Bookcase

By FRANCES PLUMPTON

Martin Waddell of Ireland has been announced as the winner of IBBY's (International Board on Books for Young People ) 2004 Hans Christian Andersen Award.

Waddell is well-known for his picture books for preschoolers.

These include The Great Green Mouse Disaster, Farmer Duck, (awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal, 1988), You and Me Little Bear, The Pig in the Pond and Owl Babies. He has also written novels for children and young adults.

Waddell began writing for adults in the early 1970s but injuries suffered in a bomb blast stopped him from writing for several years until 1978 when The Blue Velvet Dress was published under the pseudonym of Catherine Sefton, a name he used for many of his novels for young adults.

Martin Waddell will be presented with his award at the IBBY Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, on Septemer 5 to 9.

- Frances Plumpton