Verse novels lead the way as Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal shortlists are unveiled

Published on: 12 March 2019 Author: Catriona Wightman

Jon Klassen picks up a second Kate Greenaway Medal nomination and there's recognition for BookTrust's Writer in Residence Candy Gourlay.

Verse novels have made a big impact in this year's CILIP Carnegie Medal shortlist, with three nominated for the first time ever.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, Rebound by Kwame Alexander and Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds all made the cut and will go up against BookTrust's current Writer in Residence Candy Gourlay, who has been shortlisted for her novel Bone Talk.

The full list of titles nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2019 is as follows:

• The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
• Rebound by Kwame Alexander
• The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson
• Bone Talk by Candy Gourlay
• A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge
• Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls
• Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
• The Land of Neverendings by Kate Saunders

Celebrating children's book illustration

CILIP has also announced the shortlist for the 2019 Kate Greenaway Medal, which celebrates the best illustrations in children's books.

Previous winner Jon Klassen has picked up another nomination for The Wolf, the Duck and the Mouse, while books about children's safety featured strongly in the list, from You're Safe With Me to The Day War Came and Beyond the Fence, which aims to encourage young people to vocalise issues around controlling behaviour.

The full list of titles nominated for the Greenaway Medal 2019 is as follows:

• The Day War Came illustrated by Rebecca Cobb (written by Nicola Davies)
• Ocean Meets Sky illustrated and written by Eric Fan and Terry Fan
• Beyond the Fence illustrated and written by Maria Gulemetova
• The Wolf, the Duck and the Mouse illustrated by Jon Klassen (written by Mac Barnett)
• Julian is a Mermaid illustrated and written by Jessica Love
• You're Safe With Me illustrated by Poonam Mistry, written by Chitra Soundar
• The Lost Words illustrated by Jackie Morris, written by Robert Macfarlane
• Suffragette: The Battle for Equality illustrated and written by David Roberts

Getting young readers involved

Now that the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medal shortlists have been unveiled, over 4,500 school reading groups across the country will take part in the Medals' shadowing scheme, to choose their own favourites.

For the first time, the Shadower's Choice Award will be given to the title which has won over the most members of the shadowing scheme, in an attempt to give more of a voice to young readers.

The prize will be handed out alongside the main Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals at a special ceremony on 18 June at the British Library, hosted by Konnie Huq. 

The winners will each receive £500 worth of books to donate to their local library, a specially commissioned gold medal and a £5,000 Colin Mears Award cash prize.

Alison Brumwell, the chair of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals judging panel, said this year's shortlists 'clearly dmeonstrate the vision, vitality and depth of children's publishing'.

'Superb debuts take pride of place alongside established, well-known names, representing the very best in writing and illustration for children and young people,' she said.

'Challenging themes of bereavement, isolation, friendship and identity are treated with humanity and insight and in a range of distinctive written and illustrative styles.

'I am sure shadowing groups across the country will be excited to read, explore, discuss, debate and reflect upon these superb texts during the next three months. They'll encounter brave new worlds, real and imagined, become immersed in other cultures and develop understanding and empathy for the characters they'll meet throughout their shadowing journey.'