Carnegie of Carnegies

A couple months back I mentioned that the people who award the Carnegie Medal (Britain's version of the Newbery Medal for the best children's book of the year) were going to select the best book of the last 70 years. The winner was announced a couple days ago: Northern Lights, by Philip Pullman, published in the US (and currently being filmed) as The Golden Compass.

It's a good book, as is its first sequel (I still haven't read the final book of the trilogy), and it's the one I voted for from the ten finalists (though not my favourite of all of the past winners; that would be Arthur Ransome's Pigeon Post).

Update 1706 23 Jun: Whilst on the subject of Carnegie winners, H/T to Kelly for word that this year's Carnegie Medal and Greenaway Medal (for the best illustrated children's book - the Brit equivalent of our Caldecott Medal) winners have been announced, viz: Just in Case, by Meg Rosoff, and The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon, by Mini Grey.