‘The Scared Book’ wins SCBWI Crystal Kite Award

Children’s picture book The Scared Book (Debra Tidball, illus by Kim Siew, Lothian) has won in the Australian and New Zealand division of this year’s Crystal Kite Member Choice Awards, presented by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

‘The Scared Book is, as its title suggests, about a frightened book that’s been infiltrated by a variety of monsters on its pages and begs for help from the reader to scare them away,’ writes Thuy On, in her Books+Publishing review of the book. ‘Debra Tidball keeps the instructions simple enough for pre-schoolers to join in the action,’ writes On, adding that the book’s ending ‘offers readers a sense of achievement, having chased all the monsters away’.

On her blog, Tidball said she was ‘thrilled and deeply honoured’ by the award win for The Scared Book, which was also announced as a CBCA Notable Book for 2018.

The Crystal Kite Awards are presented annually in a number of US and international divisions. Last year’s winner in the Australia and New Zealand division was the picture book Smile Cry by Tania McCartney and Jess Racklyeft (EK Books).

A complete list of the winning titles for 2018 can be found here.

Category: Awards Local news