 home > libtec2001 > papers > Paper |
|||
11th National Library Technicians ConferenceThe Children's Book Council: 55 years on and still going strongJudy Moss President, The Children's Book Council of Australia (Tas Branch) Children's literature book awards Children's Book Council of Australia
Abstract My mother is 86 years old. She grew up in country Victoria, fourth daughter of Edwin, a carpenter, and Alice. She attended the local primary school and of course the Presbyterian Sunday School. In April 1922, aged 6, she received a book as '2nd Prize' at the Presbyterian Sunday School. It was entitled Jessica's First Prayer by Hesba Stretton, published in London by The Religious Tract Society in the Series 'Every Girl's Bookshelf'. In a screened and secluded corner of one of the many railway bridges which span the streets of London there could be seen, a few years ago, from five o'clock each morning until half-past eight, a tidily set-out coffee-stall, consisting of a trestle and board, upon which stood two large tin cans, with a small charcoal burning under each, so as to keep the coffee boiling during the early hours of the morning when the workpeople were thronging into the City on their way to their daily toil. Needless to say, the story was just about as remote as possible from the everyday life of my mother's generation in rural Australia. In her middle-class family, books were valued, and likely enough she and her sisters loved reading, but to read books about the Australian environment with local characters and heroes was almost unthinkable. Jumping forward, I remember well the books of my own childhood in the 1950s. Getting Madeline when I once had tonsillitis. Having lots of Enid Blyton books from my Sunday School and school days - Merry Mister Meddle, The Magic Faraway Tree, and of course, Noddy. Judy Patrol Leader had pride of place on my bookshelf, as did the Cherry Ames and Girl Guide Annuals each Christmas. Most children's books in those times were imported, they were hardback, and they were relatively expensive. In the 1970s my own children read Doctor Seuss, Sesame Street, American Golden Books by the score, as well as John Burningham, Beverly Cleary, Beatrix Potter and Judy Blume. Not one Australian author among them! Australian children's book publishing has come a long way since those days. With the development of manufacturing technology and improvements in marketing and communications technology, the rise in popularity, availability and status of children's books in Australia has been astronomical. As Tasmanian president of the Children's Book Council of Australia, I would agree with the view held by June Smith and Margaret Hamilton in their history of The Children's Book Council of Australia that 'no other organisation has contributed more to the development of children's literature in Australia than the Children's Book Council. From the outset its aims have been twofold: to encourage children to read while pointing them to literature of quality; and to promote the publication of worthwhile literature for children'. Way back in September 1945, a group of Sydney people got together to discuss plans to support an International Children's Book Week which was held just two months later, in November. This first Australian Book Week featured a poster competition, displays, radio broadcasts and an exhibition of Australian children's books. It was not until 1947, when the New South Wales Branch was formally set up, that the name The Children's Book Council was first used, but the celebration in 1945 was generally seen as the birth of the CBCA. In 1946, a sub-committee of the Australian Book Society in New South Wales organised the judging of the Book of the Year. A Tasmanian librarian, Miss Isabella Jinnette was chosen to be the Tasmanian representative on this first Book of the Year Judging panel, and the winner of this inaugural award was Karrawingi the Emu by Leslie Rees, published by John Sands. By 1952, it had become necessary to judge the Awards in two sections: Under 8 years, judged as a Picture Book, and 8 to15 years called Book of the Year. The judging process had its ups and downs until it was handed over to the incipient National Council in 1958 and has become a major activity of the Council since that time. The 'Junior' (now Younger) Readers category was added in 1982, and the Eve Pownall Award for Non-Fiction in 1993. Finally, in 2001, the newest category was introduced, the Early Childhood Category. The CBCA had been grappling for some time with the criticism that the Picture Book category was becoming too sophisticated for younger children, and that children in their early years were not catered for in the Awards. To address this, the CBCA introduced the Early Childhood category to cater for the 0 to 5 age group, and this year's Shortlist contains some superb examples of books for the very young. The Awards judging panel for the four fiction categories comprises eight representatives, appointed by each member state and territory. The panel for the Eve Pownall Award for Information Books comprises four members and is run separately. This year there were 340 books entered by publishers. All the judges read and review all the books and decisions are made by a process of elimination, consensus, argument, debate, disagreement and finally majority vote. (I believe last week's final list of winners did involve one whole night of sleepless deliberation by the judges). New judges are appointed each two years, and CBCA Branches are always seeking volunteers to