the number of people who really love reading hasn't changed."

Teacher Elaine Clarke said her pupils' input had been stimulating.

"I think it is so important," she said, "because it is very easy for adults to choose books that they think children should be reading. Having pupil judges means you end up with the books children actually want to read – and it is really interesting to hear about the books from a different age perspective."

A look through the short-listed volumes shows a wide range of subject matter.

Crash, by Jan-Andrew Henderson, short-listed in the older category, deals with mental illness, while Ostrich Boys, the winning book in the 12-16 category, is a dark comedy about suicide.

Manfred the Baddie, which won the early years category, tells the story of a crime wave carried out by a "meanie" who kidnaps brilliant inventors, while First Aid for Fairies and other Fabled Beasts, winner of the Younger Readers section, is a work of fantasy fiction featuring various mythical creatures.

Keith Gray, author of Ostrich Boys and The Scotsman's reviewer of teenage fiction, said the awards were a great way of promoting reading. The writer – who confessed he "tried to avoid books" as a child – said the key was to create strong accessible fiction that could draw in even the reluctant reader.

"What is so fantastic about this award is it celebrates readers as much as it does writers," said Gray.

The author, who has written 15 books, told the audience at the Queen's Hall that it had taken him three attempts to write Ostrich Boys, which deals with the aftermath of a teenage suicide. He said: "The book is full of jokes. I don't think readers would want to read a miserable book about death and suicide – so for the first nine tenths of the book it is more like an adventure story."

He had wanted to tackle the subject for some time, he added. "I can't believe there aren't more books written about teenage suicide. It is such a huge issue. Sadly, almost everyone knows someone who has been affected – it is the biggest killer of young men under the age of 35."

Former SNP press officer Lari Don was awarded the prize for Younger Readers for First Aid for Fairies and other Fabled Beasts. She said: "It is my first book so to win a prize like this for your first book is really special.

"If you are a children's author, a prize which is voted for by children is the best prize in the world. If you are a children's author you don't write books for teachers, librarians or bookshop owners."

Viz cartoonist John Fardell won the early years prize for Manfred the Baddie, his first picture book for that age group.

"It means a lot because you are on a very prestigious short list. People like Julia Donaldson are household names," he said.

This year the Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children's Books were given a prize of their own – being chosen as "award of the year" by the Arts & Business consultancy.

The children's book awards have also expanded to include a review-writing competition and awards for Scots and Gaelic short story writing. This year, the awards teamed up with RNIB Scotland, which transcribed all nine short-listed books into Braille, audio and large print, which meant hundreds of blind and partially-sighted children could take part in the judging process for the first time.

Julia Morrison, Royal Mail's head of external relations, said: "Royal Mail is extremely proud to be involved with these award-winning awards. The responses from children across Scotland have been quite exceptional, and this is a tribute to all the schools and the teachers who encouraged pupils to get involved."

Scottish Arts Council head of literature Gavin Wallace said the awards were a success story of which Scotland should be proud.

He said: "What a major success story these awards have become, thanks to the beautifully simple gesture of making Scotland's children the judges – this year involving more of them than ever. Our association with these prizes is a sheer delight."

SHORTLISTED BOOKS

EARLY YEARS

Manfred the Baddie by John Fardell (winner)

Pink! by Lynne Rickards & Margaret Chamberlain

Stick Man by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler

YOUNGER READERS

First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts by Lari Don (winner)

Dino Egg by Charlie James

Eleventh Orphan by Joan Lingard

OLDER READERS (12-16)

Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray (winner)

Crash by JA Henderson

The Reckoning by James Jauncey