What's the Story May 2010

ISSN 11750189: Volume 9: Issue 2: May 2010

I have always believed that children ought to be allowed to read a certain amount of rubbish. Sometimes quite a high proportion of their reading matter can healthfully consist of things that no sane adult would actually encourage them to read. ~ Peter Dickinson .

Storylines Margaret Mahy Day 2010

Did you miss our earlier report? Find out what happened here…

Who won the awards?

Leonie Agnew – Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award winner 2010
Lucy Davey – Storylines Joy Cowley Award winner 2010
Harriet Bailey – Storylines Gavin Bishop Award winner 2010
Storylines Notable Books List 2010

Sovereign Sunshine update

Storylines received 9% of the votes in March as one of Sovereign Sunshine’s shortlisted charities for the month. This means that we have received $900 from the organisation. Thank you to all who voted!

Find out more on the Sovereign Sunshine website.

IBBY news

Hans Christian Andersen Award 2010 Winners

David Almond from the UK is the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Award author winner. David was selected from 28 authors nominated for the award. The jury have recognised the ‘unique voice of a creator of magic realism for children. Almond captures his young readers' imagination and motivates them to read, think and be critical. His use of language is sophisticated and reaches across the ages’.

David’s books include Skellig¸ Kit’s Wilderness, The Fire-Eaters, Clay, The Savage, Raven Summer.

Germany’s Jutta Bauer is the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Award illustrator winner. There were 27 nominations for this award. The jury’s comments are: ‘[Jutta is] a powerful narrator who blends real life with legend through her pictures. The jury admired her philosophical approach, originality, and creativity as well as her ability to communicate with young readers’. Jutta’s books include Grandpa’s Angel and Selma.

2010 IBBY-Asahi Winners

Twelve reading projects were nominated for the IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award for 2010. After intense debate two winners were selected: Osu Children´s Library Fund, Ghana and Convenio de Cooperación al Plan de Lectura, Medellín, Colombia.

For more information visit the IBBY website.

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner

Belgian illustrator Kitty Crowther wins 2010 ALMA. For more information visit the ALMA site.

New Zealand in Edinburgh

Hairy Maclary is going international. Great news from Ann Mallinson.

‘As Lynley Dodd’s agent for film and theatre, I am delighted to announce that a stage adaptation of some of the Hairy Maclary stories will be mounted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2010.’

Hairy Maclary and Friends is being produced by Nonsense Rom Productions, a Scottish company with a good track record of productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and elsewhere.

Everyone at Storylines congratulate Lynley and Ann for this next exciting chapter in the on-going Hairy Maclary saga – next stop, Hollywood, perhaps?

The Fringe Festival will take place between 6 and 30 August.

In the middle of this period, 14 August, Wayne Mills will be hosting the World Final of the Kids’ Lit Quiz™ in Edinburgh.

Journey Under Warning by Elsie Locke

Oxford University Press 1983

Hardcover (maps and black and white illustrations)

Maire Leadbeater has a number of copies of this children’s classic available for school libraries, as a class set or for programmes to encourage children's reading. Free apart from any postage or freight costs.

Fifteen-year-old Gilbert Banks is the central figure in this novel set during the survey of the Wairau Plain in 1843 and the rising tension which ended with the Wairau confrontation. Gilbert (Gibby) is hired as a camp boy for the survey party. Maori oppose the survey of their land initially through passive resistance. When the expedition proceeds despite the warning of the chief Te Rauparaha the situation becomes dangerously explosive.

His friend, Scotsman Will Morrison, opens Gibby's eyes to the settler intransigence and ignorance that fuelled the flames. The two of them narrowly escape, with Will's fluency in Maori proving invaluable.

Elsie said she saw ‘a different angle on this well-known event after reading the depositions of my great-grandfather and the other survey hands who escaped from the battle. To me it involves issues of conflict and misunderstanding which have relevance today.’

Please contact:

Maire Leadbeater

maire@clear.net.nz

Phone 09 815 9000

New Zealand books featuring in international awards

First-time author-illustrator Victoria M Azaro and her publisher Ann Mallinson have received advice from the International Youth Library in Munich that Saffron has been included in the list of White Ravens 2010, the annual selection of outstanding international books for children and young adults.

The books were presented at the recent Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy.

For this year's exhibition, 250 titles in more than 30 languages were selected from the thousands of books that the library received within the last year as review copies from publishers, authors, illustrators, and organisations from all over the world.

