Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration. Winners. Shortlists. News.

About the Award- The Kate Greenaway Medal was established by The Library Association in 1955, for distinguished illustra kate_greenaway

tion in a book for children. It is named after the popular nineteenth century artist known for her fine children's illustrations and designs.

It was first Kate Greenaway Medal book award went to Edward Ardizzone for Tim All Alone (Little Tim). The medal is now awarded by CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, which is a new organisation formed by the Unification of the Institute of Information Scientists and The Library Association on 1 April 2002.

The winner receives a golden medal and £500 worth of books to donate to a library of their choice. Since 2000, the winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal has also been awarded the £5000 Colin Mears Award.

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Emily Gravetts Brave Mouse Wins Kate Greenaway Medal for 2008

Emily Gravett (right), has been awarded the Kate Greenaway for the second time ,. She is a widely gravett_emily acclaimed illustrator with numerous other awards to her name. Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears tells the story of a small rodent who realises the humans who terrify him are just as terrified as he is.

Gravett, who won the Kate Greenaway medal in 2006 for her first picture book, Wolves, found herself appearing twice on the 2008 shortlist. Little Mouse was nominated alongside Monkey and Me on a list which included titles from Jane Ray and Chris Riddell.

Tricia Adams, chair of the Greenaway judging panel, praised Gravett for the richness and diversity in her approach to illustrating Little Mouse. "Every time you read [it]", she said, "you discover something new: there's so much going on, so much to explore. The attention to detail is astounding."

Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears>>Buy from Amazon>>-

Emily Gravett (right)- authors website
Macmillan (Age range: 6+)
ISBN: 9781405089487

Little Mouse is afraid of almost everything. We learn about all his phobias, from his fear of creepy crawlies to his fear of clocks, dogs, cats and shadows. The only thing that makes him feel better is that human beings actually seem to be afraid of him!

This is a clever, funny and innovative book which is also extremely warm and emotionally engaging for the reader. It’s a book you can explore and spend ages over. The attention to detail is quite astonishing: every part of the book is used, and the production values are fantastic. It works on every single level. A publishing tour de force.

YES, They HAVE SOME BANANAS!
a yellow cat, a nervous mouse, several monkeys, a silly billy... and a very happy ending.

21st April 2008- A distinguished band of illustrators - and animals galore - feature on the shortlist for the 2008 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, the UK's oldest and most prestigious award for children's book illustration.

Among those shortlisted are three former winners of the coveted Medal: Chris Riddell (2004 & 2001); Emily Gravett (2005) who has two books on this year's shortlist; and Anthony Browne (1992 & 1983), who appears on the shortlist, twenty-five years after his first Medal win. They line up alongside six time-shortlisted illustrator Jane Ray, and two talented newcomers, Ed Vere and Polly Dunbar. No illustrator has yet won the Medal three times.

The Chair of this year's CILIP Kate Greenaway judging panel, Tricia Adams, Principal Librarian Children, Young People & Learning for Northamptonshire libraries comments:

"2008's shortlist is a really delightful mixture reflecting the very best of the quality of illustrators at work at the moment. There are a mixture of techniques, styles and appeal reflected in this very strong shortlist something for everyone who appreciates the illustrator's art from babies to adults".

2008 CILIP Kate Greenaway Shortlist (21st April)

Silly Billy
Anthony Browne
Walker Books (Age range: 5+)
ISBN: 9780744570175

Penguin
Polly Dunbar
Walker Books (Age range: 3+)
ISBN: 9781844280650

Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears- WINNER
Emily Gravett
Macmillan (Age range: 6+)
ISBN: 9781405089487

Monkey and Me
Emily Gravett
Macmillan (Age range: 0+)
ISBN: 9781405089494

The Lost Happy Endings
Jane Ray (Text by Carol Ann Duffy)
Bloomsbury (Age range: 9+)
ISBN: 9780747579229

Ottoline and the Yellow Cat
Chris Riddell
Macmillan (Age range: 7+)
ISBN: 9781405050579

Banana
Ed Vere
Puffin (Age range: 0+)
ISBN: 9780141500591

2008 CILIP Kate Greenaway Shortlist

Silly Billy browne_anthony
Anthony Browne (right)- author information from Walker Books
Walker Books (Age range: 5+)
ISBN: 9780744570175

Billy is a bit of a worrier. He worries so much, he can’t sleep. Luckily Grandma knows just what he needs to help him overcome his fears. And once Billy learns Grandma’s secret, he finds he never has to worry again.

This is a very clever, very subtle book, fantastically detailed and with some wonderfully weird touches. The layout is beautifully balanced, with lovely strong blocks of colour. Though the narrative is quite static, the images are full of movement, and the skilful framing, reminiscent of a photo album invites you in to take a look.

