CLA: 2008 April 21
The Canadian Association of Children’s Librarians, of the Canadian Library Association/ Association canadienne des bibliothèques, is pleased to announce the 2008 Book Award winner and Honour books.
Chester, written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt, published by Kids Can Press in 2007, is the winner. Mechanimals, written and illustrated by Chris Tougas (Orca Book Publishers) and My New Shirt, illustrated by Dušan Petričić and written by Cary Fagan (Tundra Books) are the honour books.
Chester, written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt, is a hilarious tale of a self-centred, sarcastic and artistic eponymous feline. In making its decision, committee members called the book inventive and fresh, laugh out loud funny, and thoroughly enjoyable. They also raved about Chester’s high “kid appeal”.
Watt’s superb use of line and composition delivers a unique interactive book where an enormous calico cat trades escalating verbal and visual assaults with his illustrator and a resourceful mouse. Chester suffers a humiliating episode with a pink tutu but, of course, has the last laugh. Or does he?
Honourable mention goes to Chris Tougas, writer and illustrator of Mechanimals. Committee members were drawn to the invigorating action, and the imaginative and inventive storyline. Mechanimals depicts a farmer who sees his life’s work destroyed in a tornado, leaving a mound of seemingly unusable junk metal. With his “can do” recycling spirit, the farmer welds together worker chick-bots, a cow-bot (complete with a chocolate milk dispenser) and ultimately a charming flying pig-bot which triumphantly transports the farmer to the moon. This book celebrates the power of perseverance, survival and a positive attitude.
Honourable mention also goes to My New Shirt, illustrated by Dušan Petričić and written by Cary Fagan. From the title page’s illustration, with a stiff white shirt strangling a boy with enormous ears, the reader knows that surprises and humour await. Committee members commented on the great layout and the impressive integration of illustration, text and story. Here is a family story, getting bigger and better with each telling, that hilariously illustrates the universal situation of receiving an unwanted gift.
A list of all the shortlisted titles is available on the CLA web site, www.cla@ca.
The Amelia Francis Howard-Gibbon Award is presented by the Canadian Association of Children's Librarians, a section of the Canadian Association of Public Libraries (CAPL). This medal award was established in 1971 and is presented annually to the illustrator of an outstanding children's book published during the previous calendar year. To merit consideration the book must be suitable for children up to age fourteen and have been published in Canada.
The award will be presented at this year’s Book Awards reception, on May 22, 2008, in Vancouver, British Columbia, during the CLA/ACB 2008 National Conference & Trade Show.
CAPL is a division of the CLA/ACB, is Canada’s largest national and broad-based library association, representing the interests of public, academic, school and special libraries, professional librarians and library workers, and all those concerned about enhancing the quality of life of Canadians through information and literacy.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the 2008 CLA Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Book Award Committee:
Helen Moore, Richmond Public Library, Chair
Evette Berry, Calgary Public Library
Elizabeth Thornley, Ottawa Public Library
Delilah Deanne Cummings, London Public Library
Linda Mireau, H.T. Coutts Education Library, Edmonton
Media Contact: Helen Moor, Chair, Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award
Senior Children’s Librarian, Richmond, BC
Phone: 604-737-7353
Email: helenmooreamelia@hotmail.com
