News Archive
PRESS RELEASE – 06/02/2007
City of Discovery is put in the Picture
Ground breaking literary prize The City of Discovery Picture Book Award announced its 2007 short-listed finalists yesterday (5th Feb) as Lord Provost John Letford met some of the children tasked with selecting the winning book.
Following the success of last year, the award aims to acknowledge excellence in story-telling for children as well as encouraging youngsters to read and demonstrates principles of democracy when voting for the winning book.
Carrying a significant cash prize, the award is judged by two age groups of youngsters from a panel of 14 participating schools throughout the city. Primary 1 children – at whom the books are mainly aimed – will enjoy looking at and listening to the stories and convey their likes and dislikes about each book.
An older age group – those in primary 6 – also play an important role. This age group will read the stories to the youngsters, analyse their reactions, draw up reports and then also have a vote.
Already, a short-listing process has been undergone at two pilot schools, reducing the entries to just four.
These are:
- “Traction Man Is Here” by Mini Grey – Random House Inc.
- “Dan and Diesel” by Charlotte Hudson & Lindsey Gardiner – Red Fox
- “Dig the Dog” by Alison Maloney & Maddy McClellan – Meadowside Books
- “I'm Special I'm Me” by Ann Meek & Sarah Massini – Little Tiger Press
Thanks to funding from the City of Discovery Campaign , the awards are offering a winning prize of £1000 and £200 to each of the three runners-up. Each short-listed author and illustrator will also receive a limited edition comic style figure, donated by DC Thomson Ltd.
The City of Discovery Book Awards has also been recognised on a national level for the benefits and learning opportunities the process of judging offers to children involved. The Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children’s Books acknowledges the Dundee award and the permission granted by the organisers to reproduce the information in their own competition guidelines.
During the inaugural awards in 2006 organisers were taken aback by the response from the participating children.
Chairman of the City of Discovery Campaign Lord Provost John Letford said, “The City of Discovery Picture Book Award is a great part of our renowned literary portfolio, joining the Dundee International Book Prize, emphasising the creativity and scholarly excellence that exists in Dundee .
“The awards have also been a facilitator for personal and social development in the older primary six children that participated in the previous awards – bringing out maturity and a sense of responsibility when dealing with the younger children.”
Convener of Education Councillor Kevin Keenan said, “Last year the children really took ownership of the awards and we hope for the same positive outcomes this year.
“The project aims to provide opportunities for young people to engage with the picture book genre; explore and discuss text and art work; promote the value of reading for enjoyment and to an audience, celebrate excellence in writing and illustration; work in partnerships with community libraries; be creative; and experience the voting process.”
Convener of Communities Councillor Chris Hind said, “Fourteen schools are taking part this year – each partnered with one of the city’s public libraries. This is a different group of schools that took part in the 2006 Award in order to involve new schools and give more children the opportunity to benefit from the programme.”
This year the schools are Ancrum, Downfield, Mill Of Mains, St. Clement’s, St Ninian’s, Clepington, Brackens, St. Fergus, Whitfield, Forthill, St. Luke’s & St. Matthew’s, St. Peter’s & St. Paul’s, Lochee and St . Vincent’s. Around 800 children will take part in total.