A complete newbie to book awards, I decided to watch a recent children’s book award ceremony to understand what they entail. I wanted to watch a children’s book award ceremony to gain further insight into what are considered some of the best children’s books.
As I do not have any young people’s book award ceremonies to commence within my area, I decided to watch ‘The Royal Society’ Young People’s Book Prize 2019 Awards Ceremony online. The awards ceremony uploaded on to their YouTube channel ‘The Royal Society.’
Source: The Royal Society, November 21, 2019.
What is the Royal Society Young People Book Prize Award?
I discovered that ‘The Royal Society’ is the world’s oldest scientific academy, first formed in 1660 in London, England. The Royal Society impressively holds a fellowship of many of the worlds most well-known Scientists.
The ‘Young People’s Book Prize Awards’ has been inspiring children, typically around the focused age of children aged under 14. to want to learn and get excited about reading incredible science books designed just for them.
(The Royal Society, 2019).
What was I expecting from the Young People’s Book Award Ceremony, and how was it really?
I believed before watching the ceremony that I would definitely gain some valuable insights in to some interesting children’s Science books and gain some knowledge into what makes a children’s book an award winning book. I did not however expect that the ceremony would be so engaging to watch, filled with such excitement and passion.
The ceremony was presented by a host named Lindsey Russell, whom had a very warm and bubbly personality that helped to create the positive atmosphere of the ceremony.
Source: The Royal Society, November 21, 2019.
There was a fun ‘Rockets and Robots’ show performed by ‘Professor Percy Veirs’ and his robot. Creating subtle learning practices by associating play.
Source: The Royal Society, November 21, 2019.
“The first robot was made in 350 BC in Ancient Greece, called ‘the pigeon’ and was able to fly” – Professor Percy Viers.
The Judges
There were several judges that reviewed the books, with the challenging task of carefully choosing 6 of the very best out of 100 children’s science books. A few of the judges were;
- Sarah Eams – a Primary School Teacher and ‘fellow of the Primary science Teaching trust’
- Sheila Bronwyn – Professor of Astronomy Physics at The University of Glasgow
- Michael Rosen – Author and Poet
The six finalists
- The Bacteria Book by Steve Mould
- The Element in the room by Mark Barfield
- Planetarium by Raman Prinja
- Science Makers: Making with States of Matter by Anna Claybourne
- 100 Things to Know about Numbers, Computers and Coding by Eddie Reynolds
- Kid Scientists by David Stabler
(The Royal Society, November 21, 2019).
It was than up to children to chosen groups of children under 14 to decide the verdict.
And the Winner is..
Planetarium by Raman Prinja
Source: Hardie Grant Publishing. (2018). Planetarium
What gaps in my knowledge were revealed through out this activity and how might I fill those gaps?
I knew very little about the process in how a winning book is chosen. I learnt that there is a process in which professionals assess the books, keeping in mind the educational needs of the children. To continue watching latest book award ceremonies will help to broaden my knowledge of various children’s books.
References:
Planetarium, Hardie Grant Publishing (2018). Retrieved January 20, 2020, from https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/publishing/bookfinder/book/planetarium-by-chris-wormell/9781787411579
The Royal Society (November 21, 2019).Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2019 Award Ceremony. Retrieved from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z74pyW76TAU
The Royal Society.(2019). History of the Royal Society. Retrieved from: https://royalsociety.org/about-us/history/
The Royal Society. (2019). More Information. Retrieved from: https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/book-prizes/young-peoples-book-prize/more-information/