Archiving: CILIP Carnegie Medal 2013

CILIP Carnegie Medal nominations announcements are nearly upon on and we thought we'd make a little space on our CKG page because.....yes, we are back, just in time for #CKG17!

So, our 2013 shadowing is being archived.....

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Carnegie Medal 2013

Congratulations to Sally Gardner for Maggot Moon winning the CILIP Carnegie medal 2013. Here is M's review of Maggot Moon and here is a post exploring it's cover design.


The CILIP Carnegie longlist is chosen by librarians and the criteria is for the books to make an outstanding contribution to children's literature.

We shadowed the Carnegie 2013 longlist since November 2012. There were 68 titles on the longlist. There were 8 titles on the shortlist (these were our personal shortlist choices - you'll notice we were pretty close to the real one). This is how we've judged the shortlist.



The CILIP Carnegie 2013 Shortlist
1. Maggot Moon - Sally Gardner
2. The Weight of Water - Sarah Crossan
3. In Darkness - Nick Lake
4. Wonder - RJ Palacio
5. Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein
6. A Boy and a Bear in a Boat - Dave Shelton
7. A Greyhound of a Girl - Roddy Doyle
8. Midwinterblood - Marcus Sedgwick.

CILIP Carnegie 2013 - Our wrap up

CILIP Carnegie 2013 – Our wrap up

 

CILIP Carnegie 2013 shortlist

 

Our CILIP Carnegie 2013 shadowing has been a journey. We actively started following the longlist in November 2012 (although we'd already read some of the titles before they were announced). M had read 7 of the 8 shortlisted novels before they were announced (and predicted 5). We’ve enjoyed reading a variety of good books, seeing the nominations, seeing what other people think, discussing what we think about each book and considering what might win. We’ve enjoyed learning about judging and exploring the analysis of a book/piece of writing together – and discovering how complicated it all is. We’ve loved every minute of it and we’re going to miss it.  Yes, the winner still has to be announced but it’s the nomination and shortlisting discussions (and reading) that we enjoyed the most.

From the shortlist, we don’t have a clear favourite each. Little M’s gut favourite is Code Name Verity but In Darkness is licking at its heels. And of course The Weight of Water. M’s favourite is possibly Maggot Moon but some days it’s In Darkness or Code Name Verity. A lot of overlap between the two of us!

What we learned about judging from Shadowing

• Subjectivity is difficult to avoid (& an apparent absence of it might really be more about an individual’s skill in hiding it). Because of this, clarity of judging criteria and shared meaning of these is important.
• It is difficult to judge books based on one reading only, especially if you don’t make detailed notes.
• It is difficult to judge books that you have read over a one year period, especially if you didn’t apply any judging criteria to your reading.
• It is difficult to judge books that are intended for widely different age groups: we both felt that A Boy and a Bear in a Boat was at a disadvantage (except it might still win!).
• We enjoyed discussing and debating together within set guidelines and timeframes.

What we think will win:

The criteria

The CILIP Carnegie website states that the winner “ should be a book of outstanding literary quality. The whole work should provide pleasure, not merely from the surface enjoyment of a good read, but also the deeper subconscious satisfaction of having gone through a vicarious, but at the time of reading, a real experience that is retained afterwards.” The criteria doesn’t state originality, experimentation, pushing boundaries, or refreshing.

Here’s how our panel of two non-librarians shaped the criteria. We created a spreadsheet with 17 criteria and paid attention to anything that got an interesting response. We found flaws in every title, were a bit baffled by some of the criteria, and got bored after a while. Also, first and foremost, both of us read fiction for leisure and for pleasure. So, using what we understood from the criteria and paying more attention to the point about “providing pleasure”, we decided the things that were most important for us are:

• Flow – the work must flow although it doesn’t have to be linear; this is probably about plot construction, language use and ease of comprehension; might also be what some people refer to as accessibility.
• Connection & Emotional response – the criteria emphasises that the winning novel must produce a real experience during reading and one that remains with you. This doesn’t mean it has to be a comfortable or happy experience, just a deep and longlasting one. We see this as how affective the novel is.
• Unanimity – we wanted to agree on a winner. With just two people with widely different reading histories, that is difficult. We got close but sorry, no cigar.

