| A sparkling story of courage and transformation has been judged the best book for young readers at this year’s New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. The Bomb by Sacha Cotter, illustrated by Josh Morgan and published by Huia, was awarded the highest prize in children’s publishing – The Margaret Mahy Book of the Year – during a glittering ceremony at Te Papa in Wellington last night. The judges were captivated by the spell The Bomb cast. They described it as a summery, waterlogged, quintessentially New Zealand story about a child growing in self-confidence while striving to achieve the perfect ‘bomb’. “Joy and humour permeate the story and illustrations, and the reader is rewarded with each encounter – they see a new layer, another detail is revealed, fresh energy bubbles up.”— Convenor of judges Crissi Blair The Bomb also won the Picture Book Award. Six other significant awards were presented to deserving winners at the ceremony, held at Te Papa’s beautiful Te Marae and attended by the country’s top children’s authors, illustrators, translators and publishers. You can read about all the night’s winners here, and a full account of the evening here. NZCYA finalist authors and illustrators captivated children at Books Alive events in four locations around the country in the lead up to the awards ceremony. From later this morning, booksellers, librarians, publishers and media will be able download posters and social media visuals from our resources page to help spread the news about the winners of the 2019 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in store and online. |
