As the Carnegie Prize was inaugurated in 1936, this decade only count 4 winners. Three of the authors were already known to me – Arthur Ransome, Eve Garnett and Noel Streathfield, whereas I didn’t know Eleanor Dooley at all. There’s a reason for this; the first three have produced several classics books which have beenContinue reading “The Carnegie Winners – 1930s”
Tag Archives: Carnegie medal
Reasons for reading Carnegie Medal Winners – Number 2: Literary History
My second reason for reading the Carnegie Medal Winners springs from the first: the attempt at understanding at least part of the literary history of British children’s literature. The selection criteria for the Carnegie Medal has always centered on trying to select ‘the best children’s book published that year’. How this is defined has beenContinue reading “Reasons for reading Carnegie Medal Winners – Number 2: Literary History”
The Radium Woman (1939)
My copy is in the lovely yellow Puffin Story Books cover from 1953, but it was originally published in 1939. It is based on Marie Curie’s daughter’s book Madame Curie, retold for children by Eleanor Doorly. I didn’t have anything but the vaguest knowledge of Marie Curie prior to reading this book, which is shamefulContinue reading “The Radium Woman (1939)”
Why read the Carnegie Medal Winners? Number 1 – Personal Reasons
As for most selection process that have taken place over many years there are all kinds of issues around the Carnegie Medal winner selection process, some of which have been understood for a long time, some which have gotten renewed attention recently. The question ‘why read the Carnegie Medal winners? is actually a very complextContinue reading “Why read the Carnegie Medal Winners? Number 1 – Personal Reasons”
The Circus is Coming (1938)
The Circus is coming by Noel Streatfield (1938) “Still perhaps Noel Streathfield’s most popular book” said Margery Fish in 1964. I would think that this accolade now belongs to Ballet Shoes which is currently available both in hardback and paperback and following the success of Ballet Shoes, The Circus is Coming was reprinted under theContinue reading “The Circus is Coming (1938)”
The family from One End Street (1937)
The family from One End Street by Eve Garnett won the Carnegie Medal in 1937. It is the earliest of the “Carnegies of Carnegies” voted for by a national poll in 2007 to select the public’s favourite Carnegie winner of the past 70 years. It is also a favourite book of mine. There’s a ‘series’Continue reading “The family from One End Street (1937)”
Pigeon Post by Athur Ransome (1936)
Published in 1936, Pigeon Post was the first Carnegie Medal Winner. My initial experience of Arthur Ransome and the world of Swallows and Amazons was on holiday at my grandmothers house in Denmark. Sadly, they were not considered ‘good enough’ for my local library to stock. As a result, for me, Arthur Ransome is associatedContinue reading “Pigeon Post by Athur Ransome (1936)”
Reading the Carnegie Medal Winners
I have started on a big but exciting project: I am going to read all the Carnegie Medal Winners from the inception of the medal in 1936 until the present day and blog about my progress and thoughts on the books. I will start from the beginning and read in chronological order where possible. QuiteContinue reading “Reading the Carnegie Medal Winners”
Mette Reads Carnegie 