Shadowing the CBI Book of the Year Award, 2/2

The short version of my previous post, in video!

Shadowing the CBI Book of the Year Award, 1/2

After months of giving out about the lack of a junior book club in our local library and of thinking about running one myself, I finally took the half-plunge this year and organised a shadowing group for the CBI Book of the Year Award.
I first gathered my material:
- A dozen kids, aged 6-12, who wanted to be there;
- 6 titles suitable for the age range;
- 3 to 5 copies of the books for sharing and/or reading aloud;
- A venue or two;
- Enough activities to engage all the ages represented and fit in the time and space allocated;
- Plenty of time and energy;
- A ceremony to attend.

Members
We had 18 kids originally signed up, with about 12 materialising. We never quite had our full quota present at the same time, but everyone was reading away in between sessions. The parents' role was invaluable here, as we were not a school group. They took the time to bring their kids to the meetings, they made sure the books were read or at least given a go, they made sure nothing got lost! And I believe they enjoyed reading some of those books themselves (the weather one in particular!).

Books
We identified 6 titles that were suitable for our shadowers' ages and abilities, and we managed to get quite a few copies of those through the public libraries. We bought extra copies so that we had enough to go round and swap.
Because we were tight on time, we didn't get to discuss one book as a group, so it might be an idea for next time to decide on a limited number of titles, regardless of how many are suitable age-wise.
We also have to decide now what to do with the books we own and how we can share them fairly between the members of the group.

Venue
Securing the venue proved easy enough as our local library, while not in a position to run a junior book club themselves, was more than happy to host us for what turned out to be some very lively sessions. On the plus side, there was room enough for all (including the parents who tagged along), we could borrow/renew/return other books at the end of the session, we had tables and chairs for our activities. It was free! On the other hand, we couldn't actually run around and let off all the steam some of us needed to let off; there was a closing time which meant we were sometimes pressed for time.

But on the whole, it worked out great and the librarians were very understanding!
We also ran a session in somebody's home when only two members had read a particular book; this was lovely as it ended up with lots of tea, cupcakes and in-depth conversations about the future of humankind and robots. But you couldn't do it with the whole group.
Finally, we had our Easter break meeting in Richmond Barracks where we treated ourselves to a spot of lunch before invading the old school room for our session on Hibernica Finch. This was the kids' initiative and the museum staff let us run away with it although we hadn't cleared it in advance with them. Ahem. We'll know for next time!

Discussions and Activities
We made good use of the shadowing pack, where we found plenty of questions for our discussions and crafts ideas to try out. They all enjoyed listening to and chatting about the picturebooks, even though some felt they were for younger readers. What struck me was how generous the kids were in their appraisal of the books, most of the time. No matter how many plot holes I could see and gently hint at, they were ready with their own explanations and solutions, making the book bigger than it first appeared and making it satisfying by their own standards. And when they didn't like a book, they had very good, articulate reasons for their dislike. They also felt comfortable not finishing a book on that basis and telling the rest of the group why.

Because of where we had our sessions, some activities were not an option (like, sadly, the Mucking-About-inspired food fight). We also had to deal with the wide range of ages in our unusual group. I tried offering several activities for the same book and the kids could choose what they wanted to do. But it ended up in some confusion. What worked better was picking one activity and let the kids adapt it themselves to their abilities and interests. This worked splendidly with Between Tick and Tock where we created a soundscape based on all the noises present in the book. We were going to then organise our sounds into a 'stripsody' (taking our inspiration from the wonderful Cathy Berberian), but by the time I got to explaining this to everyone, one group (the 11 and 12 yos) had written a rap using the onomatopoeias from the book. It was terrific!

