And the winner is…
We were delighted to find out that Once Upon an Alphabet has won the 25th CBI Book of the Year Award, Oliver Jeffers is the third author ever to win both the Book of the Year Award and the Children’s Choice award for the book. It was a great pleasure to work on this book with Oliver and Harper Collins so it is lovely to find that it has been so well received.
The judges said, ‘Every school, every home, every person should have at least one copy, as this is a book that bears repeated readings. Each letter of the alphabet is introduced with its own story, each one weaving in and out of one another, asking the reader to make connections and cross-references. Although this is an alphabet book, the cleverly constructed stories and quirky line drawings make this the perfect read for children of all ages.’
During the ceremony students from King’s Hospital School Palmerstown and Scoil Cholmcille, Skryne, Co Meath presented Oliver with the Children’s Choice Award. Voted for by young readers from across the country, this award winner is chosen by shadowing groups who read and judged the ten shortlisted titles and voted for their favourite.
Ten titles competed for the 25th CBI Book of the Year Awards 2015, the most prestigious awards for children’s books in Ireland. Founded in 1990, The CBI Book of the Year Awards are the leading children’s book awards in Ireland. They are a celebration of excellence in children’s literature and illustration and are open to books for all ages written in English or Irish by authors and illustrators born or residing in Ireland and published between 1st January and 31st December each year. Previous winners include John Boyne for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas; Sheena Wilkinson for Grounded, Marie Louise Fitzpatrick for There and Hagwitch and Kate Thompson for The New Policeman, Annan Water and The Alchemist’s Apprentice.