‘‘
Curating collections of graphic novels and including them in promotions and reading initiatives can feel daunting to those who are less familiar with the form.
BookTrust, which described how “this wordless graphic novel explores the many reasons that lead people to leave their world lives and homes behind and set out upon the journey entailed in starting afresh.”
Being almost wordless means the graphic
novel can speak its story across geographic, linguistic and cultural borders. Curating collections of graphic novels and including them in promotions and reading initiatives can feel daunting to those who are less familiar with the form. For anyone keen to learn more and to experiment, The Excelsior Award might offer a good first step to finding a route to engage less confident and keen readers and to have a form of book that offers immediacy and excellent opportunities for debate, discussion and related creative activities.
I kept experimenting until I found a relatively simple solution, albeit a very long one!”
All of the experimentation did pay off and the book was selected as one of the top 50 best diverse children’s books in a promotion called Diverse Voices, organised jointly by Seven Stories the National Centre for Children’s Books and
The Excelsior Award was founded in 2011 to recognise graphic novels and manga and to encourage their use for reading for pleasure. The award reaches over 200 schools. Judging panels made up of comic book creators, librarians, library suppliers, booksellers and other experts draw up the four shortlists for the awards.
Excelsior White aimed at students aged nine and over;
Excelsior Blue aimed at students aged 11 and over;
Excelsior Red for students aged 14 and over;
Excelsior Black aimed at young adults aged 16 and above.
To take part groups must buy at least one set of the shortlisted books for the category they intend to judge. This means participating settings get a carefully curated collection of graphic novels. Young people are invited to rate each book after they have read it and the winners are announced in June. More information can be found on the award website.
www.excelsioraward.co.uk “I’ve been looking for something like this and it seems perfect, especially for engaging reluctant readers or pupils who wouldn’t usually join a traditional reading club.” – Participating librarian. Following her Kate Greenaway win, Danica is keen to discuss her next projects, a book focussing on young climate activists and another on motherhood, which feels like a bit of a dream to put out into the world. Danica’s energy and enthusiasm for the form is palpable and shines out through her work and experimentation helping to provide readers with the outstanding reading experience that the Yoto Kate Greenaway medal seeks to recognise. PEN&INC.
Illustration from Long Way Down. © Danica Novgororodoff 32 PEN&INC Autumn-Winter 2022
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