Penguin
Polly Dunbar (left)r -authors website
Walker Books (Age range: 3+)
ISBN: 9781844280650

Ben tries very hard to get his new Penguin to talk to him. He pulls faces, sings songs and does dizzy dances. Penguin says nothing. Ben tries ignoring him, making fun of him, and even fires him up in a rocket. But still Penguin says nothing. Only when a hungry lion comes along does Penguin reveal his true feelings.

This book makes a big impression with its clean, confident style. The penguin’s body language is wonderful, and the child is also beautifully drawn without being in any way twee, or sentimental. Dunbar is not afraid of using lots of colour, but neither is she scared of white space: giving each page real visual impact, and making you want to interact with the story. All in all, a book to make you happy.

Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears- authors website gravett_emily
Emily Gravett (right)
Macmillan (Age range: 6+)
ISBN: 9781405089487

Monkey and Me- authors website
Emily Gravett
Macmillan (Age range: 0+)
ISBN: 9781405089494

A little girl and her toy monkey play at being animals. They have great fun pretending to be penguins, kangaroos, bats, elephants and monkeys, before heading tiredly home for tea.
A simple and highly effective, but also rather elegant book, both in format and design.

Everything combines to give a great sense of movement: from the font and the placing of the text, to the way the beautifully drawn limbs of the child and her toy make lovely shapes on the page. The eye is drawn right in, so that you feel you are being invited to join in the game. A book that is quite conventional in feel, but also highly original.

The Lost Happy Endings
Jane Ray (right)- illustrators website (Text by Carol Ann Duffy)
Bloomsbury (Age range: 9+) ray_jane
ISBN: 9780747579229

If it were not for Jub there would be no happy endings, none at all. But one night, on her way to make sure that every story told in the world ends well, she is caught by a wicked witch who steals all her happy endings. Jub must use all her ingenuity to rescue the stories from disaster.

A beautiful and decorative book by a wonderful colourist, with a lovely use of gold, and of light and dark, which make the shadows and night scenes extremely effective. The powerful illustrations really elevate the text. It’s also a courageous portrayal of evil: Ray does not draw back from making the witch a very sinister presence in the story. A book that reveals more every time you go back to it.

Ottoline and the Yellow Cat
Chris Riddell (left)l- authors website
Macmillan (Age range: 7+)
ISBN: 9781405050579

A string of daring burglaries has taken place in Big City and precious lapdogs are disappearing all over town. Something must be done. Meet Ottoline Brown and her best friend Mr Munroe. No puzzle is ever too tricky for the two of them to solve.

A book which combines superb draughtsmanship with a lovely selective use of colour and a beautiful cover design. There is so much synergy between the text and illustrations; they complement each other perfectly, drawing the reader in. The detail is such that every time you look at this innovative book, you see something new.

Banana!
Ed Vere (right) -author information from Penguin
Puffin (Age range: 0+)
ISBN: 9780141500591

Two monkeys. One banana. A recipe for trouble, until someone remembers the magic word. Do you know what it is?

A bold and deceptively simple book which uses colour to great dramatic effect. Its fantastic use of space provides a master class in how not to clutter the page to get a result, whilst the minimal text does the job of telling the story perfectly. Pure colour, pure enjoyment.

2007 Winner Kate Greenaway Medal

MINI GREY The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon
Jonathan Cape (Age range: 6+) Mini Grey The Adventures of theDish and the Spoon
ISBN: 9780224070379

You’ve read the rhyme, now find out what happens next in the astonishing tale of the dazzling Dish and Spoon duo, after they run away together.

With many nods to 1920s film noir and other cinematic references throughout, this book offers so much to look at and contains great humour. There is real vitality in the drawings and the bold inky lines add drama. Grey gives amazing expression to the dish and the spoon without them having arms or mouths, and conveys beautifully the idea of villainous cutlery! There is so much to look at in this book; you see something new every time you open it.

Mini Grey was born in the front seat of a mini-car in an icy car-park in South Wales. She has two sisters and one brother, and grew up in a village in Buckinghamshire with plenty of places to make camps, climb trees and pretend to be horses. As a child Mini believed no day should pass without making something and created many bizarre objects from cardboard, clay, papier mache, dough, plaster, toilet rolls and crisp packets.

After school Mini did a foundation Course in Art, but knew she wasn’t cut out to be a Fine Artist, so did an English degree at University College London. While she was there she became involved with set-building at the Bloomsbury theatre and eventually got asked to design some shows. After finishing her degree Mini worked making latex puppets in a basement in Covent Garden until she was offered a place on a theatre design course. Mini loved theatre designing because she got to make lots of models — and also real things, and paint backdrops, and create costumes. However, she did not earn much money. She trained to be a teacher and worked for six years in South London. She especially liked running after-school clubs in model-making and pottery.