Voting
Each kid was given a reading journal to record their thoughts and ideas as they read the books. I didn't see those journals again, so I've no idea how useful (or not) they turned out to be. But who doesn't like a notebook?
Every member was given a chance to vote on the books they had read or been read, and most of them took it. The concept of scoring a book was quite alien to the younger shadowers who tended to give 100/100 to anything they enjoyed. Some readers felt shy giving 'bad' scores even to books who had done little for them, as if it was a reflection on the author as a person or on their own character. 
I gave the kids some scoring guidelines to help with the process. Inspired by the Irish voting system, I suggested they first rank the books they had read in their order of preference. Then they could decide if a particular book deserved to be in the 0-24 band ('I didn't enjoy it at all') or the 76-100 ('I loved it and I'm going to recommend it to my friends'), or anywhere in the in-between categories. 
Once we collated the votes and calculated the average, our overall winner was very clearly Hibernica Finch with a solid 85/100. 

Time
Time proved the trickiest thing. Because we weren't a school group, we had to find times outside of school hours that suited most people, if not everyone. We also had to work around the Easter break. We settled on Friday afternoons, which was not always ideal after a long week. Tiredness and giddiness levels were sometimes high. (And that's only the grown-ups!) But everyone always appeared happy to be there.
We managed four meetings in the six weeks we had between the announcement of the shortlist and the deadline for the votes to be in. Each session was packed and seemed too short, even though we were usually at it for an hour and a half!
We also had to figure out the timing of each meeting to make sure the kids had time to read the books and swap them around. With the picturebooks, I read them aloud at the beginning of the relevant sessions, so everybody was on the same page. We kept the longer titles till later, to give everyone a chance to make progress and picked activities that either helped them discover the book a bit more (like the quiz on Hibernica Finch) or else didn't require them to have read much of it (like illuminating our names in the manner of Mucking About).
Not sure what can be done about it, except, again, strictly limit the number of titles (and therefore of meetings) we read and vote on.

The ceremony
We were lucky enough to make it to the award ceremony in Smock Alley with nine shadowers for two grown-ups. Some of the kids weren't quite sure what it was all about (in spite of several explanations beforehand) with some expecting to be featured in the video (in spite of no camera crew appearing at our meetings) and others thinking there would be prizes awarded to children ('It does say children's books doesn't it?').
They were happy on the whole, even though they felt a bit disconnected to the actual laureates as, out of the six awards, four went to books they hadn't read (as they were for teens/YA), especially the overall and children's choice awards. Some suggested there should be two children's choice awards: a junior and a senior one. I'm just going to leave that there…

It was a brilliant experience and I really enjoyed hearing
what you, dear shadowers, had to say,
and seeing what you created out of each book. 

Thanks once again to everyone involved
and huge congrats to the young readers,
the shortlisted creators and the award recipients! 

Children's Books Ireland Award 2012... nearly there!

Amazing performances. Unbearable tension. Incredible good taste. Yes, there's less than a week to go before the results of the Children's Books Ireland Awards. Monday will see all revealed!

(oh yes, the Eurovision is on this weekend too...)

The CBI Book of the Year Awards

They're here! The BBook of the Year Awards' shortlist (ex-Bisto) has been announced.

Read on and marvel...

A GREYHOUND OF A GIRL by Roddy Doyle

Publisher: Marion Lloyd Books (London)

ISBN: 978-1407129334 (HBK)

A book about twelve-year-old Mary, her mother Scarlett, her grandmother Emer and her great-grandmother Tansey. Emer is dying in hospital, and the ghost of her mother Tansey, who died when Emer was three, arrives on the scene to assure her that everything will be alright. She also has plenty to say to the two younger members of the family, and soon all four women find themselves on an unforgettable road trip. Funny, moving, thought-provoking and featuring one of the most likeable ghosts since Casper, the characters and events in this story will stay with you long after you have finished reading.

Judges’ Comments: Sharing thematic similarities with Her Mother’s Face also by Roddy Doyle, this skillfully crafted novel focuses on four generations of the one family in its mediation on motherhood, life, ageing and death.

BRUISED by Siobhán Parkinson

Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books (London)

ISBN: 978-1444904567 (PBK)

‘How does bruising start; is it the booze, the neglect or the slap?’

