Just announced, this year’s winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2011 is Australian illustrator and author Shaun Tan.

The jury’s citation reads:

Shaun Tan is a masterly visual storyteller, painting the way ahead to new possibilities for picture books. His pictorial worlds constitute a separate universe where nothing is self-evident and anything is possible. Memories of childhood and adolescence are fixed reference points, but the pictorial narrative is universal and touches everyone, regardless of age.

Behind a wealth of minutely detailed pictures, where civilization is criticized and history depicted through symbolism, there is a palpable warmth. People are always present, and Shaun Tan portrays both our searching and our alienation. He combines brilliant, magical narrative skill with deep humanism.

Watch the announcement broadcast from Sweden (including a recorded phone-call to Shaun in Melbourne) here; and the presentation of Shaun Tan’s work given by member of the jury Maria Lassèn-Seger here. View our Gallery feature of some of Shaun Tan’s work and read our reviews of two of his masterpieces The Arrival and Tales from Outer Suburbia.

Many, many congratulations to Shaun Tan!

Grace Lin,
Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same
Little, Brown and Company, 2010.

Ages: 4-8

Ling & Ting by Grace Lin (Where the Mountain Meets the Moon) is a story about twins.  Drawn to look identical, Ling and Ting are nonetheless, as the title indicates “not exactly the same.”  The difference is established early with the first story in the book called “The Haircuts.”  The girls’ personalities come through in the way they handle their haircuts, and the results will mark them throughout the rest of the book. Readers will learn how to identify the girls despite their matching dresses and similar names.

Lin has arranged this book as a series of tales about the girls that build on each other.  Starting with “Haircuts,” there are six stories altogether that work not only to establish the difference between the girls but also to illustrate their friendship and sisterly affection.  Among my favorites was “Chopsticks” and “The Library Book.”  In “Chopsticks,” Ting prefers to use chopsticks while Ling does not.  Although Ting tries to help Ling use them, in the end Ling comes up with her own solution which, predictably enough, is to use a fork!  In “The Library Book,” the girls’ different tastes in reading are revealed: Ting prefers fairy tales while Ling wants a book about dogs…

Lin has created a delightful and playful collection of stories here that is engaging to read.  It is perfect for anyone looking for good books for children about twins or indeed sisters.  Her colorful and distinctive illustrations make the book a visual delight as well; Ling and Ting are vibrantly and expressively depicted in the pictures.  Of particular appeal to a young reader  – as I discovered in reading this book with my daughter – was distinguishing between the two girls  since they look so much alike with such similar names and are always dressed the same.

Lin is an accomplished writer of children’s books, and Ling & Ting, her first foray into Early Readers, is yet another example of her finely tuned skill.  She is PaperTigers’ nominee for the Astrid Lindgren award for 2011.

Sally Ito
March 2011

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, which amounts to SEK 5 million (approx. 500 000 EUR), is awarded annually to a single recipient or to several. Authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and promoters of reading may be rewarded.  For the past two years PaperTigers has had the honor of being a nominating body for the award.

Today, the 2011 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Nominees were revealed at the Frankfurt Book Fair by the Chairman of the Jury, Mr. Larry Lempert. 175 candidates representing 62 different countries are eligible for the world’s largest children’s and young adult literature award. We are so pleased to see PaperTigers’ three nominees on the list: author and illustrator Allen Say, author and illustrator Grace Lin, and Katha, a “profit-for-all” organization based in India. You can view the complete list of nominated candidates  here.

On March 29, 2011, the winner or winners of the 2011 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award will be announced at the birthplace of Astrid Lindgren in Vimmerby, Sweden. The announcement will be held simultaneously at Bologna Book Fair and will also be broadcast live on the award website.

To keep abreast of  today’s exciting announcement and to learn more about the nominated candidates, be sure to check out the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award blog.

Saturday was the deadline for nominations for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) 2011. Having barely caught our breath from this year’s announcement of Kitty Crowther as the ALMA winner for 2010, we found ourselves working right up to the mark to get our nominations submitted in time, but in they are and it’s very exciting to be able to share them with you all now, along with our 500-character nomination statements:

Author and illustrator, Allen Say, whom we also nominated last year (and if you haven’t already, do read our interview with Allen and enjoy our Gallery of his work):

Often drawing on his own background, Allen Say captivates his readers through beautifully honed prose and luminous watercolors. He embraces a striving for happiness with a blend of gentle humor and realism, and touches on many aspects of being human, such as race, migration, disability and age. Even young children can empathize with and find echoes in many of his stories. Say opens young hearts and minds both to new cultures and to their own potential; and his portrayal of the human condition provides a forum for children to recognize their own value and to dream.

Author and illustrator, Grace Lin (and don’t miss our interview with Grace, either, or her two Gallery features here and here; and do visit her blog):

Grace Lin is passionate about writing for children. Her child-centred creativity is filled with energy and imbued with core values such as family, friendship, loyalty and love. Her readers respond to the warmth of her stories, whether founded on reality or imagination, and to the charm of her illustrations, which demonstrate a commitment to unobtrusive detail. Often drawing on her Asian American heritage, and with a gift for interweaving old and contemporary elements in her work, Grace is not afraid to step away from tradition to create new, meaningful narrative for today’s children.

And Katha, a “profit-for-all”organisation based in India:

Katha is an Indian non-profit organization working in the areas of literacy and education. Since 1988, it has been successfully promoting the literacy to literature continuum in urban disadvantaged communities across India. Its multi-faceted school and community-based outreach approach, including reading campaigns, the supporting of pavement schools in slum clusters and the translation and publishing of Indian literature, among other initiatives, are playing an essential role in helping create a more literate, less divisive India.

You can explore Katha further via their website and we are looking forward to featuring them on PaperTigers in the not too distant future.