ALC入選2011年 The Crichton Award for New Illustrators的兩本書

The Crichton Award for New Illustrators

由澳洲CBCA award的維多利亞分會所頒發的插畫家設置的獎項—The Crichton Award for New Illustrators，同樣的ALC也有兩本書的繪者入選。

該項獎項是頒予澳洲優秀的新晉童書繪畫家，鼓勵他們不斷提升作品的質素。

http://cbca.org.au/ChrichtonShortlist_2011.htm

The Flying Orchestra

出版公司：University of Queensland Press(UQP)

作者/繪者：Clare McFadden

有些日子，風大得連天使都會失去平衡，這就代表了飛行管弦樂團要來了！無論我們歡樂或失意、工作或玩耍之時，飛行管弦樂團都會為我們演奏…

本書藉由「飛行管弦樂團」的故事告訴我們音樂無處不在，亦希望藉此帶領孩子們探討音樂抽象的概念。

【關於作者/繪者】

Clare McFadden是兒童美術設計與製作人，現於昆士蘭州立圖書館任職。在此之前，她在Backbone Youth Arts擔任藝術發展統籌，負責設計劇院、製作電影與音樂。她亦曾以個人或團體名義展覽她的插畫作品。本書為Clare McFadden的第一本圖畫書作品。

The Glasshouse

出版公司：Ford Street

作者/繪者：Paul Collins and Jo Thompson

克拉(Clara)住在一個完美無瑕的玻璃屋裡種植南瓜，那裡空氣純淨、溫度適中、沒有害蟲，因此她的南瓜非常受歡迎。

直到有一天，一個男孩闖進她的生命中，克拉拉(Clara)漸漸地發現她的世界原來一點也不完美。她開始鑽牛角尖，再也沒有人願意來買她的南瓜。

最後，她才終於學會了面對現實，並明白世界需要多一點容忍與妥協。……

點選連結，可線上看影片介紹：

http://www.fordstreetpublishing.com/index.php/ford-street-titles/153-the-glasshouse

評論

This picture book, with its pumpkin-coloured endpapers, is about a girl with pumpkin-coloured hair who is fanatical about growing pumpkins. Clara lives in a glasshouse with her pumpkins, in perfect conditions that are free from bugs and frost. Everyone agrees that Clara’s pumpkins are the most beautiful they’ve ever seen. But Clara’s obsession with her pumpkins excludes everything else. She shuns the outside world and everyone in it. In fact she is so preoccupied with her pumpkin world that she barely notices the boy who visits one day. This story feels like a fairytale romance, but it is about paranoia and the problems of not being able to face the world, and I wonder what a young reader will make of it. The girl and the boy with the dreamy eyes come together in the end, in true fairytale fashion, and it appears that she has overcome her obsession with pumpkins, as I presume she smashed her glasshouse with the stone she picked up at the end. The illustrations are brightly coloured and stylised, but I couldn’t help wanting the sad-eyed girl to look a little more animated.

Australian Bookseller & Publisher Magazine

【關於作者】

知名得獎作家Paul Collins(也是Ford Street的創辦人)，他最著名的作品是；The Quentaris Chronicles，The Jelindel Chronicles和The Earthborn Wars三大系列科幻小說，深受青少年的喜愛。

作者網頁：http://www.paulcollins.com.au/

【關於繪者】

獲獎無數的Jo Thompson，是一名插畫家、藝術家與平面設計師。2009年她榮獲了CYA Illustration Competition(Children’s & Young Adult Writer & Illustrators Conference)；同一年，Ford Street即出版她與Paul Collins合作的第一本圖畫書The Glasshouse。她熱愛繪畫，並與Dr Virginia Lowe共同開辦Create a Kids’ Book Illustration Workshops。