The titles we both agreed on as meeting most of the criteria best – and fulfilling our interpretation of how to differentiate between these – are:

1.      Code Name Verity – Elizabeth Wein

2.    In Darkness - Nick Lake

3.    Weight of Water – Sarah Crossan

However, M thinks that Maggot Moon (Sally Gardner) will win because she thought it ticked more of the boxes more clearly than any of the other titles. Interestingly, Little M doesn’t agree because she found it a bit confusing. Also interesting, she gave more ticks to A Greyhound of a Girl than I did (though she doesn’t think it will win).

Good luck to all the shortlisted authors. We'll be thinking of you during the announcement of the winner on Wednesday. And if you're shadowing and on Twitter, watch out for next year's version of #tweetckg - this year's was brilliant.

 

Judging a Carnegie book by its cover - we're split!

More Carnegie 'coverage'. The three of us (M, Little M and Daddy Cool) are split on how we feel about these covers. Some of us love them while others show much less enthusiasm.....What do you think?

The Flask - Nicky Singer

 

 

M: Didn't like picture of a girl's face.

 

Little M: Didn't like the photo either but liked the flask illustration.

 

 

The Traitors - Tom Becker

 

 

M & Little M: Too jumbled, too grey, confusing, looks like stitches

 

Daddy Cool: Liked it. Looks like someone's in prison counting days.

 

 

Dying to Know You - Aidan Chambers

 

 

M: Didn't like the goldfish.

 

Little M & Daddy Cool: Really liked the goldfish.

 

 

 

 The Prince Who Walked With Lions - Elizabeth Laird

 

 

Little M: can't read the text easily; looks Lion Kingey.

 

M: Liked the warm colours and the African setting/influence that reflects the story.

 

 

Itch - Simon Mayo

 

 

M: Quite interesting but didn't like the interactive thing; couldn't see the point of it.

 

Little M & Daddy Cool: Loved the interactive thing.

 

 

All Fall Down - Sally Nicholls

 

 

Daddy Cool: Didn't like the font.

 

M & Little M: Like it.

 

 

This Dark Endeavour - Kenneth Oppel

 

 

M: The colours and the suggested texture around the keyhole were creepy.

 

Little M: It's cool; like the keyhole.

 

The Terrible Thing That Happened To Barnaby Brocket - John Boyne

 

 

Little M & Daddy Cool: Can't read the text; looks all superheroey; too much colour blending.

 

M: Actually, I haven't got any strong views either way on this one.

 

 

*****

 

What do you think?

 

 

 

 

Judging a Carnegie book by its cover - and then changing it

Book covers change all the time and for lots of reasons. It's interesting to see that some of the covers for the Carnegie 2013 shortlist have been changed. We've had a look (and we also have a giveaway featuring one of them with its new cover)....

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

 

Previous cover

 

 

We didn't like this cover.

Little M: looks boring
Daddy Cool: thought Marcus Sedgwick was the book's title
M: didn't like the girl in a nightgown with her head cropped off; didn't think it reflected the multi-layered narrative very well.

The new cover

 

 

 

Little M: I prefer the old cover.
M: It looks wonderful and I thinks it suits the story much better. You can read M' s review of Midwinterblood here.
We have 2 copies with the new cover to giveaway. See end of this post for details.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

 

Previous cover

 

 

Little M: It's cool; the falling plane with a bloodstained cloud.
M: It looks cliched - but I like it, the grey and the red, the lipstick circle

The new cover

 

 

Little M: I prefer the old cover. The new one looks too modern for the time period of the book's setting. The photo of the girl makes you think one of the characters looks like that and you might have imagined her different.

In Darkness by Nick Lake

 

Previous cover (hardback)

 

 

M loved the hardcover version. It looks like a piece of art and seems to take a lot of inspiration from Haiti and African influenced art. The new cover is also nice and probably reflects the main character, Shorty, in a more contemporary way than the previous cover.
Little M: It's okay but a bit too busy. I often don't like bright yellow on book covers.