Mini had always done bits of illustration in her spare time, and had an ambition to have a book published some day. She did a two-year MA in illustration, and made a strange pop-up book and an animation about it.
Mini has had four books published so far; The Pea and The Princess was shortlisted for the Greenaway Award in 2204, and her third book, Biscuit Bear, won the Smarties Prize in 2004.

Mini lives in Oxford with her partner Tony and cat Bonzetta. She likes running along the river, cycling, walking up hills, running down corridors, and playing badly on her electric piano wearing headphones.

CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal Shortlist 2007

ROSS COLLINS Elephantom
Templar (Age range: 6+)
ISBN: 9781840118926

What’s a little girl to do when a pesky, mischievous, bothersome elephantom turns up uninvited and just won’t go away? Parents are no help at all…but a Granny with ghost pets of her town might just have the solution…

A very imaginative book of real charm and freshness, rampant with pearly elephants on parade, and beautifully drawn humans. It has a lovely 1980s disco feel, complete with a whiff of Art Nouveau. The illustrations convey a wonderful sense of movement, size and scale and there is so much detail here: every single inch of the page is covered. The inter-generational teamwork conveyed is great, and there are lots of in-jokes to enjoy.

Ross Collins (from Ross Collins website) was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1972.
He would eat anything and resembled a currant bun.

As he grew up he was fond of drawing, the Bionic Man and precariously swinging backwards on chairs.

He graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 1994 with a First in Illustration. In the same year he won the MacMillan Children's Book Prize an achievement that opened many doors in the Big Smoke.

Ross then spent two years in London cultivating an exotic image of the scribbling Scotsman abroad.

Longing for the cold and damp of the North, Ross returned to Glasgow, where he spends his time writing and illustrating children's books, doing animation character development, walking the dug by the banks of Loch Lomond and precariously swinging backwards on chairs.

EMILY GRAVETT - Orange Pear Apple Bear
Macmillan (Age range: 1+)
ISBN: 9781405050807

A orange deliciously simple picture book to share with the very young which juggles the order of just five emily_gravett e words to tell its story.

It is so difficult to find very good books for the very young and this deceptively straightforward book fulfils this need with great aplomb. From its audaciously simple premise it exposes the youngest readers to real artistic skill, humour, the use of punctuation and healthy eating in one short picture book. Her still lifes of the fruit are beautiful, her use of white space inspired. An instant classic which works on every level

Emily Gravett (right) was born in 1972 in Brighton. She left school with few qualifications and spent 8 years living on the road (in a variety of vehicles including a truck, caravan and RAF petrol bus called Toby Diesel) before settling back in Brighton and getting a place on the BA (Hons) Illustration course at Brighton University. She lives in Brighton with her daughter Oleander, partner Mik, their Saluki dog Otto and pet rat, Buttons.

JOHN KELLY & CATHY TINCKNELL- Scoop!: An Exclusive by Monty Molenski
Templar (Age range: 8+)
ISBN: 9781840111774

Monty Molenski is a mole on a mission. Ghosts…monsters…conspiracy theories…junior reporter Monty knows that they’re real. If he can just prove it to his editor at The Daily Roar, perhaps he’ll get the front page scoop he’s always dreamed of – and the respect he deserves. Then, one night, Monty’s colleagues all head off to a mysterious meeting, and convinced he is finally going to get his scoop, Monty follows them. But will he miss the real story?

This is a quality production with a layout that is easy to follow, a speedy, gripping feel to it, and big meaty spreads which incorporate lots of interesting detail. The characterisation is great: its use of animals to depict different traits is very well done, and the notepad device is also very clever. This very visually literate book is also laugh-out-loud funny.

John Kelly and Cathy Tincknell

John was born in Stockton-on -Tees in the North East of England in 1964. He studied Fine Art at Hartlepool for a year but decided to persue a commercial career and left to move to London.

John has worked steadily since leaving college both as an illustrator and designer of children's books. Among his many successes as an illustrator are the titles: The Robot Zoo and Everyday Machines, both of which were runners up in the prestigious Rhone Poulenc Prize, and Dragon Islands which won the Crystale Nautile in France.

As a designer he has been responsible a wide range of projects, from illustrated non fiction such as the Dorling Kindersley Star Wars Cross-sections books to interstitials graphics for TV.

John is passionate about the use of digital technology to create his illustrations and has developed a new style where he paints freehand on screen, resulting in lively illustrations.

His highly acclaimed title, Guess Who's Coming for Dinner? produced in collaboration with his wife Cathy Tincknell, was shortlisted for the 2005 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. They have recently teamed up again on Scoop!

