What better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than to give a shout-out to the CBI Book of the Year Award winners? For twenty-four years, Children’s Books Ireland has been giving out annual awards to identify, honor and promote the best of the best Irish authors and illustrators in children’s literature. The CBI Awards are the most prestigious in Ireland, and are given to books written in either Irish or English.
Here at the Literary Duck, we hope you’ll take some time on St. Patrick’s Day to explore the amazing world of Irish children’s literature. Check out the CBI website to see past award winners and read about the good work they’re doing to promote childhood reading.
Read on to learn more about some of this year’s English language winners…
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from the Literary Duck!
Spellbound: Tales of Enchantment from Ancient Ireland
By: Siobhan Parkinson
Former Irish Children’s Laureate Parkinson retells seven stories of Gaelic origin in engaging, lucid prose. Magic and dreamlike imagery intersect with practical lessons and warnings about the powers and dangers of human emotion. In “The Children of Lir,” the jealous wife of a widowed king transforms her husband’s children into swans; in “Land Under Wave,” a man’s kindness to an “ugly bedraggled old hag” results in her turning into a beautiful woman. Though they marry, their bond comes with one proviso: “Do not remind me three times about how terrible I looked when you first met me.” (Guess what he does.) The layers of meaning attached to the stories are echoed in Whelan’s vivid watercolor paintings, which feature quilt-like emerald fields, monsters with fangs and wings, and heroines and heroes dressed in patterned robes, capes, and gowns. Ages 7 – 9. (Publisher’s Weekly)
This Moose Belongs to Me
By: Oliver Jeffers
Wilfred wants a pet, so when a moose just happens to wander by, the boy claims him as his own and dedicates a lot of time to teaching Marcel the rules of being a good one. They fill their days exploring the countryside and taking long walks. One day, however, Wilfred discovers that his moose might have a whole other life that he knows nothing about. He must figure out how to process this shocking discovery and decide if he can accept the fact that he must alter the boundaries of their friendship. With its classic story of friendship and witty text, this beautiful picture book will appeal to children. The fonts are mixed between standard type and words that appear to be handwritten. Speech bubbles appear on some pages as well, to give voice to Wilfred and several other characters. The illustrations are a combination of oil paint onto old linotype, painted landscapes and technical enhancements. The characters are whimsical and bright, and the appealing landscapes carry readers along on this journey of two unlikely friends. This Moose Belongs to Me will be adored by younger elementary students, particularly those who have longed to keep a wild animal as a pet. Ages 5 – 7 (School Library Journal)
The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket
By: John Boyne
Barnaby Brocket is born into the normalest of Sydney families, but Barnaby is not normal; he floats. His parents try to adapt, sending him to reform school, weighting a rucksack with sand (which makes his shoulders hurt), and generally chastising his refusal to obey the laws of gravity. But Barnaby floats. One awful morning his mother takes him to the beach, slashes his rucksack and, as the sand leaks out, watches him float away. And Barnaby is off on an adventure where he meets all manner of folks, including a pair of women on a coffee plantation in Brazil, an old man pursuing his bucket list in Zambia, a dastardly Irish freak-show proprietor, and an international cadre of astronauts in middle space. The fabulous story line is colored by Boyne’s arch, tongue-in-cheek telling, which tempers some otherwise excruciating situations, and Jeffers’ spare, gentle ink-and-pencil spot illustrations also add a soft touch. While there is no mistaking the central message about embracing differences, the quirky delivery and Barnaby’s own eight-year-old winning ways have a compelling, irresistible charm. Ages 9 – 12 (Booklist)
Grounded
By: Sheena Wilkinson
Declan loves Seaneen, but his ambition to work at a top showjumping yard is stronger than anything he’s ever felt before. So when Declan is offered his dream job in Germany, he should be thrilled. There’s nothing for him at home but dark history he’d rather forget. But he’s terrified: leaving Seaneen is harder than he expected; troubled hood Cian won’t leave him alone, and when he finds a traumatized horse in a derelict barn, he knows he has to help her. No matter how scared he is. Gounded is a gripping story of courage, fear, despair and joy by the award-winning author of Taking Flight. YA (publisher’s Marketing)
Dark Warning
By: Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
Ever since Taney was four she’s known she could see things before they happened. She also knows that she must keep her gift a secret—at all costs. Teased and isolated by the local children for being strange, as Taney grows older, she has more and more questions. Why is her father so terrified of her gift? What happened to her mother? Then she meets the mysterious Billy, an outsider just as she is. Charming and attentive, Billy is the first person with whom Taney can simply be herself, with whom she can share her strange burden, and begin, instead, to feel proud of her ability. But then the visions come—lone girls attacked as they walk home at night. And as Billy begins to withdraw further into himself, Taney must ask herself who to trust—her only friend, or the visions that torment her dreams. YA (Publisher’s Marketing)
The Weight of Water
By: Sarah Crossan
In this contemporary immigration story told in verse, almost-thirteen-year-old Kasienka and her mother move from their home in Gdansk, Poland, to Coventry, England, in search of Kasienka’s father, who walked out on them two years before. At night, they go knocking on doors, looking for Tata, while during the day Kasienka is miserably lonely at school in a class with eleven-year-olds: “I thought, maybe, I’d be exotic, / Like a red squirrel among the gray, / Like an English girl would be in Gdansk. / But I am not an English girl in Gdansk. / I’m a Pole in Coventry. / And that is not the same thing / At all.” Once she finally moves up to the next grade, she makes two friends: Clair, a popular girl who quickly turns on her, and William, who becomes her first boyfriend. The free-verse narrative presents Kasienka’s feelings with economical precision, reflecting her distress but also her resilient nature as she endures bullying, delights in the physical sensations of kissing William, and finally finds her father and accepts his new life. The book realistically depicts modern-day middle school dynamics for an outsider of any kind, and Kasienka solves her own problems gradually: “William is in eighth grade. / He could save me from the pack. / But he does not want to: / He knows / I can save / Myself.” Ages 10 – 14 (Horn Book Magazine)
Oh no, George
By: Chris Haughton
George is a gigantic magenta dog with a purple snout and huge, expressive eyes. He wants to be good and knows the rules of proper behavior, but he can’t quite manage to follow them when left alone in the house. The individual’s struggle for self-control is subtly conveyed in George’s story, which manages to make old concept fresh thanks to George’s winning personality and a vibrant, jazzy artistic style. Minimalist illustrations in a combination of pencil and digital media use geometric shapes and a striking palette of bold oranges, red and purples complemented by a contemporary typeface and a large trim. When George’s owner, Harry, leaves George at home, the big pooch eats the cake, chases the cat and digs up the plants in a flurry of misbehavior. George is filled with remorse, and with a teary apology he offers his favorite toy to his owner in recompense. Later, on a walk with his owner, George is able to control himself and bypass similar temptations, but the open-ended conclusion shows George next to an overflowing trashcan, with a decision to make about his next move. Young children who struggle to follow the rules will feel a bond with George, and the story’s present-tense narration and repeated refrains make this a natural for reading aloud. Ages 3 – 6 (Kirkus Reviews)