take on the commitment of this exciting but extremely time-consuming task. If you think you might be interested, please contact your local CBCA Branch to submit an expression of interest. The Awards will continue into the future, due to the existence of the CBCA Awards Foundation. This was set up in 1996, and since then has raised a total of over $800 000. The target, now seeming more achievable than ever, is $1 million. The Foundation will guarantee the continuation of the Awards well into the 21st century, and I want to let you all know that donations to the CBCA Awards Foundation are tax-deductible. Another important function of the CBCA National body is to maintain the Lu Rees Archives. This is a collection of resources established to encourage and support the study and research of Australian children's literature. The Archive is named after Lu Rees, its creator, and is housed at the University of Canberra Library. It contains a large collection of Australian children's books and original manuscripts, first editions and original artwork. Further information may be accessed though a link from the CBCA website. The CBCA has branches in every state and territory in Australia. Membership fees vary from state to state, and information about Branch activities is readily available on the National website (http://www.cbc.org.au) which has links to Branch websites. Most Branches conduct activities not just during Book Week but throughout the year, activities which may involve books, children, schools, authors, parents, publishers - or all of these things! The Branches meet as a National Council three times annually, and responsibility for the National Executive role rotates around the country. At present the National Executive is in Western Australia, and Tasmania is next on the list. The National Executive (each state in turn) runs the Book of the Year Awards, as well as, to date, the biennial National Conference. The next National Conference is to be held in Perth in May 2002, and details are on the CBCA website. The winners of the Book of the Year Awards are announced on the eve of Book Week in August each year, and there follows a week of literature-based activities in schools and libraries, author visits, fancy dress parades, competitions, literary events, gatherings, prizes and lots of fun. There are several good annual publications which suggest many ways and means to develop the theme which changes from year to year. This year's theme would seem to be just a little predictable: 2001: A Book Odyssey. Next year's holds a lot of promise for me: Book Week - Book Feast. Children's libraries do usually get good mileage out of the Book of the Year Awards and Book Week. Even if schools have only the barest of library budgets, it is common practice for primary schools to purchase all the books on the CBCA Shortlist, even if they buy very little else. Most schools celebrate the Shortlist before and during Book Week by building units of work around the books. Book Week provides a focus for students to celebrate all this literature-centred work, and to bring parents into the school to share the celebration. It is true that Book Week usually has more status in primary schools, as four of the Awards categories focus on books for children of Primary age. The Older Readers category is especially relevant to adolescents, and the 'celebration' is much more low-key! When the Shortlist is announced in April each year at the end of the judges' conference, booksellers and publishers suddenly find that all copies of all the newly-shortlisted books, if not already in short supply, are rapidly sold out completely. Then follows the mad rush for the publishers to reprint the books. To be on the CBCA Shortlist is not only prestigious for authors and publishers, but also ensures excellent sales of the book. The Shortlisted books are accepted as quality children's literature, the epitome of excellence in children's publishing in Australia. The CBCA also publishes Notable Australian Books each year. This is an annotated list of the top 100 children's books published during the previous year and entered for the Book of the Year Awards, and is an invaluable reference, including many titles which are also worthy of being on the Shortlist. Elizabeth Honey's Remote Man is such an example. Its casual, up-to-date style and content are relevant to today's young people and it demonstrates a quirky, sophisticated humour. The CBCA each year produces a wide range of merchandise which is sold all over Australia. The bookmarks, badges, posters, t-shirts and stickers provide substantial revenue for CBCA Branches. The illustrator of the winning Picture Book of the Year usually designs the image for the poster for the following year, so the design is always eagerly anticipated. Though schools and public libraries are the main market for these products, they are appropriate for any library resource centre. By displaying a Children's Book Week poster in your special or academic library, you immediately draw the attention of clients to something close to their hearts - their children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren. What about a display of some of the Shortlisted books in the foyer of your building? A local bookshop might be willing to lend books for this purpose. No matter how busy parents may be, we do know that adults can become just as addicted to Harry Potter as their children, and can have a good laugh at the latest Bob Graham picture book! For the more serious, some of the children's literature