You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Swann and Padmacandra win Derby Children's Picture Book Award for Tale of the Whale
Karen Swann and Padmacandra have won this year’s Derby Children’s Picture Book Award for The Tale of the Whale (Scallywag Press).
The announcement was made by last year’s winner, Sophy Henn, as part of a special Zoom event for schools.
More than 4,000 children from 45 Derby schools took part and voted for their favourite from the three shortlisted books. The award aims to celebrate picture books that children can relate to and in which the diversity and challenges of modern life are represented, enabling children to better understand the world they live in.
The Tale of the Whale was praised for its strong message about plastic pollution and its impact on the natural world.
Swann and Padmacandra said it was “a huge honour” to win and they were "delighted that so many children in schools across the city have had the opportunity to read and vote on all the books on this fantastic list”.
They added: “Thank you to all the teachers involved, both in organising the awards and in helping the children to take part. And thanks to our amazing publisher Scallywag Press for believing in this project. Above all, a massive thank you to all the children who engaged with our book, listened to the Whale’s message about plastic pollution, and voted the book as your favourite! We are delighted.”
Di Smith, organiser of the award and a festival trustee, said: “The award continues to grow both in terms of the numbers of schools who are keen to be involved and the engagement with children’s publishers who submitted a record number of books this year. It has really excited teachers in the city and it was wonderful to visit the schools to see them working with the books.
“We plan to organise a virtual visit by the winning author and illustrator, Karen Swann and Padmacandra, to the participating schools before the end of the summer term. We know how important it is for children to meet the authors of books they read – a report published last year by the National Literacy Trust showed that reading enjoyment levels are markedly higher among those who said that they had a writer visit.”
Liz Fothergill, chair of Derby Book Festival, also commented: “The Tale of the Whale becomes our fourth very worthy winner. We are delighted with the enthusiastic response we get from schools for the award and it is clearly something they value as part of their teaching. We have been able to involve so many more schools this year – reaching more than half the schools in Derby, thanks to the generous sponsorship of the award by an anonymous donor. The award introduces children to beautifully illustrated picture books which have a profound story to tell, enabling them to develop empathy towards others and better understand the important issues of today’s world.
“The award continues be instrumental in delivering our aim to bring all Derby’s residents together in a love of books and to inspire a new generation of readers to appreciate the joy that books and reading bring to our lives.”
