Neil Gaiman does the Double

For the first time ever, one book has won both the Newbery Medal in the United States and the Carnegie Medal in the United Kingdom. That the winner happens to be one of my personal favourites makes the news even sweeter.

Congratulations to Neil Gaiman who was last week announced the winner of the Carnegie with The Graveyard Book.

"This is an extraordinary book in every way: the style, plot and quality of the writing," says Margaret Pemberton, Chair of the Judges. "With great skill Gaiman has created a gripping page turner, expertly supported by well developed characters, that is full of humour and humanity. Not a word is wasted in this episodic tale that draws the reader through Bod's childhood to a well crafted and satisfying conclusion. A worthy winner." (retrieved from the full Press Release)

His book beat out Nation by Terry Pratchett, Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve and The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness.

Neil Gaiman is a favourite of ours, but one reason for that is because we are a favourite of his. In his acceptance speech, Neil made a point of promoting the importance of libraries. Here's some of what he said:

"We're now in an age of 'too much information'. Libraries and librarians are more important than ever. "Children want stories. They want information. They want knowledge about the strange world they're in. Saying that the internet can be that is like setting a child free in a jungle and expecting them safely to find things to eat." (full report available from the UK Telegraph)

Of course we agree with every word of the above statement. We couldn't have said it better ourselves.