New cover (paperback)

 

 

Little M: I prefer the new one. I like the boy's realistic looking face rather than the drawn silhouette.
M: I like this cover too. I find both covers appealing.

A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle

 

Previous cover (hardback)

 

 

We didn't like the hardback cover for this novel, which is the copy we have. For us, it was confusing because it's a bit messy; looks like it's trying to be old-fashioned but isn't; looks weirdly like the print is out of register and is difficult to read the way it's blended into the design; not fond of that shade of yellow and it's too bright. However, the new cover is quite appealing and M thinks it reflects the story in a way that will appeal to a younger readership who will enjoy the story most.

The new cover (paperback)

(note: this is not the cover on the Carnegie site)

 

 

 

Little M: I prefer this one because it is not as jumbled so it's easier to see what's happening in the picture. I like the silhouettes. But, the author's name is way too big because it makes you think that Roddy Doyle is the name of the book.

M: I prefer the new cover. Yes, it looks very much like a Michael Morpurgo cover and is startling similar to Soldier Dog (another longlisted title this year) but I think it suggest more about the story, especially the greyhound's transparency. That is clever.

Midwinterblood Giveaway - UK only

 

There are 2 copies of Midwinterblood featuring the new cover up for grabs!
 

- To enter, please e-mail wesatdown2 (at) gmail (dot) com with the subject line MIDWINTERBLOOD
OR leave a comment and a way for us to contact you for your address (if you win).

- If you are younger than 13, please get parental permission to enter.

- This giveaway closes on Sunday 19 May 2013.

- 2 winners will be picked at random and will be contacted by e-mail.

- UK postal addresses only.

 

You can read M's review of Midwinterblood here.



Judging a Carnegie book by its cover - we're not so keen

Last time we did a bit on covers, we showed off the Carnegie 2013 longlist covers that we liked. This time it's the covers that didn't quite do it for us. In all cases here, the cover has put at least one of us off from reading it. For us then, the judging a book by its cover seems to work in a negative rather than a positive way. Good job we tend to look inside the covers too - although bright green.....

Black Arts - Prentice and Weil

 

 

Too animated (as in graphics not behaviour), unrealistic, too young, uninteresting

 

 

A Waste of Good Paper - Sean Taylor

 

 

Doesn't look like crumpled paper; dull; not keen on the font

 

 

15 Days Without a Head - Dave Cousins

 

 

Looks like a joke or toddlers book. We have seen an American edition which we prefer.

 

 

Goblins - Philip Reeve

 

 

Really don't like the bright green; cartoony; monstery; goofy

 

 

Maggot Moon - Sally Gardner

 

 

Although M liked the overall starkness and the coloured eyes on this cover none of us liked the thing coming out of the head. And the maggots....It makes more sense after reading the book, but still.....There is an adult version of this cover too and we have a wonderful post that shows all the different ideas and steps that went into designing these covers.

Maggot Moon is the only book on today's list that any of us have read: and it's absolutely fantastic. If you don't like the head-thing, get a copy with the adult cover. A similar case in point for us was A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. Neither of us liked the children's illustrated edition....but we quite liked the adult cover and bought that (and thoroughly enjoyed the novel).

The Girl In the Mask - Kate's review

The Girl in the Mask by Marie-Louise Jensen

 

Guest reviewed by Kate (Year 9)

 

The Girl in the Mask was longlisted for the Carnegie 2013 medal.

 

The Girl in the Mask - Marie-Louise Jensen

It’s the summer of 1715 and Sophia’s odious father has returned from his four-year trip, much to her horror. He is determined to shape Sophia into a sophisticated lady suitable of her heritage and marry her off but Sophia isn’t so excited. She is not your typical Georgian lady; not a fan of dresses or make up, shoes or sewing, she prefers to spend time with her cousin Jack reading or shooting. However her father is determined to knock this streak out of her. When taken to Bath to ‘summer’, highwaymen rob her, giving Sophia a cunning idea to throw off her father’s tyrannous rule.

