Kate Greenaway Medal


The Kate Greenaway Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals which inherited it from the Library Association.
The Medal is named after the 19th-century English illustrator of children's books Kate Greenaway. It was established in 1955 and inaugurated next year for 1955 publications, but no work was considered suitable. The first Medal was awarded in 1957 to Edward Ardizzone for Tim All Alone, which he also wrote. That first Medal was dated 1956. Only since 2007 the Medal is dated by its presentation during the year following publication. The Greenaway is a companion to the Carnegie Medal which recognises one outstanding work of writing for children and young adults.
Nominated books must be first published in the U.K. during the preceding school year, with English-language text if any.
The award by CILIP is a gold Medal and £500 worth of books donated to the illustrator's chosen library. Since 2000 there is also a £5000 cash prize from a bequest by the children's book collector Colin Mears.

Rules

Library and information professionals nominate books in September and October, after the close of the publication year. A panel of 12 children's librarians in CILIP's youth interest group judges both the Carnegie and Greenaway books.
Currently the shortlist is announced in March and the winner in June, between nine and 21 months after first U.K. publication.
Candidates must be published in the U.K. during the preceding year. They must be published for young people, and published in the U.K. originally or within three months in case of co-publication. English must be the language of any text, or one of dual languages.
"All categories of illustrated books for children and young people are eligible."
CILIP specifies numerous points of artistic style, format, and visual experience, and also "synergy of illustration and text" that should be considered "where applicable". Furthermore, "The whole work should provide pleasure from a stimulating and satisfying visual experience which leaves a lasting impression. Illustrated work needs to be considered primarily in terms of its graphic elements, and where text exists particular attention should be paid to the synergy between the two."

Winners

Through 2019 there have been 62 Greenaway Medals awarded in 64 years, covering 1955 to 2018 publications approximately. No eligible book published in 1955 or 1958 was considered suitable.
From 2007 the medals are dated by the year of presentation; previously by the calendar year of British publication, which then defined the eligible works.

Winners of multiple awards

Only one illustrator, Chris Riddell, has won three Greenaway Medals. Thirteen other illustrators have won two of the 60 Greenaway Medals awarded through 2017. The first winner of two Medals was John Burningham, 1963 and 1970.
Only A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness and Jim Kay, has won both the Carnegie and Greenaway Medals for writing and illustration.
In 2014, This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen won both the Greenaway Medal and the American Caldecott Medal, which recognises a picture book illustrated by a U.S. citizen or resident. This is the first time the same book has won both medals. The recently common practice of co-publication makes a double win possible. Indeed, This Is Not My Hat was released in Britain and America on the same day, 9 October 2012, by Walker Books and its American subsidiary Candlewick Press.
Gail E. Haley was the first illustrator to win both medals, albeit for different works: the 1971 Caldecott for A Story a Story and the 1976 Greenaway for The Post Office Cat. She also wrote both books.
Helen Oxenbury, who won the 1969 and 1999 medals, was also a "Highly Commended" runner-up four times from 1989 to 1994; the distinction was used 31 times in 29 years to 2002 and no other illustrator was highly commended more than twice.
Michael Foreman, who won the 1982 and 1989 medals, was highly commended once and four times a "Commended" runner-up, a distinction used 68 times in 44 years to 2002.
Walker Books, based in London, with American subsidiary Candlewick Press in Somerville, MA, has published 10 of the 30 Greenaway Medal-winning works from 1985 to 2014.

50-year ''Greenaway of Greenaways'' (2007)

For the 50th anniversary, CILIP posted online information about all of the winning works and conducted a poll to identify the nation's favourite Kate Greenaway Medalist. The winner was announced 21 June 2007 at the British Library. By less than one percentage point Dogger, illustrated and written by Shirley Hughes, outpolled Each Peach Pear Plum illustrated by Janet Ahlberg and written by Allan Ahlberg.
The nation, and international voters too, considered a ballot or all-time shortlist comprising ten of the 53 Medal-winning works, selected by six "children's book experts". The panel provided annotations including recommended ages that range from 1+ to 10+ years; age 4+ for the winner.
50th Anniversary Top Ten
Headings give the official award dates: years of publication before 2006; years of presentation after 2006.
;1954 Carnegie Medal
Illustrator Harold Jones received a Special Commendation for the 1954 Carnegie Medal, for his part in Lavender's Blue: A Book of Nursery Rhymes, compiled by Kathleen Lines — a 180-page collection named for "Lavender's Blue", which Oxford University Press has reprinted many times. It was "a major reason" for the Library Association to establish the Kate Greenaway Medal that year. No 1955 work was judged worthy in 1956, so the Greenaway was actually inaugurated one year later, recognising a 1956 publication.

