For the first time, a bilingual book has taken out the top prize at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
Te Wehenga: The Separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku, by Mat Tait, won the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award, the highest accolade in children’s literature, at a ceremony held last night at Wellington’s Pipitea Marae.
Te Wehenga presents the Māori creation myth in te reo Māori and English, immersing the reader in the darkness of the space between Papatūānuku, the earth mother, and Ranginui, the sky father. Convenor of judges Nicola Daly said the way the two languages were shown and integrated into the illustrations felt like a metaphorical representation of the increasing bilingualism in the country.
Motueka-based Tait also collected the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction for the book.
Duck Goes Meow, by Juliette MacIver, illustrated by Carla Martell, won the Picture Book Award. The judges said the book was a joyous celebration of the unexpected and delivered a conclusion that surprises the animals in the story and readers alike.
David Hill was awarded the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction for Below, a survival story set in a catastrophic tunnel collapse. The judges said it trusted its young readers to handle big environmental ideas and come to their own conclusions.
The Young Adult Fiction Award went to Philippa Werry for her “inventive and original” verse novel Iris and Me about the life of 20th-century NZ writer Robin Hyde (aka Iris Wilkinson).
A Portrait of Leonardo, by Donovan Bixley, won the Russell Clark Award for Illustration. The judges thought it a vibrant retelling of the life of Leonardo da Vinci, and a fluent and delightful feast for the eyes, sporting visual humour, puns, puzzles and first-rate drawing skills.
The Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for Te Reo Māori went to Kua Whetūrangitia a Koro, by Brianne Te Paa, illustrated by Story Hemi-Morehouse. The judges loved how the traditional Māori narrative was tailored to fit a new world and a new audience.
The NZSA Best First Book Award went to The Lighthouse Princess, by Susan Wardell, illustrated by Rose Northey. This book’s poetic writing and whimsical illustrations made it stand out, said the judges.
Winners of each category receive $7500 except for the first book winners, who take home $2500.
