The 2016 CILIP Carnegie Medal has been won by Sarah Crossan for the wonderful One, which was absolutely my favourite book on the shortlist. One was the library’s Book of the Week earlier this year. 
And, just to make things perfect, the CILIP Kate Greenaway award winner is Chris Riddell for The Sleeper and the Spindle (written by Neil Gaiman), also a Book of the Week way back in February last year. Both are really well-deserved wins!
The Carnegie Greenaway Shortlist for 2016 was released yesterday – these are the titles that are in the running for this prestigious prize:
And on the Greenaway list is one of our Books of the Week from last year, The Sleeper and the Spindle, which is by Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell, and has lovely words and beautiful pictures!
All the books are on the display area just inside the Library doors.
The Sleeper and the Spindle is a beautiful book telling a twisted tale. Neil Gaiman’s words and Chris Riddell’s art mesh together so well, that it is impossible to imagine one without the other, in this dark and magical fairy tale retold.
The blurb says…
You may think you know this story. There’s a young queen, about to be married. There are some good, brave, hardy dwarves; a castle, shrouded in thorns; and a princess, cursed by a witch, so rumour has it, to sleep forever.
But no one is waiting for a noble prince to appear on his trusty steed here. This fairy tale is spun with a thread of dark magic, which twists and turns and glints and shines. A queen might just prove herself a hero, if a princess needs rescuing…
I particularly love the picture (on page 15) of the dwarves climbing out of the mines and having a good stretch in the sunshine – have a look!
I recommend you read ‘The Wolves in the Walls’ because it is a fun and interesting novel, especially as the family have strange and unusual hobbies. My favourite part was when Lucy went back into the house at night and the wolves were inside impersonating them.
It was a great read.
(I love The Wolves in the Walls because of the amazing artwork by Dave McKean – Mrs V.)
I’m a bit of an urban fantasy fan, particularly if they are set in London and even more so if they are set in London and have a firmly rooted mythology. The City’s Son reads like a Neverwhere for this generation (although obviously if you like this kind of book, Neverwhere is the classic example), with maybe a little Rivers of London and some Stoneheart thrown in for good measure. I really enjoyed it, and will be buying the sequels for the library as soon as possible – although it may be a while before I go near a train again.
Hidden under the surface of everyday London is a city of monsters and miracles, where wild train spirits stampede over the tracks and glass-skinned dancers with glowing veins light the streets.
When a devastating betrayal drives her from her home, graffiti artist Beth Bradley stumbles into the secret city, where she finds Filius Viae, London’s ragged crown prince, just when he needs someone most. An ancient enemy has returned to the darkness under St Paul’s Cathedral, bent on reigniting a centuries-old war, and Beth and Fil find themselves in a desperate race through a bizarre urban wonderland, searching for a way to save the city they both love.
The City’s Son is the first book of The Skyscraper Throne: a story about family,friends and monsters, and how you can’t always tell which is which.
I really like the cover art for all three books in this trilogy, but I am going to have to wait until book three (The Glass Republic) before I get to the book with the London Eye on the cover…
On Monday this week, Neil Gaiman delivered the Reading Agency’s annual lecture – he talked about the importance of reading, libraries and daydreaming. You can read the full lecture on the Reading Agency’s site, by clicking on the logo above.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is one of those books – the ones I finish, breathe a huge sigh of happiness because I have read such a perfect story and then promptly get grumpy because I have nothing else in my immense to-be-read stack that will come close to giving me that feeling.
Neil Gaiman is most scarily brilliant when he writes about magic and myths happening in our world – it’s so real that I find myself looking at the trees at the bottom of the garden warily, and wondering whether I should be more suspicious of crows…
The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman is a magical book – I loved it, you should read it.
It’s always interesting to see what the best writers read when they were younger – Darren Shan’s list of his favourite children’s books was recently published in the Telegraph newspaper. Click on any of the book covers to go to the article and see the full list.
I utterly loved this book. At times I found myself laughing hysterically, but then I would find myself squealing in disgust! It was awesome:) The best way to describe this book is to say it is a rollarcoaster:))))
It’s all about an ordinary bloke, Richard, who gets dragged down into “London below” after an encounter with a young girl named Door. There they embark on an adventure of hope and excitement. But sadly they face their fair share of obstacles in their way, i.e. – Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar.
But anyway! I thought this book was brilliant and I would recommend to all:D
Neverwhere is by Neil Gaiman.
The Graveyard Book is a spooky, unique book. I utterly loved it and I found myself glued to the pages. Like the Jungle Book, an orphan boy, in this case Nobody Owens, grows up in a unusual environment and has many adventures with his ghostly friends, thousands of years old!
In every book, you have an old fashioned villain, in this case The Man Jack. An evil man who seeks out Nobody in a pursuit of terror. Will he get his hands on Nobody?? READ AND FIND OUT!:) I think this book was a fantastic read and would recommend to anyone:)
The Graveyard Book is by Neil Gaiman.