1955 to 1994

Prior to 1995 these listings cover only the Medalist and known Highly Commended or Commended books.
1955
1956 Edward Ardizzone, Tim All Alone @
Ardizzone had inaugurated the Tim series in 1936 with Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain ; its last sequel was Ships Cook Ginger. Tim All Alone was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works in 2007.
1957 V. H. Drummond, Mrs Easter and the Storks @
1958
No work was considered suitable, the second and last time.
1959 William Stobbs, Kashtanka, by Anton Chekhov
and A Bundle of Ballads, by Ruth Manning-Sanders from the Child Ballads
The 1959 medal recognised two books, the first of four such occasions to 1982. Two runners-up were "Commended", a new distinction that would be used 99 times in 44 years to 2002, including 31 "Highly Commended" books that were named beginning 1974.
1960 Gerald Rose, Old Winkle and the Seagulls, by Elizabeth Rose
1961 Antony Maitland, Mrs Cockle's Cat, by Philippa Pearce
1962 Brian Wildsmith, ABC @
ABC was Wildsmith's first book, an alphabet book without any words, commissioned by Mabel George at Oxford.
1963 John Burningham, ' @
Borka was Burningham's first book as an author or illustrator and it was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works in 2007.
1964 C. Walter Hodges, Shakespeare's Theatre @ —nonfiction
Hodges was a freelance illustrator, a lover of theatre, and an authority on theatre construction in Shakespeare's time. Shakespeare's Theatre was the first nonfiction book cited for the medal.
Ambrus and Papas received the first and only commendations for "work in general".
1965 Victor Ambrus, The Three Poor Tailors @
The Three Poor Tailors was the first-published book written by Ambrus, who had illustrated dozens of fiction and nonfiction books for Oxford since immigrating from Hungary via Austria.
1966 Raymond Briggs, Mother Goose Treasury, traditional
1967 Charles Keeping, Charley, Charlotte and the Golden Canary @
1968 Pauline Baynes, A Dictionary of Chivalry, by Grant Uden —reference
Baynes alone has won the medal for illustrating a reference book; only a few nonfiction or fictionalised information books have been cited.
The distinguished runners-up were called "Honours" rather than "Commended" for 1968, 1969, and perhaps 1970.
1969 Helen Oxenbury, The Quangle Wangle's Hat, by Edward Lear
and The Dragon of an Ordinary Family, by Margaret Mahy
The distinguished runners-up were called "Honours" again.
1970 John Burningham, Mr Gumpy's Outing @
Burningham became the first to win two medals, 1963 and 1970, one year after his wife Helen Oxenbury won her first of two. As of 2012 fourteen illustrators have won two Greenaways, none three.
Garfield and Blishen won the companion Carnegie Medal for The God Beneath the Sea.
1971 Jan Pieńkowski, The Kingdom under the Sea and other stories, retold by Joan Aiken
1972 Krystyna Turska, The Woodcutter's Duck @
1973 Raymond Briggs, Father Christmas @
Briggs introduced the grumpy old man with a challenging, lonely job, to be continued in Father Christmas Goes on Holiday. Father Christmas was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works in 2007.
1974 Pat Hutchins, The Wind Blew @
The Wind Blew has been called informative, meteorological poetry.
1975 Victor Ambrus, Horses in Battle @
and Mishka @
Ambrus won his second medal. Horses in Battle, nonfiction or fictionalised history, is the latest "information book" to be cited except for one, Pirate Diary.
1976 Gail E. Haley, The Post Office Cat @
Haley had won the 1971 Caldecott Medal and moved to the U.K. in 1973. No one else has won both medals, which CILIP rules and co-publication enable in the 21st century.
1977 Shirley Hughes, Dogger @
Dogger was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works in 2007, and was voted the public favourite from that slate.
1978 Janet Ahlberg, Each Peach Pear Plum, by Allan Ahlberg
Each Peach Pear Plum was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works in 2007, and finished a close second in public voting on that slate.
1979 Jan Pieńkowski, The Haunted House @
Pieńkowski won his second medal.
1980 Quentin Blake, Mr Magnolia @
Mister Magnolia was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works in 2007.
Dickinson won the companion Carnegie Medal for City of Gold.
1981 Charles Keeping, The Highwayman, an edition of the 1906 poem by Alfred Noyes
Keeping won his second medal. The Highwayman was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works in 2007.
1982 Michael Foreman, Long Neck and Thunder Foot, by Helen Piers
and Sleeping Beauty and other favourite fairy tales, selected and translated by Angela Carter
The 1982 medal recognised two books, the last of four times from 1959. Sleeping Beauty also won the inaugural Kurt Maschler Award for children's book "text and illustration... integrated so that each enhances and balances the other."
Oakley and the Church Mice were highly commended for the second time, the first double recognition for a series. Subsequently, Janet Ahlberg and Chris Riddell were runners-up for the first books and medalists for the sequels.
1983 Anthony Browne, Gorilla @
Gorilla was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works in 2007. It also won the annual Kurt Maschler Award for integrated text and illustration.
Ten, Nine, Eight was also a runner-up for the U.S. Caldecott Medal.
1984 Errol Le Cain, Hiawatha's Childhood, a section of the 1855 poem by Longfellow
1985 Juan Wijngaard, Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady, retold by Selena Hastings
1986 Fiona French, Snow White in New York @
The Ahlbergs won the Emils for The Jolly Postman.
1987 Adrienne Kennaway, Crafty Chameleon, by Mwenye Hadithi
1988 Barbara Firth, Can't You Sleep Little Bear?, by Martin Waddell
Browne won the Emil for this edition of Alice.
Special 1988 commendation: David Burnie, Bird
1989 Michael Foreman, War Boy: a Country Childhood @ —autobiographical
Foreman won his second medal. Oxenbury was highly commended for the first of four times.
1990 Gary Blythe, The Whales' Song, by Dyan Sheldon
1991 Janet Ahlberg, The Jolly Christmas Postman, by Allan Ahlberg
Ahlberg won her second medal, both for husband-and-wife collaborations. The Jolly Christmas Postman was the second of three interactive Jolly Postman books; the last would be published posthumously. Janet Ahlberg is one of three people to be commended for the Greenaway Medal, at least, for two books in a series.
1992 Anthony Browne, Zoo @
Browne won his second medal.
1993 Alan Lee, Black Ships Before Troy, by Rosemary Sutcliff
Foreman was a distinguished runner-up for the fifth time.
1994 Gregory Rogers, Way Home, by Libby Hathorn'
Oxenbury was the lone "Highly Commended" runner-up for the fourth time in six years. The distinction would be used 31 times in 29 years to 2002. Cooke and Oxenbury won the Emils for So Much''.

