Every year I try to predict the Irish children’s books on the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Books of the Year shortlist. The 2023 Awards are given to books published in 2022 by Irish writers or illustrators, or those living and working in Ireland.
It was an outstanding year for picturebooks in particular.
Here are my predictions:
1/ Frankie’s World by Aoife Dooley - overall award and Children’s Choice
Well a girl can dream! It would be amazing to see this outstanding graphic novel win the overall award.
2/ Be Wild Little One by Olivia Hope and Daniel Egnéus (Eilis Dillon Award for first book)
3/ The Wilderness by Steve McCarthy - a strong contender for the illustration award
4/ Girls Who Slay Monsters by Ellen Ryan and Shona Shirley Macdonald - another contender for the illustration award
5/ Fox and Sons Tailers by Paddy Donnelly (Wolves in Helicopters is pretty special too!)
6/ Our Dog Hen by David Mackintosh - one of my favourite pictuebook makers
7/ Our Green City by Tanya Lloyd Kyi and Colleen Larmour - one of my favourite picturebooks of the year
8/ The Chestnut Roaster by Eve McDonnell - outstanding historical fantasy
9/ Run for Your Life by Jane Mitchell
10/ Truth be Told by Sue Divin
Other possibles:
Well Done, Mummy Penguin by Chris Haughton (Walker Books)
Chirp! by Mary Murphy
Our Big Day by Bob Johnson and Michael Emberley
Amuigh Faoin Spéir by Sadhbh Devlin and Brian Fitzgerald
Cloud Babies by Eoin Colfer and Chris Judge
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, illustrated by PJ Lynch
Spellstoppers by Cat Gray - fantasy adventure at its best!
The Book of Secrets by Alex Dunne
The Lost Girl King by Catherine Doyle
The Shark and the Scar by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald
Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber
The Secrets Act by Alison Weatherby
Things I Know by Helena Close
these are the words: Fearless verse to find your voice by Nikita Gill
The Eternal Return of Clara Hart by Louise Finch
Best of luck to all those who published books in 2022!