Winners 2009

	Fiction 2009 - Winner MEDIA VACA - Valencia, Spagna "Robinson Crusoe" text and illustrations by Ajubel	What the jury said: Audaciously, Ajubel takes on the traditional marriage of text and image, raising it to a new and higher level. What appears at first to be a departure from tradition proves on closer inspection to be just the opposite. For with the captivating force of signs and colours, Ajabel has created not merely illustrations but iconic images. The scenes that follow one after another are a concentrate of emotion, a phantasmagoria of anxieties, fears and expectations. The classic narrative is here, alive and vibrant with all the dream-like intensity of Defoe’s original text. Ajabel’s work is also an admirable teaching tool, as it compels us to look more selectively at our image-saturated world. This is a unique book that opens up new pathways for our understanding.
	Fiction 2009- Honorable mention FARRAR, STRAUS & GIROUX - New York, NY, Stati Uniti d'America "Last Night" testo e illustrazioni di Hyewon Yum	What the jury said: Hyewon Yum’s very special technique harks back to the early 20th century, a time when a warm, deliberately static style of illustration was in vogue. Expressionism was to sweep away that approach. But Hyewon Yum returns to it with panache, mixing signs, overlapping contours, and showing a true passion for pictorial materiality. As the book proceeds, vibrant line-work alternates with tenuous forms, and ample free space offsets brilliant splashes of colours. We realise finally that this book is a knowing homage to a great tradition. It reminds us of the value of those who carry forward, in a truly noble fashion, graphic traditions that might have disappeared.
	Fiction 2009 - Mention KODANSHA - Tokyo, Giappone " Rue and Linden: a journey and staying home" text by Rui Kodemari, illustrations Yoko Kitami	What the jury said: The parallel lives of a little girl and her cat unfold with the charm of a Victorian tale suspended between dream and magic realism. The book speaks of a complex culture, shows us an intense anthropological mix in a universe of dream. The illustrations resonate in a delightful dialogue with the ancient figurative tradition of Japan. The dream-like quality of the houses, clothes and domestic furnishings hark back to Japanese prints but at the same time engage affectionately with many other cultures. For this is also a voyage of memory as well as a journey through styles, a pilgrimage into an iconic landscape where every citation is the source not only of enjoyment but also of reflection.
	Fiction 2009 - Mention HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY - New York, NY, Stati Uniti d'America "Every Friday" text and illustrations by Dan Yaccarino	What the jury said: With consummate awareness, Dan Yaccarino goes back over a key moment in the history of illustration, echoing with great skill the unforgotten magic of the years between the two world wars when posters, home furnishings, design objects and styles of fashion all came together to create a certain elegance of living. Yaccarino re-defines the light. The compact forms he draws and paints forego the weight of contours. His colour palette never includes the banal. Limpid perspectives are so clearly defined as to seem an accomplished exercise in style intent on inhabiting each scene with a serene, enlivening spirit. Yet as he returns, re-reads and re-thinks, Yaccarino shows a talent all his own that shows through in his own unmistakable style. The result is a magical encounter with a great artist and an unforgettable moment in the history of illustration
	Non Fiction 2009 - Winner SEUIL JEUNESSE - Parigi, Francia "Le livre des terres imaginees" text and illustrations by Guillaume Duprat	What the jury said: Guillaume Duprat leads us through lands of dream beloved of science. Here geography triggers philosophical reflection. This splendid dream-like voyage sets its sights on destinations that have awed, frightened and stimulated innumerable generations. We are shown maps and symbols, man’s fanciful imaginings down the centuries of what Earth looked like, a touching testament to his constant search to know. The book melds myth and geography; its delightful illustrations ensure a stylistic whole. Duprat takes us on a journey that is of particular relevance today. For this Earth of ours that ancient cartographers – visionaries and poets of their time – tried to imagine is the very same Earth we must defend and respect as they did. Only if we show the same love for its arcane beauty will we save our planet.
	Non Fiction 2009 - Mention SYROS JEUNESSE - Parigi, Francia "Les Reves racontes aux petitis curieux" text by Sylvie Baussier, illustrations by Ilya Green	What the jury said: The complex amalgam of illustrations on each page of this book on dreams brings dreams alive. Different planes, opposing styles, artwork hailing from different traditions all come together to produce a series of intense, vivid scenes enhanced by masterful graphic design that recreate the complex dimension of dream. As in dreams, we recognise symbols, snippets of myth – elements that allow us into another dimension and perhaps give us the key to its interpretation. The book excels in its use of an intricate complex of images and references. Like dreams, it is built up in the same way, weaving the same tenuous juxtapositions and inconsistencies.