John and Cathy live in South London.

CATHERINE RAYNER Augustus and His Smile
Little Tiger (Age range: 3+)
ISBN: 9781845062835

A augustus ugustus the tiger was sad. He had lost his smile. So he did a HUGE tigery stretch and set off to find it. A book which celebrates the beauty of the world and the simple happiness it brings uswhen we open our eyes to it.

A very fresh and appealing book which makes good use of mixed media to convey the feel of a real tiger. Rayner’s broad loose strokes reflect the beauty of the animal, and give him real expression and emotion: so much is conveyed in the flick of his tail. The whole has a Zen-like simplicity but it is also a very physical book which draws you in. There is real artistic skill here and great maturity of style.

Catherine Rayner (right) was born in Harrogate and now lives in Edinburgh. She has a BA Hons in Visual Communication and Illustration from Leeds College of Art and Edinburgh College of Art.

Much of her inspiration - and occasionally modelling! - for her illustration comes from her pets: her horse Shannon, guinea pig Marvin, dog Ellie, cat Ena and two goldfish, Bruce and Sheila. However, it was animals of a slightly larger kind who were the inspiration for Augustus - Catherine drew many of her initial sketches of him whilst watching the tigers at Edinburgh Zoo!

In 2006 Catherine was awarded the Best New Illustrator Award at the Booktrust Early Yearsawards and was also shortlisted for the V&A Illustration Awards 2006. Augustus And His Smile was selected as one of five picture books to be featured and recommended on Channel 4's 'Richard and Judy Christmas Party' in December 2006.

CHRIS RIDDELL Emperor of Absurdia (Book & CD)
Macmillan (Age range: 5+)
ISBN: 9781405050616

Welcome to Absurdia: a strange and wonderful land where nothing is quite as it emperorof_absurdia seems. Trees are birds, umbrellas are trees, and the sky is thick with snoring fish. Join one small boy as he tumbles out of bed into a crazy dreamland of wardrobe monsters, dragons – and amazing adventures.

Riddell makes glorious use of colour in this very interesting and engaging picture book, which despite being extraordinarily detailed is very easy to read. It cleverly gives the reader the impression of moving physically into its landscape, and works on lots of different levels as it turns reality completely on its head. The composition of each page is always well-thought out, and the technique of using small pictures at certain points makes the reader slow down and study carefully. The ambiguous ending stays with you, and allows you to take pleasure from the book over and over again.

Chris Riddell (left) is familiar to both children and adults for his distinctive line drawings with their clever caricature, fascinating detail and often enchanting fantasy elements.

He studied illustration at Brighton Polytechnic and has illustrated several picture books including Something Else by Kathryn Cave which was shortlisted for the Smarties Prize and which won the Unesco Award. The Swan's Stories by Brian Alderson was shortlisted for the 1997 Kurt Maschler Award and Castle Diary was shortlisted for the 1999 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. Pirate Diary won the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal in 2002 and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver won the 2004 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal.

Chris' popularity extends to the young teenage market with his collaboration with Paul Stewart on the best selling Edge Chronicles series, the ninth of which will be published later this year. For slightly younger children his Fergus Crane adventure series, again written by Paul Stewart, has achieved critical success with Fergus Crane winning the Smarties Gold Award and Corby Flood winning the Smarties Silver Award. An extraordinary achievement which cements Chris Riddell's position as one of the top illustrators working today.

In addition to his children's book work, Chris is a renowned political cartoonist whose work appears regularly in The Observer, The Literary Review and The New Statesman. One of his claims to fame is that he was the first cartoonist to depict William Hague in shorts; an illustration that William Hague subsequently bought!

Chris Riddell lives in Brighton with his wife and children.

Previous Winners of Kate Greenaway Medal 1955- 2007

Please note that before 2007 the year refers to when the book was published rather than when the medal was awarded i.e. the 2005 winner was announced and the medal presented in July 2006.

2007 Mini Grey,The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon, Jonathan Cape

2005 Emily Gravett, Wolves , Macmillan

2004 Chris Riddell, Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver"”, Walker

2003 Shirley Hughes, Ella's Big Chance, The Bodley Head

2002 Bob Graham, Jethro Byrde, Fairy Child, Walker Books

2001 Chris Riddell, Pirate Diary: The Journal of Jake Carpenter, Walker Books

2000 Lauren Child, I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato (Charlie & Lola), Orchard Books

1999 Helen Oxenbury, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Walker Books

1998 Helen Cooper, Pumpkin Soup (Book & CD), Doubleday

1997 P J Lynch, When Jessie Came Across the Sea, Walker Books

1996 Helen Cooper, The Baby Who Wouldn't Go to Beds, Doubleday

1995 P J Lynch, The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, Walker Books