The exhibition is accompanied by a printed catalogue containing bibliographical data and short reviews for each of the selected books.

The International Youth Library houses a major world collection of children’s books. All books received from publishers are catalogued and included in its unique archival collection of almost 600,000 books in over 130 languages. They can be accessed by researchers and visitors from all over the world.

Saffron, a charming story of a girl’s international travels with her family, has also been selected as a Storylines Notable Book for books published in 2009 in the junior fiction category.

Margaret Mahy and Trace Hodgson’s history of New Zealand Awesome Aoteoroa is also a 2010 White Raven.

For more information visit the International Youth Library's website.

Bernard Beckett’s gripping and controversial young adult novel, Genesis, has won the young adult division of the 2010 Prix Sorci¨¦res in France. For more details, see the news item on the Booksellers New Zealand site.

Lorain Day moves on

After 10 years with HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand, Lorain Day will be missed when she retires from publishing on Friday 21 May.

When Lorain joined HarperCollins, they were doing very little local children's publishing. Ten years later, due to Lorain’s personal commitment to building up a quality children’s list, HarperCollins publishes many of New Zealand’s award-winning fiction writers for children and young adults, among them Margaret Mahy, William Taylor, Joy Cowley, Tessa Duder, VM Jones, Janice Marriott, Gaelyn Gordon, Jack Lasenby, Ken Catran, Elsie Locke, Dianne Haworth, Des Hunt, Linda McNabb, Stacey Gregg, Scott Tulloch, Kelly Gardiner, and newer writers such as David Hair, Susan Brocker and Stephan Barker. Storylines has appreciated the personal support she has shown for Storylines’ work and wishes her well.

You can find out more about Lorain’s adult publishing from the official press release, available on the Booksellers New Zealand site.

Nuffin’ like a Puffin

In honour of Puffin Books’ 70th birthday – and the short story competition Storylines is running in conjunction with them… here is their celebratory video – available on youtube...

Competition details are available from the Storylines website.

CLL Writers’ Award

Applications are now open for two $35,000 awards for writers of non-fiction or educational works.

The Copyright Licensing Ltd (CLL) Writers’ Awards having been running since 2002 and are financed by copyright licensing revenue received by CLL on behalf of authors and publishers.

The Board of Copyright Licensing Ltd encourages all established writers of non-fiction to consider applying for one of the two awards on offer this year. It is hoping to encourage applications from writers with interest in the sciences, business, M¨¡ori and Pacific studies, the arts and beyond. Applicants must be New Zealand citizens or permanent residents and writers of proven merit.

Applications close 15 July 2010. Full application details are available on the website.

What’s happening around New Zealand?

KidZone: The Children's Place in Rotorua District Library held a blessing ceremony on Friday night (April 30) to mark the completion of several projects including murals, new signage and a beautifully carved storyteller's chair - the carver was Teraimana Tahiata. This was followed by the launch of Aunty Bea's new children's book Hoha Te Taniwha illustrated by Katherine Quin Merewether Dressed in her iconic bee outfit Aunty Bea (Piatarihi Tui Yates) sang, told stories and performed poi that kept the crowd of adults, tamariki, and Taniwha thoroughly entertained. KidZone would like to thank everyone who helped make this such a fantastically memorable occasion.

Kiwi Write4Kidz update

Kiwi Write4Kidz authors and illustrators – a group for adults who write and draw children’s tales – have featured in the 2010 shortlists and awards.

Leonie Agnew won the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon award. This is not the first time that someone from her South Auckland critique group has won this award – Kris Stanhope won in 2007. Three of the shortlists for the Storylines Joy Cowley and Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon awards were members (Leonie Agnew was shortlisted in the Joy Cowley award too).

Members’ books featured in the Storylines Notable Books List were: The Cat with No Name by Sher Foley, Your Mother Didn’t Do That by Sharon Holt – both illustrated by Brian Lovelock; Saffron by Victoria Azaro (also winner of a White Raven award); Saving Sam by Susan Brocker; Brainjack by Brian Falkner; and two past members: Mandy Hager for The Crossing and Tania Roxborogh for Banquo’s Son. In the non-fiction category: Dee Pigneguy’s Techno Tricks, and Maria Gill and Vivienne Lingard’s Save Our Seas. Several Kiwi Write4Kidz members were also finalists in the 2010 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards: Maria Gill and Heather Arnold with Rangitoto, Brian Falkner with Brainjack, and Mandy Hager and Tania Roxborogh with their two Storylines Notable Nooks. When Kiwi Write4Kidz first began in 2003 only two of its members had books published – in 2010 over one third of the group are published authors and are now starting to reap the rewards... For more information visit the Kiwi Write4Kidz website.