	Non Fiction 2009 - Mention ACTES SUD JUNIOR - Parigi, Francia "Et toi, ta grand-mere" text di Florence Noiville, illustrations by Christelle Enault	What the jury said: Acknowledgement of other generations – our grandparents and ancestors – our past and family history is essential if we are to become fully-fledged, mindful human beings. This book sets out to impart a precise message: that we can only acquire memory if we exercise delicacy, tenderness and passion. The world of yesterday, the world that came before and is now gone is a world redolent of innumerable stories that make up our roots. The book considers this complex, often hotly debated subject with affection. The graphic style has an uncluttered elegance that highlights the book’s underlying appeal to consider our origins without fear or anxiety. Our grandparents lived lives that had their own charm in a world we should regard with respectful interest. This acknowledgement in itself will help us to face the future with serenity.
	Non Fiction 2009 - Mention YEOWON MEDIA - Seoul, Corea "Math in an Art Museum" text by Majoongmul, illustration by Yoon Ju Kim	What the jury said: The exuberant, masterful images in this book provide the reader with a refreshing insight into what a visit to an art exhibition or museum should be. Children see, absorb, re-elaborate and create. They participate actively. The figurative stimuli offered by this elegant book are many and varied as befits a child’s perceptive skills. This is no guided art gallery tour weighed down by an impossible number of facts. Rather it is a child’s eye view of artistic treasures – a light-hearted, unencumbered gaze that is not embarrassed to voice offbeat likenesses or include unusual contaminations. It mixes knowledge and enthusiasm, the fresh vision of the untrained eye and expert critical appraisal. Above all, we are reminded, comes the simple awe of the child, here rendered with charm and understanding.
	New Horizons 2009 - Winner EKARE - Caracas, Venezuela "El Contador de Cuentos" text by Saki, illustrazioni di Alba Marina Rivera	What the jury said: La giuria ha preliminarmente considerato, in tutto il suo valore, la coraggiosa scelta compiuta da Alba Marina Rivera di illustrare il capolavoro di Saki, ovvero una delle novelle più acute e inquietanti della novellistica moderna. Verso il testo di Saki, la disegnatrice non mostra inibizioni, incertezze, dubbi, timori. Così rende davvero i soprassalti, tra ironia, noia, disgusto, attesa, su cui si fonda la novella. Ma, del pari, sa anche benissimo decifrare visivamente l’indubbio clima figurale che domina il vagone di quel treno in cui avviene uno scontro potente tra due concezioni educative, tra due opzioni morali, forse tra due visioni del mondo. Così la zia, il narratore, i bambini vengono tutti ricondotti alle ragioni di una eleganza allusiva, complice, densa di sottaciute tensioni. E il narratore di Saki riceve una appassionante definizione grafica che lo fa entrare nel fantastico più nascosto, proprio nel cuore del fantastico dove vuole collocarlo l’illustratrice. E il treno contenitore aggiunge grazia tipografica all’intensa impresa visiva.
	New Horizons 2009 - Mention FONDO DE CULTURA ECONOMICA - Città del Messico, Messico "Hago de voz un cuerpo" text by Mara Baranda, illustrations by Gabriel Pacheco	What the jury said: Gabriel Pacheco’s illustrations offer the reader a rare experience. Pacheco’s world is composite in the extreme, a medley of quotations, snippets, cuttings and collages. It is an approach well suited to illustrating poetry, an art form where references and inferences abound. Yet Pacheco’s vision goes beyond the single illustration to embrace the whole universe of print. Nothing is excluded - even an old newspaper may trigger an idea, a single object sum up a whole world, a simple sketch contain a world of words. Indeed this was the great lesson we learned from surrealism.
	New Horizons 2009 - Mention INSTITUTE FOR THE INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS (KANOON) - Tehran, Iran "Arang Arang tell me what the color" text by Afsaneh Shabannezhad, illustration by Rashin Kheyrieh	What the jury said: From the many examples submitted, the Jury appreciated Iran’s strong independent tradition whose artists clearly draw inspiration from a centuries-old narrative history. The masterful artwork in this book is even more incisive, elegant and alluring, showing how vibrant this tradition continues to be. The visual universe we all share is here made up of new and old. There are references to ancient works and age-old canons but also to 20th century graphic art. This meeting of cultures not only yields a delightful visual experience but also shows us a world in which no source of inspiration is rejected whatever its origin.
	Opera Prima 2009 - Winner THE TEMPLAR PUBLISHING - Dorking, Gran Bretagna "Mr. Peek and the Misunderstanding at the Zoo" text and illustrations by Kevin Waldron	What the jury said: Kevin Waldron’s “opera prima” has all the charm and refreshing enthusiasm of a first work. Story and illustrations literally dance from page to page with the boundless joy of a truly entertaining author. Allusive irony combines with clever graphic art whose sequences recall the pace of silent movies. Yet Kevin Waldron is not just refreshing, lively and highly intuitive. He is also the knowing heir of the many great artists of the Thirties who were behind the memorable American magazines of their day. Waldron’s book is imbued with a veritable cult for a graphic art and printing adventure that made history. The mix of fresh new talent and well-honed research makes for a truly unique work.

Bologna Children's Book Fair

The rights place for children's content

Winners 2009