1995 to 2002

Through 2002 some runners-up were Commended, including some Highly Commended. Where the entire shortlist is given here, boldface marks the winner, plus marks the highly commended books, and dash marks the commended books.
;1995
Henderson and Benson won the Emils for The Little Boat.
;1996
;1997
Lynch won his second medal.
;1998
Cooper won her second medal.
;1999
This shortlist is incomplete, only the Medalist and Highly Commended or Commended works. The list was completed according to The Guardian webpage.
Oxenbury won her second Greenaway Medal. Alice in Wonderland was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works in 2007. She also won her second Emil, which was then discontinued.
;2000
I will not was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works in 2007, and ranked third in public voting from that slate.
;2001
Pirate Diary is the latest "information book" to be cited for the medal and the first since 1975. It was the second in a series of four first-person journals, inaugurated by Platt and Riddell in 1999 and continued by Platt with another illustrator. Riddell is the third and latest illustrator to be at least commended for the Greenaway for books in a series, following Graham Oakley and Janet Ahlberg.
;2002
Graham was the first winning illustrator from Australia. Child was the last "Commended" or "Highly Commended" runner-up; there were 99 distinctions of both kinds in 44 years.

2003 to date

Runners-up within the shortlist are not distinguished since 2002.
;2003
Hughes won her second medal.
;2004
Riddell won his second medal.
;2005
Wolves by Emily Gravett in its U.S. edition was Gravett's first book as author or illustrator, one year out of school. She won the 49th Greenaway Medal, awarded in the 51st year, called fifty for the anniversary celebration in 2007.
Year of presentation after 2006.
;2007
;2008
Gravett won her second medal for her fourth book, with cover title Little Mouse's Emily Gravett's Big Book of Fears.
;2009
;2010
;2011
;2012
Kay and Ness won both the Greenaway and Carnegie Medals for A Monster Calls, the first such double. Two illustrators of Carnegie Medal-winning books had been runners-up for the Greenaway, Charles Keeping and Michael Foreman.
;2013
;2014
Klassen, a Canadian, won the 2013 Caldecott Medal for This Is Not My Hat, recognising the previous year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". This marks the first time that the same book has won both the Greenaway and Caldecott medals and Klassen is the first Greenaway winner from Canada.
;2015
;2016
Chris Riddell became the first triple winner in the history of the award, having previously won in 2001 and 2004.
;2017
;2018
2019
2020