journals published in Australia may be of interest to clients and therefore may warrant inclusion in your serials collection. Subscriptions are reasonably priced, and some are now available online (see Appendix). Despite our optimism and enthusiasm, there is an ominous downside which we cannot ignore. We are concerned about the development and continuation of quality children's publishing here in Australia. We in the library profession especially need to develop an awareness of certain issues and concerns, so that children's publishing will be protected, enlivened and encouraged. The major obstacle in these harsh economic times is the need for children's book publishers to make a profit: the old 'economic rationalisation' problem. This means that books which have special qualities but which may not be 'marketable' and therefore make a viable profit, will not be accepted for publishing and will never see the light of day. Another determining factor here is that Australian children's publishing is currently all but monopolised by one large, powerful company whose books dominate the market in schools. Secondly, there is a lack of support by governments. Those of you who know the book industry do know that most authors and illustrators cannot live by royalties alone! The demise of the Federal Government Scheme which provided grants to children's book illustrators has seen illustrators leave children's publishing to seek work in a more viable profession. The introduction of GST on books (formerly tax exempt) has not helped the situation and has forced prices up. Thirdly, lack of interest from the media. Children's literature does not rate a mention in most of the popular media most of the time, despite lobbying by organisations such as ours. The media are more than happy to promote a visit by a computer programmer to a school to publicise a new piece of software, but if it's an author with a new book you're wasting your time. Another offshoot of this is the generally-held view that children's literature is not as important or valid as adult literature. When was the last time you saw a page of children's book reviews in the Weekend Australian? The CBCA Book Awards scored just a quarter-page last Saturday. It was also interesting for us Tasmanians to note that the recent Tasmanian Readers and Writers Festival program contained not one session which focussed specifically on children's literature. Finally, electronic media and popular culture have had an enormous impact on children's reading. As a teacher I am continually amazed by the amount of time and mental energy children spend these days watching TV, surfing the Net, talking in chatrooms and playing all manner of electronic games. There is no doubt that writers, teachers and librarians have to come to terms with this and deal with it. I decided to ask a group of children at my school their views on reading as a pastime, and was so encouraged by their responses that I recorded them on video to share with you. It affirms that kids really do still love reading, that they appreciate good quality books, and that our mission as library professionals, no matter what sort of library we work in, is to support them and their families in the reading habit.
Conclusion How ironic that the government in Australia is introducing a ... tax on books at the same time as complaining of falling literacy standards! What do our politicians think makes a literate person? Thinking literate people are people who read - for pleasure, for information, for the joy of seeing words used in unusual, stunning combinations. Literate people are not only those who attend institutions of education; they are found in all sorts of places - in homes, offices, building sites, walking down the street... The process of becoming a literate adult depends for many on being read to as a child, then reading independently... The making of a literate person can be likened to the accumulation of layers and layers of different thicknesses of ideas and images. Tomorrow's literate adults need to be nurtured with the widest range of literature available. I commend the CBCA to you all in its endeavours to live out this vision.
Author
Bibliography Appendix 1 Australian Journals of Children's literature
Reading Time: The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia 4 issues per year, PO Box 62, Ashmont NSW 2650. Phone 02 6925 4907 Fax 02 6925 4907
Magpies: Talking about books for children 5 issues per year, PO Box 98, Grange Qld 4051. Phone 07 3356 4503 Fax 07 3356 4649 Now available: The Source, Magpies on-line Subject Guide to Children's Literature $165. For a free trial password e-mail james@magpies.net.au
Orana: Journal of school and children's librarianship, 3 issues per year, Australian Library and Information Association, PO Box E441, Kingston ACT 2604. Phone 02 6215 8222 Fax 02 6282 2249
The Literature Base, 4 issues per year, The Literature Base, PO Box 98, Grange Qld 4051. Phone 07 3356 4503 Fax 07 3356 4649
Viewpoint: On books for young adults, 5 issues per year, PO Box 4286, The University of Melbourne, Parkville Vic 3052. Phone 03 8344 8617 Fax 03 8344 0025, viewpoint@edfac.unimelb.edu.au
Fiction Focus: There is a form on the web, or simply e-mail your complete contact details (name, school/institution, department, postal address) to: cmiseval@eddept.wa.edu.au with Fiction Focus Subscription in the subject line. We will then send you a tax invoice. Relevant webpage: http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/cmis/eval/fiction/information/inf22.htm
|
|
