Three of the sixteen books featured in the two shortlists for the 2024 Yoto Carnegie Award have strong connections with Wales. Amongst the eight shortlisted for the ‘Medal for Writing’, Nicola Davies, the author of Choose Love is Welsh and Zillah Bethell, the author of The Song Walker lives in Wales. One of the eight books shortlisted for the ‘Medal for Illustration’, April’s Garden by Catalina Echeverri was published by Graffeg, a publishing company based in Llanelli.
All three books are available to be viewed in our reading room at the Library. A summary of each one is provided below:
April’s Garden by Catalina Echeverri
The theme of the story is displacement and all the stress and anguish which it entails for both April and her mother. The journey which is undertaken by both mother and child is depicted visually. The illustrations are powerful, and colour is often used to reflect the moods and emotions of the characters.
Choose Love by Nicola Davies
The book features poems about people leaving all that is familiar to them to seek safety and asylum in other countries. The poems concentrate on the themes of departure, arrival, and healing. These are recognised as the main sections of a refugee’s journey. The poems seek to remind the reader that refugees are real people, with real stories and a range of perspectives on life.
The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell
Tarni meets a girl from the city in the outback as she mysteriously travels to find her sister. Who is this girl and from where has she come from? They both embark on an epic journey. The girl’s identity is slowly revealed as the story of the pair’s friendship and spirituality unfolds.
To find out more about the Yoto Carnegie Awards go to their website.
The 2024 Medal and Shadowers’ Choice Award Winners will be announced via a livestreamed ceremony on 20 June. This gives you the reader plenty of time to judge whether one of these three Welsh related books deserves to win the ultimate prize!
Category: Article