Obituaries

Patricia Wrightson (19 June 1921 – 15 March 2010) was one of Australia’s most award-winning and respected children’s authors. Her titles included The Nargun and the Stars and The Dark Bright Water.

Favourite Five

A return of our irregular column so that Storylines members can get to know the trustees and committee members a little bit better.

This edition features Annie Coppell.

Favourite Five + One… or the books that made me a fantasy reader

It is so hard to choose five – I had to limit it to a genre – but which one? After thinking about the books I’ve chosen, I’ve realised that I have had a propensity to being scared and traumatised by my reading all my life. Which makes me wonder – why do I not like horror books or movies?

The Monster at the End of this Book: Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover by Jon Stone, Michael Smollin and Sesame Street (Little Golden Books 1971)

No matter how many times my big sister read this to me, I was still afraid that there would be a different ending – when you’re three, anything can happen. I used to sit there, holding the pages down, and saying ‘no, don’t turn the page’… but she did. And it always turned out ok in the end.

A ‘kids-these-days’ moment: I’ve read this to a two-year-old, and seen it read to a four-year-old. Neither were traumatised. So, either they’re desensitised to things these days, or I was a complete wimp.

Tales of Magic: A Story-and-Picture Book. (Ideabooks c1973)

According to the dedication, my mother gave me this ‘for being good’ when I was three. This collection probably set me up for a love of fairy tales and, possibly, hunky leading men (often in historical dress – check out the Frog Prince). There are different styles and illustrators – including pseudo-comic format – and from around the world. There’s The Frog Prince, The Star Maidens (my favourite), Brave Running Deer, Jason and the Golden Fleece, Thumbelina and others.

The Lion in the Meadow by Margaret Mahy, illustrated by Jenny Williams (JM Dent & Sons 1969)

My first library memory – my mother buying a much-loved copy from the withdrawn book bin at Te Atatu South Library. I lived in my imagination, so the story appealed, and so did the very 1970s-looking illustrations.

Andersen’s Fairy Tales & The Companion Library, illus Leondar R Vosburgh & Adele Werber (Gosset & Dunlop 1963)

My love for this book, and the conflict between its size and its binding, can be shown in the deplorable condition it was in. This is the book that traumatised me – it’s only recently that I dare wear red shoes on a Sunday – but I still won’t dance in them.

The lovely staff in the preservation unit of the library has rebound it and made it all better. It will last years now, but some of the magic of the book has gone – it’s like repairing a much-loved bear.

Green Knowe series by Lucy M Boston, illustrated by Peter Boston (first published 1954-1964; these editions Puffin 1975-1977)

My oldest sister took over feeding my fantasy habit when she started working near a special children’s bookshop. My boxed set of the Green Knowe books are very much-loved (although still intact). The spines bear teeth marks (how shocking!) because the books expanded as soon as I read them, and don’t fit into the box very well anymore. There are ghosts, a great-grandmother, a giant, a gorilla, and a witch. What more could a slightly gruesome eight-year-old want? In my set, there’s the added fun of finding the ‘B’ in every illustration.

I watched the BBC television version and, to this day, the sound of peacocks make me wonder what they’re warning us about and I have a mild panic attack. I want to visit Green Knowe.

The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge

This is the book that I have re-read pretty much once a year for the past 25 years. Winner of the 1946 Carnegie Medal, I feel sad that it might be feeling its age now. Its measured language, rich in description, may be too much for modern children (and how dated and aged I feel saying that!). As a total fan, I lent this book to almost everyone – in my early teens my friends included born-again Christians and druggies – and all of them loved this magical tale. Maria Merryweather, recently orphaned, is sent to live with her father’s cousin in Moonacre Manor, in England’s West Country.

The resurgence of interest in this book – the movie has been released – is because JK Rowling cites it as an influence. However, I’m feeling apprehensive about seeing the movie myself – the changes between the book and the movie may be too much to cope with. How can I see my childhood hero (Robin of my dreams) turned from a merry, nearly Puck-like character, to son of the baddie? No Loveday Minette (well, there is - but the character is an amalgam of Loveday and the Moon Maiden) or Old Parson! Sir Benjamin, jovial, great-girthed sun Merryweather, has become a distant, skinny foreboding character. Ick. I would love to have included my copy in my photo – but it has vanished, in the way books do.

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