The Costa-winning children’s book The Crossing by Manjeet Mann and Cane Warriors by former Guardian children’s fiction prize winner Alex Wheatle are among those in contention for this year’s Yoto Carnegie medal for the best children’s novel.
Mann and Wheatle’s novels are joined on the eight-book shortlist by Tsunami Girl, a story told through both prose and the Japanese graphic novel format manga, by Julian Sedgwick and illustrated by Chie Kutsuwada. This is the first time a manga book has been shortlisted.
The Carnegie medal runs alongside the Yoto Kate Greenaway medal for the best children’s illustrator. This year two former winners, Sydney Smith and Emily Gavett, are in with a chance of a third medal. Also on the shortlist are Mariachiara Di Giorgio and Peter Van den Ende, who have both illustrated wordless books about nature and animals. And Danica Novgorodoff has been selected for the graphic novel version of Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, who won the Carnegie medal last year for Look Both Ways.
The prizes are judged by school librarians, and the Carnegie has previously been won by Noel Streatfeild and Philip Pullman, while the Kate Greenaway has been awarded to many much-loved illustrators including Quentin Blake and Janet Ahlberg.
This year, six of the eight books on the Carnegie shortlist are based on real-world events: from Mann’s tale of teenagers brought together by the refugee crisis to Sue Divin’s novel about the lasting impact of the Troubles, Guard Your Heart. Poet and activist Dr Yusef Salaam reflects directly on his own experience in Punching the Air, a novel in verse co-written with New York Times-bestselling author Ibi Zoboi. Salaam is a member of “the Exonerated Five” – the Black and Latino teenagers who were wrongly accused of assault and rape in the Central Park jogger case.
Social issues are explored in the Greenaway shortlist too, with Long Way Down looking at teenage gang violence and grief, while artist George Butler documents the true stories of migrants in his debut picture book Drawn Across Borders.
Jennifer Horan, chair of judges for both awards, said she hopes the 16 books “will excite, move and empower the young readers who pick them up”.
She added: “I’m thrilled that our Yoto Carnegie shortlist showcases how friendship can help young people find the strength to navigate a path through challenging times. We’re also delighted to celebrate the power of pictures, not only on the Yoto Kate Greenaway list but in a couple of Carnegie titles too. Many of our shortlisted books remind us that art can help us to communicate and connect with young people when words sometimes fail us.”
The winners of both awards, as well as the winners selected by groups of children “shadowing” the judging process, will be announced on 16 June.