From the beginning I loved this book. The plot is well written and engaging, the characters have substance and are relatable and the description and setting are vivid. Sophia, the main character, is a headstrong and independent girl, both traits which can be quite hard to find in novels set in this period. However her tenacity and courage are very refreshing to read!

The slight difference between this book and others by Jensen is that while romance is a key factor in the plot, Sophia isn’t a girl that wants it. She is quite happy to be independent and does not want to get married, again a hard thing to find in historical novels. There are romantic interests for Sophia but they are not the key concept of the plot. In fact, quite the opposite. A lot of the plot is based around her independence and her determination to not be ruled by any men, a husband or her father.

The relationships that Sophia develops through the novel are believable, relatable and well told. They develop slowly but not at a pace that feels like they are dragging so you get the story and the relationship coming together.

Overall, I really liked The Girl in the Mask and couldn’t put it down. The pacing is excellent and I certainly didn’t feel like you got any irrelevant information. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, or even just strong female characters.

 

Publication details: Oxford University Press, 2012, Oxford, paperback

This copy: received from the publishers for shadowing the Carnegie 2013 longlist

Judging a Carnegie book by its cover - we like

We promised we'd try to give as many of the books on this year's Carnegie longlist a bit of 'coverage' (haha!). We reviewed quite a few of them but today we're looking at the covers that we liked the most. Just because we liked the covers doesn't always mean we liked the book or have even read it yet! Also, we never actually read any of them because of their covers!

A Face Like Glass - Frances Hardinge

 

 

M: It looks....magical (but not in a wandy sort of way). There's a lot of detail and mood creation which reflect the novel. There's something about this cover that I find mesmerising.

Scorpio Races - Maggie Stiefvater

 

Little M: It's cool; there's the shadow of a horse with squiggles and swirls in a heart shape.

 

A Boy and a Bear in a Boat - Dave Shelton

 

 

Little M: This one's cool. It looks like it has a real tea stain and that something's drawn on it. It reflects the book: tea stain and the map.

M: It's clever and makes all of us laugh when it fools people. I also keep looking at little bits of it; I even hold it up and turn it around.

Illustrated by the author, A Boy And A Bear In A Boat recently won a Kitschies 2012 Inky Tentacle (an award for cover art among the year's most progressive, intelligent and entertaining works that contain elements of the speculative or fantastic).

Far Rockaway - Charlie Fletcher

 

 

M: I like the colours in the text and the swirls. It's an interesting cover.

 

Wonder - RJ Palacio

 

 

Little M: The deformed face reflects the story.

M: I like the bold, contrasting colours and simple lines on a face that is clearly different. It stands out.

 

Unrest - Michelle Harrison

 

 

Little M: I like the burning words.

 

 

Jasmine Skies - Sita Brahmachari

 

 

M: I liked the colours in this cover. They're warm. I like the swirls, they're inviting. And there are lots of little bits of detail that suggest an interesting story.

 

Little M: I like the colours; it looks like the sun's setting. The border has got so much going on but it's fun to look at.

Soldier Dog - Sam Angus

 

 

Little M: I like the shadow; it's mysterious and reflects the novel.

 

M: It's a sentimental cover. Similar to a Michael Morpurgo book: you just know you're going to sob.

 

The Seeing - Diana Hendry

 

 

Little M: It's creepy and ghostly; it looks interesting.

 

M: The boy's face reminds me of Harry Potter (although the book is nothing like that really).

 

The Brides of Rollrock Island - Margo Lanagan

 

 

M: I like the pastel colours; atmosheric (although the draped woman is a bit unsettling).

 

 

The Broken Road - BR Collins

 

 

M: Like The Brides of Rollrock Island, I like the pastel colours; looks interesting and appealing and makes me think of something hidden and faraway.

After the Snow - SD Crockett

 

 

M: It's bold and I like how the illustration looks like it's printed on canvas (but isn't).

 

Call Down Thunder - Daniel Finn

 

 

M: The colours are inviting: oranges, yellows, reds. It also looks like it's on textured canvas (but it's not). and I like the little shadows of running characters.

 

The Weight of Water - Sarah Crossan

 

 

Little M: I like the texture of it.

