Carnegie and Greenaway short lists announced

CILIP - the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals - have released the short lists for this year's Carnegie Medal and Kate Greenaway Medal. The Andrew Carnegie Medal, named for the Scottish philanthropist, has been awarded annually since 1937 to the writer of "an outstanding book for children." In addition to the gold medal, the winner receives £500 worth of books to donate to a library of his/her choice.

This year's short list consists of:

Prisoner Of The Inquisition, by Theresa Breslin
Doubleday (Ages 12+)

The Death Defying Pepper Roux, by Geraldine McCaughrean
Oxford Children's Books (Ages 10+)

Monsters of Men, by Patrick Ness
Walker (Ages 14+)

The Bride's Farewell, by Meg Rosoff
Puffin (Ages 12+)

White Crow, by Marcus Sedgwick
Orion (Ages 12+)

Out Of Shadows, by Jason Wallace Andersen Press (Ages 14+)

I haven't read any of these yet. Three of the authors listed have already received the Carnegie Medal: McCaughrean for A Pack of Lies (1988), Breslin for Whispers in the Graveyard (1994) and Sosoff for Just in Case (2007). I haven't read the first two of these books either, but Just in Case is one of my least-favourite Carnegie books. YMMV.

The Kate Greenaway Medal, named for the nineteenth-century artist, has been awarded annually since 1957 to the illustrator of "an outstanding book in terms of illustration for children and young people." As with the Carnegie Medal, the winner receives a golden medal and £500 worth of books to donate to a library of his/her choice; since 2000, the winner has also been awarded the £5000 Colin Mears Award.

This year's short list consists of:

FArTHER, by Grahame Baker-Smith
Templar (Ages 8+)

Me And You, by Anthony Browne
Doubleday (Ages 4+)

April Underhill, Tooth Fairy, by Bob Graham
Walker (Ages 5+)

Jim, written by Hilaire Belloc and illustrated by Mini Grey
Jonathan Cape (Ages 6+)

The Heart And The Bottle, by Oliver Jeffers
HarperCollins (Ages 5+)

Big Bear, Little Brother, written by Carl Norac and illustrated by Kristin Oftedal
Macmillan (Age range: 3+)

Ernest, by Catherine Rayner
Macmillan (Age range: 3+)

Cloud Tea Monkeys, written by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham, and illustrated by Juan Wijngaard Walker (Age range: 8+)

Browne has already received the Greenaway Medal twice, for Gorilla (1983) and Zoo (1992). Four of the others have also received it: Wijngaard for Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady (1985), Graham for Jethro Byrde - Fairy Child (2002), Mini Grey for The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon (2007) and Rayner for Harris Finds His Feet (2009).

(Amazon UK links provided for reference. Most, if not all, are probably also available from Amazon US. Supporting independent booksellers, as always, is recommended.)

The winners will be announced on 27 June.