NSW Premier's Literary Awards 1995
Judges' Report, the Ethel Turner Prize for Children's Books
In 1995, I was the Chair of the judging committee for the Ethel Turner Prize of the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award. At that time, this was the only one award for children's books in NSW; since then, the NSW Premier's Literary Awards has created a new award, the Patricia Wrightson prize for Children's Books, and the Ethel Turner prize was renamed as being for Books for Young Adults. I'm fascinated to note that we didn't shortlist Garth Nix's Sabriel!
My fellow judges were Alan Horsfield, then President of the NSW Branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia, and author Maureen Pople.
WINNER
Mr Enigmatic by Jenny
Pausacker (Reed for Kids)
Jenny Pausacker
Mr Enigmatic is both a highly literate and an entirely accessible novel for teenagers, and is a book that offers many rewards over subsequent readings. A novel which explores the experiences of a teenager who is in charge of his intellectual but not his emotional life, Mr Enigmatic is the tale of a significant year in the life of Victorian VCE student Rhett Foley. The story is largely told through the writing folio Rhett is preparing for his English course. Rhett’s autobiographical pieces gradually reveal a great deal to the reader; about Rhett himself, about the art of writing and about the art of reading. Pausacker is in complete control of the various writing styles she — and Rhett — employs, just as she is in complete control of her characters and ideas. It is an exceptional example of how innovative and exciting fiction for teenagers is at this genre’s best.
SHORTLIST
Judy and the Volcano Wayne
Harris (Scholastic
Australia)
Judy is a fiercely independent, fiercely imaginative primary-aged child
who cannot write the "right" kind of story to keep her teacher
happy. Kept in at lunchtime, Judy becomes the hero of her kind of story,
saving her nemesis Madeleine Corsy from a bubbling volcano and a rampaging
iguana who reminds Judy of a certain classroom teacher...
A tribute to the child’s imagination, Judy and the Volcano is
bold both in text and illustration. Harris’s illustrations make
brave use of colour and design, ranging from striking use of white space
to densely coloured double-page illustrations, and reflect Judy’s
courageous outlook on life. Judy triumphs in the end, her independence
valued and rewarded, and her humanity intact.
The Burnt Stick Anthony Hill, Mark Sofilas
(illustrator), (Penguin
Books)
Anthony Hill
The Burnt Stick is perhaps the most deeply moving book entered
for the Ethel Turner prize this year. It is the story of the lost generation
— Aboriginal children removed forcibly from their people by an ignorant
and uncaring white beaurocracy. This shameful fact of Australia’s
recent history is expressed through the story of John Jagamarra and his
mother Liyan. In simple and eloquent prose, Hill recounts Liyan’s
efforts to protect her son from the Big Man from the government who intends
to take John away because his father was white, and John is therefore
not "as black" as his people. Liyan initially succeeds, deceiving
the Big Man by rubbing the charcoal from a burnt stick into John’s
skin. Ultimately the trick is discovered, and the child is taken away,
leaving his mother fallen in the tracks of the truck as she fails to keep
up with her disappearing child. Ultimately, John returns with his own
son to his home, empty now of his people, and teaches his child the little
he can remember of the songs and stories he learnt by his mother’s
side.
Sofilas’ soft pencil illustrations capture the mood of the story
perfectly, and the book is beautifully packaged in the way of several
of Penguin Books’ new hard-cover illustrated books for independent
readers. The Burnt Stick should be compulsory reading for every
Australian.
Ten Little Known Facts about Hippopotamuses
Douglas Little, David Francis and Donna
Rawlins (illustrators) (Scholastic
Australia)
Donna Rawlins
A unique example of the growing range of Australian non-fiction titles
for children, Ten Little Known Facts... crosses the boundaries
between picture book and factual text. Information about an eclectic range
of animal life and behaviour is delivered with a delicious dose of frequently
dead-pan (and often simply silly!) humour. The "fibs" that the
creators admit to are clearly identifiable as such, and add significantly
to the fun. Francis and Rawlins’ collaboration on the finely coloured
pen and ink illustrations enrich an already lively text. Ten Little
Known Facts... is a true collaboration between text and illustration.
A book to dip in and out of and to go back to as you learn facts about
animals that you never dreamt you’d need to know. You’ll never
have an excuse not to have your garden populated with a healthy flock
of flamingos again!