 

M: I like the small size, the matt texture and the blue text inside (okay, that last bit's not the cover!).

 

 

Sektion 20 - Paul Dowswell

 

 

All three of us (M, Little M and Daddy Cool) thought this was a good cover that looked interesting.

PS. We liked some more covers on the longlist but we're saving those for a slightly different post :)

 

 

*****

 

Next time, covers we weren't so keen on.

The Weight of Water - Carnegie Shadowing

We explored the longlist, now we're down to shadowing the Carnegie Medal 2013 shortlist. For each title, we'll provide a review (or links to our reviews) and some discusssion points too.

 

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan

 

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan

 

Little M's short review

The Weight of Water is written in verse but as a narrative. It can be read as a book or as separate poems. To start with, I found the style too jumpy because it was short lines. However, when someone started to read it to me I got into it and started to read on.

The main plot was about Kasienka travelling to England and finding her father. I think a sub plot is the relationship between Kasienka and Will. Another sub plot is how people treat others e.g. how the boys and girls at school tease Kasienka because she is from Poland and looks a bit different to them.

My favourite character was Kanoro because he was always friendly and he had a good personality.

You can read M's review here.

Joint thoughts guided by the Rydens Book Review Form

(on the Carnegie Shadowing site)

 

Plot
We both thought the book had a strong plot. M thought the novel rounded the story off well by tying up the original concerns but leaving enough about the future open. Little M thought that the ending was left a bit too open.

Characterisation
We both believed in the characters and related to them well.

Writing Style
We both liked the way the book was written and it was easy to understand. M thought that the style, particularly the verse form, contributed to making the book special. Little M can't decide if a different style would have made the book more enjoyable. Although the verse - because unfamiliar - was awkward to get into at first, she's edging towards agreeing with M that the verse and current style made it more enjoyable.

Overall
We both enjoyed this book and it was right for both our age groups (Little M is 13, M is much older!). We both wanted to carry on reading. It was a lovely book. The copy we read was a little hardback - almost like a pocketbook which made it different. We both read it quickly - probably in under 2 hours. For such a quick read, the story packed a lot of plot and rich characterisation into it.

Score out of 5: 5 - excellent, could be a winner.


Publisher: Bloomsbury

Midwinterblood - M's review

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

Midwinterblood has been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2013.

Midwinterblood is the only title on this year’s Carnegie shortlist that I have read after its shortlisting was announced. This puts it at an unfair advantage or even disadvantage in the way I’m going to review it, especially since I reviewed some of the others before the longlist was even out.

The cover on my copy

So, Midwinterblood. I didn’t pick it to read from the longlist – mostly because of the cover. Also, from what I’d seen, Marcus Sedgwick was mostly a horror-fantasy author, genres I usually avoid now (although maybe not when I was a teen). If it is horror-fantasy that you’re after, Midwinterblood delivers. However, it offers up something much more than chills or gore (thankfully for me, the latter was not in undue abundance) and I was very pleasantly impressed.

Note the different covers: I think the newer cover (see below), not the one on my copy (see left), fits my interpretation of the novel better.

Midwinterblood is an unusual novel and quite different from anything I remember reading for teens (there is plenty that I have not read though). Quite simply, it tells the story of Eric Seven and Merle and how they know each other. But, it is much more exciting than that and it is also not quite as straightforward as that. Inspired by a real painting (which features in the novel), the story is divided up into eight parts and told in chronological reverse. Each part tells a separate story that can be read on its own. But together, the stories work to weave together what might be seen as something akin to a folkbook.

New cover; I prefer this one.

The novel’s blurb and other reviews have identified strong themes of love and sacrifice in the novel.  Of course yes, they’re there in many guises. After reading Part 1, I thought Midwinterblood might follow similar plotlines to Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler’s Wife – love that builds and endures against the odds against and through time. In some ways, it does, but in many ways it doesn’t and it certainly isn’t as romantic (in my view).

The themes and ideas that stood out for me most were personhood, permanence/longevity and roles. What is a person? If you change one thing, like their sex, are they the same person? The novel certainly delivers many discussion points.

