judging

Judges Diary: Highlights so far

/ zackids / 1 Comment

N.B. All views and opinions expressed in this post are my own.  They in no way reflect those of the 2014 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards judging committee.

It’s now three weeks since I got my first lot of books that were submitted for next year’s New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards.  I’ve been mixing up my reading, switching between junior fiction and young adult fiction.  So far, I’ve been really impressed with the quality of the writing and the range of genres represented.  Deborah Burnside’s Rebecca and the Queen of Nations transported me back in time, Vince Ford’s Scrap: Tale of a Blond Puppy introduced me to the life of a sheep-dog, I spent a week in a hut with no power in Joy Cowley’s Dunger, and I met a young Odysseus in Catherine Mayo’s Murder at Mykenai.  One of my favourites so far has been Bugs by Whiti Hereaka, a Young Adult book about the unfolding lives of three young people in their last year of school in small-town New Zealand.

At the weekend I read my way through the 49 submitted picture books, labeling them and sorting them into 4 piles.  There are some truly brilliant picture books, some really bad ones, and quite a few in between.  It’s been interesting looking at what picture books have been included in ‘Best of 2013’ lists.  There have been a couple that others have highlighted at ‘bests’ which I consider fairly average, but I’m not going to name them.  It’s easy to identify the brilliant picture books, by their high-quality production and design, stunning illustrations, and text that flows and bounces.  Here are a couple of my picture book highlights:

I’m looking forward to meeting with my fellow judges and hearing their opinions of the books that they have read.  I’m curious to find out whether we have similar opinions on our top books.

Judges Diary: Oh the anticipation!

/ zackids / 6 Comments

Imagine my surprise when I came back from a couple of days away to find 3 big boxes of books waiting for me.  Ever since the announcement that I’m going to be a judge for the 2014 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards, I’ve been wondering which books will be chosen to be considered for the awards.  There have been so many wonderful New Zealand books published in the last year and I’ve had quite a few favourites.

NZ Post books 1

When I couldn’t wait any longer I opened the boxes to find 104 beauties (only the first lot of submissions) waiting for me to open their covers and discover the stories and information that await inside.  I was glad to find my favourites, those stories that have stuck in my mind, as well as some I had really wanted to read but hadn’t got around to, and some books that I hadn’t even heard of.  There are some whose covers and design jump right out at you and beg to be read, and others whose poor design and production will be barriers for some readers discovering the story within the pages.

NZ post books 2

I sorted the books into those that I have read and those that I haven’t, and as you can see by the photo there is quite a difference.  My first goal is to go back through those I have read so far this year and remind myself what it was that I liked/didn’t like about them, then start some serious reading of my ‘to-be-read pile.’

My mountain of books awaits me so I must get started.  I’ll report back soon on how the reading is going and what gems I have discovered.

New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards Judge Announcement

/ zackids / 3 Comments

I’m thrilled to finally be able to announce that I’ll be joining Barbara Else and Ant Sang as a judge for the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards next year.  I’m incredibly honoured to be a part of the awards and it’s very exciting.

I’ve been a part of the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Festival for the last 3 years, as the coordinator for the Canterbury Festival.  This is a role that I have loved as it has given me the chance to take the finalist books out to my region and share them with children of all ages.  The roadshow that our Canterbury committee did this year for the Festival was one of the best experiences I’ve had as a librarian, as we got to talk about the finalist books and read them to so many children in our region.  Having the opportunity to actually be one of the three people choosing which books are the best books in New Zealand over the past year feels absolutely incredible.  We have so many talented authors and illustrators in New Zealand who create some magical, captivating, adventure-filled and even heart-breaking books, so it is going to be a huge task to choose the best.

I’m going to have lots of reading ahead of me – approximately 120 books!  I’m certainly looking forward to receiving my first box of books and starting my reading.  There will be books that I’ve already read and loved, but there are sure to be some treasures that I’m yet to discover.  I hope to share some thoughts on my life as a judge here on the blog and talk about some of the books I’m reading.

How exciting is it to be a judge? Let Kermit show you:

To find out more about the 2014 judges check out the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards website.