Yasou Nikki Wendy
Orr, Kim Gamble (illustrator) (HarperCollins)
Orr’s talent for expressing the basic needs of children —
and adults — with warmth and compassion is once again evidenced
in Yasou Nikki. A book for younger, newly independent readers,
Yasou Nikki is the story of Nikkoletta, a young Greek child new
to Australia. Nikki is resistant to learning English; she doesn’t
want to be like the tourists from her island home in Greece who say "squid"
when they mean "hello". But the imperatives of friendship and
loyalty arise, and Nikki discovers that accepting her new life can bring
with it the joys and security she has left behind.
Gamble’s pencil illustrations demonstrate his usual talent for characterisation
and his ability to express the emotional centre of the text. Orr’s
prose is entirely accessible for her young readership, and offers some
beautiful imagery to express Nikki’s dilemma.
Foxspell Gillian
Rubinstein (Hyland
House)
12 year-old Tod is a displaced person. His parent’s separation has
meant that he and his mother and sisters have moved to the Adelaide hills
to live with his grandmother. He has trouble with schoolwork, although
he can draw brilliantly and effortlessly, and hidden beneath his unhappiness
is a rich imaginative life. Tod develops a fascination with the foxes
that live in the nearby quarries, which leads him into a extraordinary
situation when Dan Russell, the fox-man, fox spirit transforms Tod into
a young fox. Ultimately, Tod must choose between humanity with all its
pain, and the exhilarating and dangerous life of the fox.
Foxspell is an exceptional fantasy. Rubinstein has achieved Tod’s
changes back and forth between fox and human child with complete credibility
and emotional power. Family relationships are intelligently drawn, and
the characterisation of Tod, his friends and family is carefully developed.
The tale is engrossing and challenging both intellectually and emotionally.
The final paragraph of this novel leaves the reader with a body blow like
few other books for any readership.
GENERAL COMMENTS
The judges were impressed with the quality of the books entered for the
Ethel Turner prize, an indication of the strength of writing, illustration
and publishing for children in Australia. Production values of the books
were generally high, particularly in illustrated and picture books, where
design is becoming increasingly imaginative and bold.
Special mention should be made of some titles which were reluctantly not
included on the final shortlist of 6 titles. They are:
Ursula Dubosarsky’s The First Book of Samuel, a beautifully
controlled piece of writing about family heritage and a young boy’s
sense of self;
Dear Fred, by Susanna Rodell and illustrated by Kim Gamble. This
sweetly sad book about siblings separated by divorce and geography is
given a strong centre by Kim Gamble’s glowing, unsentimental watercolours;
Sabriel, by Garth
Nix, is a fine example of fantasy for teenagers, with a remarkable
young woman as its hero, and an imaginatively and credibly realised fantasy
world.
Fantasy and historical fiction were both strongly represented in novels
for older readers. Aboriginal history is at last being written in accessible
and entertaining ways for children; Allan
Baillie’s Songman and Alan
Tucker’s Too Many Captain Cooks offer little-known
information about European and Asian contact with Aboriginal people prior
to 1770. Aboriginal authors and illustrators are also making excellent
contributions to Australian children’s literature, with Ian
Abdulla’s Tucker being this year’s outstanding
example. Several short-story collections indicated that consistent quality
can be maintained in an anthology; Nadia
Wheatley’s The Night Tolkien Died is an excellent example.
A delightful feature of many books for all ages was a strongly imaginative
child at its centre; picture books (such as Just Another Ordinary
Day, by Rod
Clement) in particular took this as their theme. Finally, this year’s
entries were notable for the predominance of humour in books for all ages.
The judges wish to strongly recommend that the Ethel
Turner prize be equivalent in value to its sister prize, the Christina
Stead prize. The lower level of prize money continues to state that
children’s book creators and the books themselves are of less value
than books for adults. It is simple wisdom to note that without child
readers, we would have no adult readers, and that the skills required
to write and illustrate a children’s book are no less than those
of a writer for adults. It should also be pointed out that should a picture
book win the Ethel Turner prize, the money may be split in the case of
the book having a different writer and illustrator, a situation which
further disadvantages the creators of children’s books. We can see
no justification for this disparity and regret the message the lower prize
money sends about the value of children’s writers and illustrators.
Footnote: The Ethel Turner and Patricia Wrightson prizes are currently valued at $15,000 each. The Christina Stead Prize for (adult) fiction is valued at $20,000. Given there are two prizes for children's/YA books, this seems to be a fairly equitable arrangement.