The Royal Mail Scottish Children’s Book Awards, sponsored by TES Scotland forms an important part of the literary calendar in Scotland. Instead of being judged by adults, a shortlist of books published by Scottish writers and selected by an adult panel is put out to children all over the country to judge for themselves.

The nine titles shortlisted for honours in the new awards to celebrate Scottish children’s books are announced today (Friday, May 5).

The inaugural Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children’s Books is divided into three categories, with three books shortlisted in each category, reflecting the strength and depth of contemporary Scottish children’s books. The categories and shortlisted titles are as follows:

Early Years (0 - 7 years)
Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Little Lost Cowboy by Simon Puttock and Caroline Jayne Church
The Sea Mice and the Stars by Kenneth Steven and Louise Ho

Younger readers (8 - 12 years)
Deep Water by Debi Gliori
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J K Rowling
The Sign of the Black Dagger by Joan Lingard

Older readers (13 - 16 years)
The Drowning Pond by Catherine Forde
Green Jasper by K.M. Grant
Roxy’s Baby by Catherine MacPhail

The shortlisted titles – all of which were published in 2005 by authors or illustrators born or resident in Scotland – were chosen by a panel of experts from the realms of literature and education. The books will be read by young people in reading groups at schools, libraries and bookshops across Scotland during this year’s autumn school term, with the children themselves voting for their favourite book thereafter.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Monday, November 27 at the new Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh. Each of the three winners will receive a cash prize of ￡1,000, with runners-up collecting ￡200 each.

A book review competition for children will run concurrently, with prizes awarded to the best reviews of shortlisted titles, including a prize for the best Gaelic review of a shortlisted book. Reviews will be posted on the BRAW website throughout the judging process. The Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children’s Books are managed by BRAW (Books Reading And Writing) in partnership with the Scottish Arts Council and are supported by the Times 　　Educational Supplement Scotland. The awards are an evolution of the Scottish Arts Council Children’s Book of the Year, former winners of which include J.K.Rowling and Harry Horse.

蘇格蘭兒童圖書皇家郵政獎由讀書與寫作集團（BRAW）和蘇格蘭藝術理事會主辦，泰晤士蘇格蘭教育副刊協辦。該獎由蘇格蘭藝術理事會年度兒童圖書獎演變而來，獲得過該獎的作家包括J?K?羅琳和哈里?霍斯。由TES Scotland贊助的蘇格蘭兒童圖書皇家郵政獎是蘇格蘭的日歷中不可或缺的一部分。在該獎項的評選當中，大人們并不能加以評判。由成人審核團挑選出來的書目會制作成一張候選名單，名單上所有的書目都是由蘇格蘭作家進行創作的。該候選名單將會公布給全蘇格蘭的兒童，并讓他們自行評判抉擇。

2006年的蘇格蘭兒童圖書新獎的最后9本候選書目于5月5日出爐。

蘇格蘭兒童圖書皇家郵政獎分為三類，每類包括三本候選書目，反映當代蘇格蘭兒童圖書的力度和深度。本年三類獎項及其候選書目如下：

兒童讀物（0-7歲）
朱麗亞·唐納森和艾克塞爾·謝弗勒的《查理·庫克最愛的書》
西蒙·普托克和凱羅琳·簡·丘奇的《迷途的小牛仔》
肯尼思·斯蒂芬和路易斯·何的《海洋鼠和星星》

少年讀物（8-12歲）
得比·格里奧里的《深海》
J·K·羅琳的《哈利·波特與混血王子》
喬恩·林葛爾德的《黑匕首符號》

青少年讀物（13-16歲）
凱瑟琳·弗德的《死寂的池塘》
K·M·格蘭特的《綠碧石》
凱瑟琳·麥菲爾的《洛克西的嬰孩》

這些候選書目都出版于2005年，由來自文學和教育界的專家小組選出，其作者或誕生或定居于蘇格蘭。今年的秋季學期，這些書目將流通于全蘇格蘭的學校、圖書館以及書店的閱讀小組，為廣大少年兒童所閱讀，由他們從中選出自己最喜愛的書目。

11月27日，在愛丁堡新建的“蘇格蘭講故事中心”舉行的頒獎典禮上，將公布獲獎名單。三位獲獎人將被授予1,000英鎊的獎金，而三位亞軍將分別獲得200英鎊的獎金。同時將舉行兒童書評大賽，評選出候選書目的最佳評論，包括最佳蓋爾書評獎。評審期間，書評將被擺上BRAW的網站。

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