Midwinterblood also defies some of the suggested criteria that we’ve been using for shadowing. This either marks the novels strengths or its weaknesses.

I think it is weak on narrative and feels more like a collection of stories that read like different interpretations of fairytales (or myths) over time and space, enveloped by the original frame story in Part 1 and Part 7. But, the Epilogue belies what I’ve said and indicates that there is a narrative (in my mind, only just a weak one). Although only chronologically reversed, the narrative development is still non-linear – I couldn’t spot real plot or character growth. Did I miss it? However (again!), the narrative and plot structure are also possibly the novel’s key strength.

(Careful: for some people there may be a very small SPOILER in the following paragraph: I don’t think it is but some might.)

Sedgwick’s writing style is sparse. He doesn’t overly describe anything, which I like. But I think this also contributed to weaker characterisation. I didn’t empathise with any of the characters. Perhaps too, this was the point of the novel: we are not just one individual, we are many people. This bit is interesting because the characters take on different relationships with each other throughout the novel and that in itself addresses many taboos about acceptable relationships. The change in narration is also interesting to consider in terms of how that might affect characterisation: the novel is written in the third person, other than Part 6.

(End of small SPOILER. You may proceed without fear.)

Midwinterblood is an allegorical novel. Its inspiration comes from a painting (which is featured in the novel – there’s a whole part centring on it) and there is plenty of symbolism and allegory in the novel that could point curious readers to ideas about philosophy and religion (like Nietzsche and eternal return) as well as literature. When I was reading, there was always a sense that the novel was following, considering, contemplating, pointing me to something else. I’d expect this novel to prompt further questioning and research enquiry by the most curious of readers.

I read Midwinterblood quickly and I wanted to read it. It wasn’t so much that I was absorbed into the story but rather that I was curious to see how it would all pan out. This novel has many talking points, not least of which are its form and readers’ expectations. In my mind, it scores many bonus points for doing that.

For suggested teens reads, Midwinterblood offers a wonderful thought-provoking alternative to Twilight. It is also a quick read. For educators, talk about a novel that is both popularly contemporary yet cuts easily and effortlessly across the curriculum.....history (Vikings, World Wars, cyclical/linear, architecture), art, geography, religion and philosophy, literature, science, citizenship: they’re all there.

 

It is probably more suitable for Year 7 plus although advanced (and interested) readers in Year 6 might enjoy it.

If you enjoy the interlinked his-stories of Midwinterblood, you may well like  Nick Lake's In Darkness (another Carnegie shortlisted title!) or Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (an adult novel with mixed and much more dense writing styles).

 

Publication details: Indigo, 2011, London, paperback

This copy: given to us as a prize.

PS. You can win a copy of Midwinterblood with the new cover over here if you are in the UK and enter before 19 May 2013.

CILIP Carnegie 2013 Shortlist

The CILIP Carnegie 2013 Shortlist  has been announced today and it's a whopper. Excellent books with some variety too.  I highly recommend at least 6 of them!
 

The CILIP Carnegie 2013 Shortlist:
1. Maggot Moon - Sally Gardner
2. The Weight of Water - Sarah Crossan
3. In Darkness - Nick Lake
4. Wonder - RJ Palacio
5. Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein
6. A Boy and a Bear in a Boat - Dave Shelton
7. A Greyhound of a Girl - Roddy Doyle
8. Midwinterblood - Marcus Sedgwick.


Numbers 1-5 on the list were picked for my personal shortlist, which includes links to reviews of seven titles on the shortlist.

Next read for me will be Midwinterblood. It's the only one I haven't read and reviewed yet and I've heard marvellous things about it.

Very excited to get going with our shadowing group now.

If anyone would like to join us, please let us know.
Also, Anna James is hosting a shadowing group on Twitter (@acasefobooks #tweetckg).

Carnegie 2013 longlist coverage (& our shortlist)

Since November 2012, we have been reading, reviewing and exploring the CILIP Carnegie Medal's 2013 longlist. Four readers (three are young teens) have been working their way through them. We've read and reviewed 22 longlisted titles. We've obviously chosen the titles that appeal most to us but the longlist covers all genres and is very varied. Our reviews have attempted to take some of the judging criteria into account.

