‘Heads and Tails: Insects’ wins CICLA for Best International Picture Book

John Canty’s picture book Heads and Tails: Insects (Berbay) has won an award for Best International Picture Book at the Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Awards (CICLA) in China.

Heads and Tails: Insects was one of five children’s books awarded in the Best International Picture Book category, alongside two books from China, and titles from Italy and Brazil. Each winning book receives RMB 50,000 (A$10,450), to be shared between the publisher and author.

Announced as part of the 2019 China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF), which ran from 15–17 November, the winners were chosen from a total of 198 children’s novels, 136 short stories and 334 pictures books originating from 32 countries and territories.

Founded in 1981, CICLA is one of the longest running literary prizes in China and honours authors, illustrators and industry professionals who have made a contribution to children’s literature in China. In 2014 it was re-framed as an international competition judged by a multicultural panel of children’s literature specialists, aiming to foster ‘international cultural exchange, encourage the production of beautiful and inspiring children’s content, and promote healthy reading habits around China’.

To learn more about the 2019 CICLA winners, visit the CCBF website.

Category: Awards Junior Local news