240205c&gnomday

	Hertfordshire Schools Library Service
Carnegie Greenaway Nomination Day Thursday 24th February 2005

Carnegie/Greenaway - not your usual book award

As the snow fell on the idyllic setting of the Pastoral Centre I felt a wave of expectation flow through me. This was my first Carnegie/Greenaway day, and although many people had told me what to expect I still wasn't quite sure how the day would pan out.

As I walked around the building, the halls were bulging with the anticipation of the eager participants C & G Day 24th Feb 2005 persuading others, and maybe themselves, what their favourites were and why they wanted them to win. As I stood muted behind a group of enthusiastic public library staff a niggling thought started to pervade my mind. Just as quickly as it came, though, it was pushed aside by the arrival of the keynote speaker, publisher David Fickling.

Francis Bacon once said that 'Reading maketh a full man'. I think what David Fickling suggested echoed this statement, that reading is what is important to children because it is from reading they gain a better understanding of the world they live in, and who they are. David believed that our decisions during the day should therefore be influenced by what children are excited about.

As I listened to this booming voice reverberating around the hall I briefly turned around to gauge the interest of the rest of the hall. As I did, that niggling feeling returned again. I started to wonder why these people were here. What could bring a group of school and public librarians, teachers and other people to an event like this? Was it to meet new people, the chance to catch up with old friends, to get out of our ordinary surroundings, or even for the food? What I really wanted to know was what was the purpose of Carnegie/Greenaway day?

I pondered on this thought as we made our way to the rooms with our groups. The idea of the next two hours was to discuss the 6 shortlisted Carnegie books and try to evaluate each of them against the set criteria. Most of the arguments, however, seemed to be defined by the appropriateness of the books for children. Were we here then to decide what we feel children should be reading? To make the decision for children as to what is right for them, and what isn't?

As I sat with my vegetarian sausage, peas and mash (it certainly wasn't the food they came for), I deliberated over the idea that we were here to make the decision as to what children should read. Every time I started to believe it David's voice surfaced in my mind, 'It is to read that we should encourage.' Did this mean then that reading was the reason we were here? To get children to read books no matter what they were?

I took this idea back into the groups where we were due to talk about the Greenaway titles, again against the set criteria. But again people's decisions always seemed to return to whether the book was right for children or not. I began to get frustrated. I don't want to dictate to children what they should and shouldn't be reading, and I know they don't want me to either.

Whilst at University I remember reading an essay by Graham Greene in which he argued 'What do we get nowadays from reading to equal the excitement and the revelation in those first fourteen years?' As I distracted myself by looking at the longlist the answer hit me: it is the choice to read a range of high quality books.

In that moment I felt I understood the true meaning of what Carnegie/Greenaway is

all about. It isn't to decide what children should read, and it isn't necessarily to get children to read. It is to show them that there is a wide and varied selection of books, all of which are great quality. The shortlist reflected this diversity and quality and it was a shame that some people didn't quite see the reasons behind it. In the jobs that we do I feel that it is our duty to open doors for children. Suggest books they may enjoy, and if they don't what have they lost? A few hours maybe, but what they have gained is a little bit of knowledge about themselves and who they are.

Where most awards seem to be decided either by the name of the author or the book that suited boardroom men feel will appeal to children, Carnegie/Greenaway reflects books that actually matter because of their quality. As the winners were read out (Carnegie was won by Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy with 46 votes, and The Whisperer by Nick Butterworth won the Greenaway with 28 votes) the result seemed not to matter too much as I knew that in a sense all the books deserved to win because they were all books of quality that highlighted the scope of what is being published.

As I left the building and made my way to the car I started to believe that this was going to be the beginning of a wonderful relationship, and that next year I would be able to influence people to understand what I now know!!

Adam Lancaster

Shown here are a few photos taken by Adam on the day

	The exterior of the Pastoral Centre	The front entrance of the Pastoral Centre	The Pastoral Centre from the grounds
Display board	Display boards	Display boards	Display boards	Display board
Display board	Display board	Display boards	Display board	Display board
	David Fickling	Discussion group	David Fickling
	Discussion group	Discussion group	Discussion group
	Discussion group	Discussion group	Discussion group

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