Raschka, Sís, Pullman Named Finalists for the Hans Christian Andersen Award
RSSBy Rocco Staino
Peter Sís, Philip Pullman, Chris Raschka, John Burningham, and Paul Fleischman are some of the 59 finalists selected for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of children's books. The award is presented every two years by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) to an author and illustrator whose complete works have made an important and lasting contribution to children's literature. IBBY, an international network of people from all over the world committed to bringing books and children together, is composed of 73 national sections from all over the globe—and this year, 33 of them selected an author and an illustrator from their respective countries to be considered by the awards jury. In the author category, the United States selection committee chose Paul Fleischman, the 1989 Newbery Award winner for Joyful Noises: Poems in Two Vices (HarperCollins, 1988). "It was the best kind of news a writer can get—an unexpected surprise party saluting not one book but a career-long arc of endeavor," Fleischman told SLJ upon hearing the news. "I've gone my own way in subject, format, and genre, with no recognizable brand. I only work on projects that excite me. But to have those choices confirmed by such a prestigious nomination means a great deal." The committee also selected Chris Raschka, the 2006 Caldecott Medal-winner for The Hello, Goodbye Window Hyperion, 2005) written by Norton Juster, in the illustrator category. The committee from the United Kingdom selected Philip Pullman, author of "His Dark Materials" series (Knopf), which includes The Golden Compass (2001), as well as two-time Kate Greenway Medal-winning illustrator John Burningham. Meanwhile the Czech Republic selected native son, Peter Sís, whose books include Madlenka (2000), Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei (2000), and The Wall: Growing up Behind The Iron Curtain (2007, all Farrar). The chair of the International Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury, Spain's Maria Jesus Gil and Jury members from Argentina, Austria, Brazil, France, Greece, Iran, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States will meet on March 10-11, 2012, and the winners will be announced Monday, March, 19 2012 at the IBBY Press Conference at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. The author's award, has been given since 1956 and the illustrator's award since 1966. The awards consist of a gold medal and a diploma. This article originally appeared in the newsletter Extra Helping. Go here to subscribe.