14 year old Jono loves his little sister Julie and would do anything to protect her. The problem is that his mum has some problems with alcohol, meaning that she can’t bring up Jono and Julie the way she should. Once the children’s Gramma passes away, Jono and Julie are left alone, and forced to run away in order to survive. Can Jono still keep his little sister safe?

 Judges’ Comments: This powerful first-person narrative is a detached, yet sympathetic, exploration of the complexities, and oftentimes-harsh realities, of both familial relationships and society’s abdication of responsibility to children at risk.

INTO THE GREY by Celine Kiernan

Publisher: The O’Brien Press (Dublin)

ISBN: 978-1847171641(PBK)

Set in the 1970’s, Into The Grey tells the story of identical teenage twins Patrick and Dominic who are forced to move after a fire destroys their family home. Along with their little sister Dee, their parents and their senile grandmother they struggle to adjust to life in a temporary house. Soon after the move a series of frightening nighttime events begin to worry Patrick and he watches as his beloved twin brother struggles to retain control of his body. Previous inhabitants of their temporary home are struggling to come to terms with their own history and the boy’s fragility allows ghosts and spirits to take hold of them.

Judges’ Comments: Following the lives of two fifteen-year-old twins, this imaginative and empathetic supernatural thriller coalesces past and present to explore the complexities of fraternal love and the pain of loss.

MAITRÍÓISCE by Siobhán Parkinson

Publisher: Cois Life (Dublin)

ISBN: 978-1907494161 (PBK)

Nuair a shroicheann Mara trí bliana déag d’aois tá sí ag súil go mór lena bronntanas ach nuair a osclaíonn sí é, athraíonn an scéal. Ní iPod nó seodra atá ann ar chor ar bith ach sraith bábóg maitríóisce ón Rúis. Séad fíne óna sheanmháthair atá ann agus ar dtús níl suim dá laghad aici sa bhronntanas páistiúil seo. Ní hamháin sin ach tá ceann de na bábógíní ar strae!

De réir a chéile, tuigeann Mara go bhfuil stair taobh thiar den bhábóg caillte agus téann sí sa tóir ar an fhírinne faoi bhrí agus scéal na bábóige seo. Lena cara Dorota lena taobh, glacann Mara ról an bleachtaire agus í ag iarraidh níos mó a fhoghlaim faoina gcúlra agus faoi stair na bábóige.

When Mara reaches her thirteenth birthday she looks forward to her present but when she finally opens it, it’s a different story. It is not an iPod or jewellery but a series of Russian dolls. They turn out to be an heirloom from her grandmother and at first Mara has no interest whatsoever in this seemingly childish present. If that weren’t bad enough, one of the dolls turns out to be missing.

As time progresses, Mara begins to understand the history surrounding the missing doll and she intuitively goes in pursuit of the truth behind the Russian dolls. With her friend Dorota by her side, Mara assumes the role of detective in an attempt to track down the missing doll and to uncover more about her own interesting heritage.

Judges’ Comments: San úrscéal seo atá inmholta ó thaobh simplíocht a phlota, léirítear turas an bpríomhphearsa dhéagóra agus í sa tóir ar ghinealas a theaghlaigh ag dul siar trí chúig ghlúin máthartha.

 Admirably simple in terms of plot, this engaging work charts its thirteen-year-old protagonist’s journey into her past, as she maps her genealogy back five generations through maternal lineage.

MY DAD IS TEN YEARS OLD: AND IT’S PURE WEIRD by Mark O’Sullivan

Publisher: Puffin (London)

ISBN: 978-0141332468 (PBK)

‘His name is Jimmy. They told us not to call him Dad any more. It might freak him out. More than he’s already freaked out, if that’s possible.’

 Eala’s dad has had an accident. My Dad is Ten Years Old is the story of how she and her family tackle the aftermath. After a brain injury leaves him with the mental age of a ten year old, it is up to Eala and her brother to discover their dad’s past to begin rebuilding their future. Filled with honesty and heartbreak,My Dad is Ten Years Old takes you to the darker reality of personal tragedy.

