Abingdonian 2018

50 The Abingdonian Shadowing the Carnegie This year saw 11 Lower School students join forces with students from five other Abingdon schools to shadow the judging process for the 2018 Carnegie Medal. It was our 15th consecutive year of Carnegie Shadowing. The Carnegie Medal is awarded annually by children’s librarians for the year’s most outstanding book for young people. Established in 1935 - when it was awarded to Arthur Ransome for Swallow and Amazons - it is the UK’s oldest and most prestigious children’s book award. Many authors refer to it as “the one I want to win”. The eight titles on the shortlist for 2018 ranged from Lissa Evans’ Wed wabbit , the story of two children who accidentally find themselves in a world ruled by a malevolent soft toy, to Angie Thomas’s The hate u give , a gripping drama about a girl who becomes a political activist after her best friend is killed by police. Shadowing for the 2018 award began in early March, when students began the process of reading, reviewing and discussing the eight shortlisted titles at a tea hosted by Larkmead School. After listening to tips from actor and storyteller Gerald Dickens, a great- great grandson of Charles Dickens, participants discussed their first impression of the books and voted on which one they thought would be the most interesting to read. At the Carnegie quiz in May, this year hosted by Fitzharrys School, Abingdon students competed in teams made up of students from all the schools involved to answer 10 questions on each of the shortlisted books. An award for Outstanding Carnegie Shadower went to Dheeraj Khollanthotathil. The Shadowing process culminated on 18 June in the Carnegie Forum, held at Christ Church, Abingdon. Abingdon students again worked as part of mixed teams, facilitated by PGCE students from The University of Oxford, this time to create and stage a three minute performance to promote their favourite shortlisted book. The panel of judges included children’s author Lee Sterrey, Gerald Dickens, David Heywood from the UK’s largest school book supplier, Browns Books for Students, and Sarah Dennis, proprietor of Abingdon’s Mostly Books. Prizes were awarded by the Mayor of Abingdon. The finale of the Forum saw students vote for their favourite shortlisted Carnegie book. The winner of the Abingdon Joint Schools Carnegie Award 2018, by a narrow margin, was Angie Thomas’s The hate u give . The choice of the national Carnegie judges, Geraldine McCaughrean’s Where the world ends , was judged the least favourite of Abingdon students, continuing the pattern of disagreement that has characterised the local Shadowing process since its inauguration 15 years ago! To their frustration, Abingdon students very narrowly missed out on prizes awarded for best reviews and best individual contribution to a performance, but it was a very close run contest, and everyone involved enjoyed the day immensely. Graham Gardner Rook by Anthony McGowan Rook by Anthony McGowan centres around two brothers, Nicky and Kenny. Nicky is the youngest and he looks out for his elder brother Kenny, who has learning difficulties. One day when they are both walking their dog through the