Storm (novella)
Encyclopedia
Storm is a children's book by Kevin Crossley-Holland
, illustrated by Alan Marks
. It won the Carnegie Medal
for 1985.
Published in the Banana Book series by Heinemann
, this can be considered the first title for younger readers to win the Carnegie Medal. There had been some discussion and concern among children's librarians that during the 1970s and early 1980s the Medal had been going almost exclusively to titles aimed at teenage readers, so this winner was seen as an attempt towards redressing the balance.
That said, it is not a simple story. The language is deceptively simple: no difficult words are used but the effect is poetic and moving, and the ideas conveyed are anything but simple. Is it a ghost story? Is it a folk legend? Crossley-Holland is a folklore scholar and brings elements of the folk tale, and of the legends of the East Anglian country in which he lived at the time, into this 42-page story of Annie and her adventure on a wild stormy night.
Kevin Crossley-Holland
Kevin John William Crossley-Holland is an English translator, children's author and poet.-Life and career:Born in Mursley, north Buckinghamshire, Holland grew up in Whiteleaf, a small village in the Chilterns...
, illustrated by Alan Marks
Alan Marks
Alan Marks is an English artist and illustrator.Marks studied at the Medway College of Art and design from 1976 to 1977, and at the Bath Academy of Art from 1977 to 1980. He briefly taught at the Bath Academy and at Southampton Art College. Since then, he has worked in magazines before turning to...
. It won the Carnegie Medal
Carnegie Medal
The Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
for 1985.
Published in the Banana Book series by Heinemann
Heinemann (book publisher)
Heinemann is a UK publishing house founded by William Heinemann in Covent Garden, London in 1890. On William Heinemann's death in 1920 a majority stake was purchased by U.S. publisher Doubleday. It was later acquired by commemorate Thomas Tilling in 1961...
, this can be considered the first title for younger readers to win the Carnegie Medal. There had been some discussion and concern among children's librarians that during the 1970s and early 1980s the Medal had been going almost exclusively to titles aimed at teenage readers, so this winner was seen as an attempt towards redressing the balance.
That said, it is not a simple story. The language is deceptively simple: no difficult words are used but the effect is poetic and moving, and the ideas conveyed are anything but simple. Is it a ghost story? Is it a folk legend? Crossley-Holland is a folklore scholar and brings elements of the folk tale, and of the legends of the East Anglian country in which he lived at the time, into this 42-page story of Annie and her adventure on a wild stormy night.