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 2022 Carnegie medal shortlist
October, October by Katya Balen, illustrated by Angela Harding (Bloomsbury)
Guard Your Heart by Sue Divin (Macmillan Children’s Books)
When the Sky Falls by Phil Earle (Andersen Press)
Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock (Faber)
The Crossing by Manjeet Mann (Penguin Children’s Books)
Tsunami Girl by Julian Sedgwick, illustrated by Chie Kutsuwada (Guppy Books)
Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle (Andersen Press)
Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
The 2022 Kate Greenaway medal shortlist
Drawn Across Borders illustrated and written by George Butler (Walker Books)
The Midnight Fair illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio, written by Gideon Sterer (Walker Books)
Too Much Stuff illustrated and written by Emily Gravett (Two Hoots, Macmillan Children’s Books)
Long Way Down illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff, written by Jason Reynolds (Faber)
Milo Imagines the World illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Matt de la Pena (Two Hoots, Macmillan Children’s Books)
Shu Lin's Grandpa illustrated by Yu Rong, written by Matt Goodfellow (Otter-Barry Books)
I Talk Like a River illustrated by Sydney Smith, written by Jordan Scott (Walker Books)
The Wanderer illustrated and written by Peter Van den Ende (Pushkin Children’s Books)
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.