 

In anticipation of the shortlist announcement on Tuesday 12 March, we've wrapped up our longlist reviews. From what we've read, the titles in red are the ones on M's personal shortlist.

1. A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton (David Fickling Books) + author interview
2. A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle (Marion Lloyd Books)
3. After the Snow by S.D. Crockett (Macmillan Children's Books)
4. All Fall Down by Sally Nicholls (Marion Lloyd Books)
5. Call Down Thunder by Daniel Finn (Macmillan Children's Books)
6. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (Electric Monkey)
7. Hitler's Angel by William Osborne (Chicken House) + Alice's review
8. In Darkness by Nick Lake (Bloomsbury)
9. Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner (Hot Key Books) + about the cover
10. Mortal Chaos by Matt Dickinson (Oxford University Press)
11. Pendragon Legacy: Sword of Light by Katherine Roberts (Templar Publishing) + interview
12. Soldier Dog by Sam Angus (Macmillan Children's Books)
13. The Double Shadow by Sally Gardner (Indigo)
14. The Seeing by Diana Hendry (Bodley Head) + author interview
15. The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne (Doubleday) + Alice's review
16. The Treasure House by Linda Newbery (Orion Children's Books)
17. The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan (Bloomsbury) - a beautiful work; a very surprising read
18. This is Not Forgiveness by Celia Rees (Bloomsbury) + author guest post
19. To Be A Cat by Matt Haig (Bodley Head)
20. Trouble in Toadpool by Anne Fine (Doubleday Children's Books)
21. VIII by H.M. Castor (Templar Publishing) (Little M's review & Kate's review)
22. Wonder by R.J. Palacio (Bodley Head)

Little M thinks Wonder and VIII should be on the shortlist.
We've also heard some strong support for Marcus Sedgwick's Midwinterblood (review here: added 20 March 2013).

(23rd title reviewed by Kate (Year 9, april 2013) - The Girl In the Mask - Marie-Louise Jensen)


Still with a bookmark in them....!

A Face Like Glass - Frances Hardinge (Macmillan)
- M is still reading this. It's 500 pages and she is going slow. It's also a fantasy and Hardinge's writing is engagingly descriptive. Really, really enjoying it. Because I haven't finished it yet, I can't judge it. At this point, a possible contender for my shortlist.

Dying To Know You by Aidan Chambers (Bodley Head)
- M started it before it was nominated. It seems excellent but thought Little M might like to read it first. She's currently reading it.

Spy For The Queen of Scots by Theresa Breslin (Doubleday Children's Books)
- Little M is enjoying this but is dipping in and out. She says it is a challenging read for her. She's passed it on to Kate who loves historical fiction and might finish it sooner!

The Flask by Nicky Singer (HarperCollins Children's Books)
- Little M was reading and enjoying but got distracted by some other books.

The Broken Road by B.R. Collins (Bloomsbury)
- M started it before it was nominated but has been distracted; might return to it sometime becuase it was very promising (I need to find an alternative phrase!!).

Far Rockaway by Charlie Fletcher (Hodder)
- Little M has started this; says it's good but has moved onto another book for now.

Not finished

The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan (David Fickling Books)
- M struggled to get into it and found some of the imagery offputting; however, this is one that we might go back to at some point because there is something strangely compelling about it.

15 Days Without a Head by Dave Cousins (Oxford University Press)
- M started but didn't like the scenario that was presented.

Saving Daisy by Phil Earle (Puffin Books)
- M struggled to get into it before it was nominated; thought it might be too depressing.

****

We'll still be blogging bookish thoughts on other longlisted titles all the way up until June - but we might not be reviewing them. Right now, we're looking forward to Shadowing the shortlist. We'll be doing this on our blog, on the Shadowing website and on Twitter using the hashtag #tweetckg (hosted by school librarian Anna James @caseforbooks).

The Carnegie winner will be announced on 19 June 2013.

Thank you very much to the publishers who have supported our CILIP Carnegie 2013 longlist bookish adventuring!

CILIP Carnegie Children's Book Awards