The Comet: Joe Todd-Stanton

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Ros is making her donation to her local library, Tywyn Library in Gwynedd, where she wrote a few of her books when she didn’t have the means to get internet at home. Dr Trang Nguyen and her organizationWildActhave set up libraries for children in localities near Vietnamese national parks to heighten their reading skills and knowledge of conservation; Zdung’s donation will be supporting this effort. The nominees, said chair of judges Janet Noble, show that “stories of bravery, compassion and community are told authentically and sensitively in a range of distinctive written and illustrative styles”. Jeet Zdung is shortlisted for Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear, written by Trang Nguyen. It is based on the author’s own life and a bear from her childhood that moved her to become a wildlife conservationist and environmental activist. Saving Sorya is Zdung’s first children’s book published in the UK and fuses traditional Vietnamese art with manga. I Must Betray You by Sepetys, who won the writing prize in 2017 for Salt to the Sea, is based on the real events of the Romanian revolution of 1989 and is about a teenager who has grown up in a repressive dictatorship. Fiona Noble in the Observer said it was a “ tense, thought-provoking thriller”. YLG has 12 regional committees covering all of the UK, and each committee advertises and democratically recruits a judge to represent them on the panel of judges. Each judge serves a two-year term and each year the panel is a unique mix of new and experienced judges led by the Chair of Judges. Following the independent diversity review of the Awards, CILIP introduced a co-opting procedure so that if this recruitment process does not result in a sufficiently diverse and representative judging panel, up to two judges will be co-opted to join the panel.

The shortlist for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration features a range of illustrative and artistic styles.

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I Must Betray You tells the story of Cristian, a 17-year-old who has lived his entire life in a country governed by fear. Ruled by a despotic dictator, Cristian and his fellow citizens live every day with ever-present suspicion, hardship and repression. One day he is faced with the toughest choice of all; will he betray his family or will he risk everything – even the lives of people he loves – to resist? Gripping, intoxicating and uniquely involving, Cristian’s story will have readers asking themselves just what they would have done under the constant watchful eyes of the secret police, what they would have sacrificed to be free. Set in a knife-edge moment of modern history, the courage, hope, and violence of the Romanian Revolution powerfully frame this evocative thriller. So when a comet comes crashing through the city streets and starts growing into a forest, Nyla can’t resist a chance to head somewhere that feels closer to what she had before ... but what starts as an escape could be just the thing to make her finally feel at home. Text rationale: I used to see the word Carnegie on the covers of my favourite books as a child, and the fact that The Blue Book of Nebo now has that honour bestowed upon it means more than I can say – and to be the first book in translation to win the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing is a source of great delight. One of the greatest privileges of my life has been the fact that I was raised through the medium of the Welsh language, and having access to two languages has brought me so much joy and opportunity. There’s a huge, lively, thriving Welsh language cultural scene that I’m honoured to be a part of. Each language offers a unique and enriching perspective on the world, and so literature in translation has the potential to enhance our lives greatly. Your favourite book might not yet be translated into a language that you understand.” Manon Steffan Ros was born in Snowdonia and worked as an actress and musician before becoming a full-time writer. Manon has written over 23 books for adults and children in the Welsh language and has won the Wales Book of the Year for her adult fiction as well as being four-times winner of the Tir na n’Og Wales Children’s Book Awards. She has also won Eisteddfod and National Theatre Wales awards for her script writing. She lives in Tywyn in north Wales with her children. The Comet, written and illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton, is a beautiful, magical and heartfelt picturebook that’s based on the creator’s own experiences and touches on the memories of moving house, what makes a ‘home’, and finding it in new surroundings.

CILIP is a registered charity, no. 313014. The Youth Libraries Group (YLG) is a special interest group of CILIP who work to preserve and influence the provision of quality literature and library services for children and young people, both in public libraries and school library services. Thanks to the young readers far and wide who have engaged with our shortlists and voted for their own deserving Shadowers’ Choice Medal recipients. Huge congratulations to all four of our Yoto Carnegie medal winners for this year, who demonstrate the best of children’s writing and illustration in its myriad of forms.” Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear is the incredible true story of the promise a young schoolgirl made to a brown moon bear in a small town in Vietnam. Follow Chang through tropical Asian rainforests and unpredictable jungles as she fights to become a conservationist. But these dangerous landscapes are only part of her troubles, disproving critics who say that a young girl can’t be a conservationist proves to be an even bigger challenge. Told as a graphic novel with breathtaking art from Jeet Zdung and STEM facts galore, Chang’s daring story is an accessible and fearless adventure that will inspire any animal-loving, intrepid explorer. This tale about friendship and the strength and resilience of one young girl teaches us that letting go is never easy, and sometimes the biggest challenges in life are the most special.With daily online content and weekly delivery to your doorstep, First News provides factual, impartial news, sports, science, and entertainment from the UK and around the world. Alongside the prize for writing, the shortlist of six books for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration has also been announced. The perfect text to share with children (especially when encountering new experiences) across Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, it delicately explores the impact of important moments and how they can affect children’s sense of belonging and provide wonderful adventures.

From an incredibly strong shortlist, our panel of librarian judges have debated long and hard to choose our two worthy winners of the Yoto Carnegie Medals 2023. The Primary School Library Alliance is calling on the government to match-fund the private investment it has brought into helping primary schools c... It is a multi-award-winning publication, trusted by parents, endorsed by teachers, and loved by children. Jeet Zdung has won the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration for Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear , (Kingfisher, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books). This is the second consecutive year that a graphic novel has clinched the prize. Written and inspired by the real life of Vietnamese wildlife conservationist Dr Trang Nguyen, the “beautiful” manga-inspired illustrations – including scenic watercolours and detailed, pencil sketched journal entries – work together to offer “something new to discover on each re-reading” and inspire and educate young wildlife activists.One night outside her window, however, she spots a comet soaring in the skies that glows and grows, which transports her up and away from the city streets. Yoto is an interactive audio platform for kids. Yoto offer acatalogue of stories, songs, activities and more to inspire creativeplay andlearning without a screen. The carefully connected audio players, Yoto Player(3rd generation)and Yoto Mini, put kids safely in control. Nocameras. No microphones. No ads. I normally find inspiration through reading or conversations. It’s rare that I get a fully-formed image in my mind but I will read about something strange that interests me and I will research it to see if anything grabs my attention. Normally by the time I have finished the work it has complete changed from the thing that influenced it but I think that is what makes it interesting. In 2022, Katya Balen won both the Yoto Carnegie Medal and the Carnegie Shadowers’ Choice for October, October. The Yoto Kate Greenaway Medal – now named the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration – was won by Danica Novgorodoff for Long Way Down and Mariachiara Di Giorgio was awarded the Greenaway Shadowers’ Choice for The Midnight Fair.