For the first time since the award’s inception in 1945, students have been given the opportunity to join the conversation about the CBCA’s annual shortlist and choose their own winners. A keen group of passionate readers in Year 6, and two bonus readers from Year 3, spent the second half of Term 2 making their way through all six books shortlisted for the Younger Readers category. As our students read, they also undertook a rigorous review of each book against the same set of criteria used by the official CBCA judges in order to award each book a score based on its literary merits.
“In order to determine our winner, students had to reach consensus on which book they felt deserved to win. This was no mean feat and generated some intense discussion. Year 3 judges Kayla and Shreya thought that action-packed H. Hayek’s Huda and Me was the clear winner for its excellent characterisation and the gentle, age-appropriate way it dealt with difficult topics like racism,” said Director of of the Bibliothèque Patrice Marchbank.
“Year 6 students Levi and William felt that Katrina Nannestad’s historical novel Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief was a thrilling read that deserved to win for its evocative use of setting to create tension and engagement. In the end, however, the students just couldn’t overlook Maryam Master’s Exit Through the Gift Shop, a bittersweet story that uses figurative language to great effect and introduces a difficult topic with humour. Year 6 student Claire described the book as ‘opening her eyes’ stating that ‘even the title is deep’ before concluding that it deserves its position as the IGS top pick for 2022.”
The Shadowers’ Choice Awards will be announced on 26 August.