Shortlist for Carnegie medal offers locked-down children 'hope and escapism'

Run simultaneously with the Kate Greenaway medal for illustration, judges say this year’s finalists should inspire and empower their young readers

From a picture book about a father and son’s hike into the mountains, to the story of an exhausted lion that captures the majesty of nature, the books in the running for the UK’s oldest children’s book awards this year have been praised for “offering hope and escapism during lockdown”.

The Cilip Carnegie medal, for the best children’s novel, and the Kate Greenaway medal, for the best children’s illustrator, have been running since 1936 and 1955 respectively. Judged by children’s librarians, previous winners of the Carnegie range from Arthur Ransome to Philip Pullman, while the Kate Greenaway has gone to some of the UK’s best-loved illustrators, from Shirley Hughes to Quentin Blake.

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