Head this fabulous news yesterday but only getting to blog about it today. Shaun Tan has been awarded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award! For those of you not in the know, it's like the Nobel for Children's Literature with a award of £490,000.
The jury said “Shaun Tan is a masterly visual storyteller, pointing the way ahead to new possibilities for picture books. His pictorial worlds constitute a separate universe where nothing is self-evident and anything is possible. Memories of childhood and adolescence are fixed reference points, but the pictorial narrative is universal and touches everyone, regardless of age”
Shaun had no idea that he has won. He was washing the dishes at home when he got the call from ALMA. He wasn't even going to answer the phone. Read more on Shauns Blog here, and on The Guardian here.
I was really lucky to meet Shaun when he was in Dublin for the Children's Books Conference you can read about when I met him here. Members of the IGI got to hang out and talk about illustration for a few hours.
Shaun's illustrations are so amazing. His dedication and the love he has put into his books are inspiring. I first came across his work when Marie Louise Fitzpatrick brought The Red Tree and The Lost Thing back from Australia.
Go have a look at Shaun on World News Australia this morning. Imagine how overwhelming it is. I am absolutely thrilled for him!!!!
