Students from Coláiste Chill Mhantáin take to the stage to recite poems they wrote about their own experiences.
Wicklow students from Coláiste Chill Mhantáin took to the stage at the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards ceremony, held in partnership with the International Literature Festival Dublin this week.
The Wicklow students recited their own poems to schoolchildren from across Ireland as well as much-loved children’s authors and illustrators in attendance. Their poems were the result of a spoken-word poetry initiative which encouraged students to write about their own ideas and experiences. Through a series of workshops, students were introduced to spoken word poetry and the power of language.
Students from fourteen schools in Wicklow also participated in a national Junior Juries programme for this year’s KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards, including Glenart College, Arklow, Greystones Community College, Kilmacanogue National School, Bray, St. Mary’s and St. Gerard’s National School, Enniskerry and Wicklow Educate Together School National School, Wicklow town.
Through the programme young people in schools, libraries and book clubs shadowed adult judges in reading, discussing and assessing the shortlisted books. The judging panel read a record 158 titles from Irish-born or Ireland-based writers and illustrators, the biggest year so far in the history of the awards.
Speaking at the ceremony, Elaina Ryan, CEO of Children’s Books Ireland, said: “This year’s award winners showcase the outstanding quality and variety of contemporary Irish children’s literature. The fact that so many of the winners and shortlistees are débuts is remarkable – the Awards are an opportunity for us to celebrate both emerging and established creators and to connect them with their audiences.
“Through our Junior Juries programme, we have seen the joy and excitement these shortlisted books have sparked in over 12,700 young readers across Ireland. Today, in front of an audience of 600 excited readers, we’re proud to recognise the talent and hard work of these extraordinary writers and illustrators whose work will no doubt be such a formative part of so many young readers’ childhoods.”