Judges’ Comments: Moving and poignant, this engaging novel tells of a family’s struggle to come to term with an accident that not only leaves its father with intellectual disabilities but also raises questions about his past.

Ó CHRANN GO CRANN le Caitríona Hastings agus Andrew Whitson (illus.)

Publisher: An tSnáthaid Mhór (Belfast)

ISBN: 978-0955227158 (HBK)

Tá cailín óg d’arbh ainm Nia chun bogadh óna teach álainn faoin tuath chuig teach nua sa chathair mar go bhfuair a Dhaid post nua ansin. Níl sí róshásta faoi seo mar go mbeidh uirthi a chairde sa phobal agus sa scoil go léir a fhágáil. Faighimid amach gurb iad na préacháin ag bun an ghairdín an dream a mbeidh níos brónaí fúthu agus í ag fágáil. Léirítear dúinn go mbíodh na préacháin agus súgradh le Nia i gcónaí agus go raibh sí in ann bráth orthu nuair a bhíodh sí faoi ghruaim.

A young girl named Nia is about to move from her idyllic home in the countryside to a new house in her city, where her father has just been offered a new job. She is rather upset about this as she will be forced to leave her friends, her community and in particular her precious crows who congregate in the oak tree at the bottom of her garden to play with her every day.

Judges’ Comments: Léirithe go gleoite agus draíochtach le léamh, ba é sárshaothar bunúil cumhach Ó Chrann Go Crann a dhíríonn ar an dúil a bhíonn againn go léir don dúchas, don chosaint agus don bhaile.

 Illustratively striking and linguistically enchanting, this original work of art is a nostalgic tale of longing for the places where we belong, the places we call home. 

STUCK by Oliver Jeffers

Publisher: HarperCollins (London)

ISBN: 978-0007263868 (HBK)

 “A tale of trying to solve a problem by throwing things at it.”

Stuck tells the tale of Floyd, who has managed to get his kite stuck up a tree. To try and get it down he throws his shoe at it and…that gets stuck too! Oh dear, what will he do next? The answer might surprise you as Floyd’s unusual response to the problem gets way out of hand!

Judges’ Comments: With its distinctive pencil-line characterization and typography this well-crafted picturebook leaves plenty of gaps in both its verbal and visual text as it encourages readers to journey imaginatively into the absurd.

THE BUTTERFLY HEART by Paula Leyden

Publisher: Walker Books (London)

ISBN: 978-1406327922 (PBK)

 This is a lyrical story from the butterfly heart of Africa. Sisters Bul-Boo and Madillo are worried about their friend Winifred, who has lost her gentle smile and no longer puts up her hand in class. Then the twins discover her secret: she is to be married off to her uncle’s friend, who drinks heavily and is old enough to be her grandfather. While Winifred has become resigned to her fate, her friends are determined to put a stop to the marriage. But what can they do? They ask the advice of Ifwafwa, the snake man, who promises to think about the problem. Ifwafwa is wise and has a gift with snakes, but he does not like to hurry and Bul-Boo becomes impatient. Will he be too late to save their friend?

 Judges’ Comments: Told from the perspective of an adult and a child, this work of magical-realism sensitively incorporates folktales and legends from Zambia into its treatment of dark and difficult issues from Africa’s past and present.

WILL GALLOWS AND THE SNAKE-BELLIED TROLL by Derek Keilty

Publisher: Andersen Press (London)

ISBN: 978-1849392365 (PBK)

Will Gallows is a young elfing sky cowboy who is riding out on an dangerous quest. His mission? To bring Noose Wormworx the evil snake-bellied troll, to justice. Noose is wanted for the murder of Will’s pa, and Will won’t stop until he’s got revenge!

Judges’ Comments: Characterized by the seamless blending of the generic conventions of fantasy and Western, this action-packed adventure follows the exploits of its eponymous hero as he seeks justice for the murder of his father.  

And now, go off to your local bookshop or library and READ THEM!