Information Scotland The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland ISSN 1743-5471 Issue contents | Journal contents | About the online edition of the journal October 2008 Volume 6(5)

Reader development: The children’s book medals

Out of the shadows

There’s nothing like CILIP’s Carnegie and Greenaway Medals to get young people involved in reading, as Agnès Guyon explains.

The link between academic performance and reading for pleasure has now been well established and any initiative supporting the latter is to be embraced. The recent change of timetable for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway awards makes shadowing activities much easier in Scotland.

The Carnegie Medal is awarded by children’s librarians to the writer of an outstanding book for children and young people. The same judging panel awards the Kate Greenaway Medal for distinguished illustrations in a book for children. The shadowing scheme invites young people to read all the shortlisted books and assess them using the same criteria as the judges. They can share their views with other reading groups through the shadowing website. The shortlists for the 2009 Medals will be available from 24 April and winners will be announced on 25 June. It is interesting to note how shadowing the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards supports the four capacities of the new Curriculum for Excellence:

Successful learners: Shadowing the Carnegie is a highly motivating experience for young people. It stimulates independent and critical reading, and introduces them to new authors, genres and more demanding literature. The fact that the criteria have to be adhered to in the judging process also helps in developing critical and evaluative skills. The Kate Greenaway shadowing also develops visual literacy. For both awards, young people are encouraged to think creatively, form their own opinions of a book and develop an openness for new ideas.

Confident Individuals: The shadowing scheme stimulates lively discussions and young people become more confident in talking about books and learn to better understand and communicate the feelings and emotions that books can provoke. Discussing ideas without fear of being ridiculed can help build self-esteem as each individual can see that their opinion is valued. Shadowing the Kate Greenaway Award can involve peer reading, with the older children reading the picture books to younger ones and seeking their opinions.

Responsible Citizens: Discussions and other shadowing activities are based on a principle of respect for others. Literature opens a window onto the world and presents a variety of beliefs and cultures. The voting process, where each group decides on their favourite title, also provides an introduction to the democratic process.

Effective Contributors: Shadowing activities are done as part of a team. Young people learn to take part in debates, discussions and other group activities. They can be passionate about their ideas but need to listen to the opinions of others and have the resilience to accept that their favourite title may not be the winner. Something that even adult judges on the panel can sometimes find difficult!

The shadowing website is an invaluable tool. It provides a springboard for interaction between the shadowing groups. For the young people, it provides an opportunity to connect with other like-minded people all over the country, to find out about the books and the authors, to read other’s reviews and check how a particular title is doing in the charts. It is also an opportunity to showcase their work, post photos and reviews. There are issues to vote for online, and these can also stimulate debates. Shortlisted authors and illustrators answer questions on podcasts. Librarians and teachers can get many ideas and resources from the website. There are activity packs for each of the shortlisted titles as well as more generic ones on copyright. Publicity material can be downloaded, with tips on how to publicise the group. 

Groups can be any shape or size. There has been a wide range of creative activities linked to the shadowing scheme such as author events, drama workshops, art and craft activities, computer games, creating videos, producing newsletters, designing websites and writing and delivering PowerPoint presentations. An added benefit is that the library becomes the focus for of all this creativity.

I would like to finish with a few quotes:
“After being a school librarian for almost eight years I can honestly and truly say that shadowing the Carnegie Book Award has been worth its weight in gold.” [blog]
“It was the school’s first experience of ‘shadowing’ the Carnegie/Greenaway book awards that sparked off the massive enthusiasm for creative reading initiatives within the school.” [Literacy Trust]
“It is hard to sum up the importance of the shadowing to our school. It’s a byword for aspiration and achievement in a school that faces challenges but continues to rise to them. My job is about raising attainment through enrichment, and shadowing the Medals offers us these on a plate!” (Celia Spears, Gifted & Talented Co-ordinator, Hillingdon Excellence Cluster) [press release]
I couldn’t put it better myself! 

Agnès Guyon is Senior Librarian, Young People's Services, East Lothian.

Information Scotland Vol. 6(5) October 2008

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