My friend and fellow children's writer Diane Browne is among the names on the shortlist for the Burt Award for YA literature in the Caribbean.I am singling her out primarily because I was the editor of her book as well as Series Editor for the Carlong Sand Pebbles Pleasure Series - this is the 9th book in the Series from Carlong Publishers (Caribbean ) Ltd.

I do congratulate all those shortlisted and wish them well. I know a few of the other writers.

I suspect that there might not have been a lot of entries fitting into the Young Adult (YA) section of writing for children in the Caribbean. There might still not be many writing for this age group.We still seem a bit hesitant to recognize that books for children differ according to the age range for which they are written. As soon as one mentions children's books, many people immediately think of picture books with bright colourful illustrations for the very young.

As we know, children develop at different rates, so books are geared to different stages of their development in quite arbitrary age ranges which should be used only as guidelines. The age divisions are mostly  marketing categories for grouping books on shelves by the target audience, and overlap for different publishers.

Broadly speaking the divisions are
Picture books for infants through preschoolers (read by adults to the children)
The early readers cater to those learning to read and include picture story books and early chapter books.
Next come  the middle grade novels for the age range  8- to 12 - the so called golden age of reading
Then there are the tweenies roughly for the 11-14 age group bored with the usual middle grade material but not yet ready of YA.

Young Adult (YA) stories and novels are effectively on the same mature level as works for adults, but deal with the concerns of that age group anywhere between 12 and 14 to 16/18. Here you will find books closer to the younger or higher end of this age group. Some of the contemporary YA novels are quite popular with adult readers.

I am happy that the Burt competition specified YA material and didn't just say books for children. It seems quite unfair to have a competition which includes all the different groups in one. Not even middle grade and YA books should be judged in the same category.

The Burt Award shortlist 

The shortlisted titles are:

• Island Princess in Brooklyn by Diane Browne, Jamaica (published by Carlong)
• 
  
• All Over Again by A-dZiko Gegele, Jamaica (published by Blouse & Skirt Books)
• 
  
• Barrel Girl by Glynis Guevara, Trinidad and Tobago (manuscript to be published)
• 
  
• Musical Youth by Joanne Hillhouse, Antigua and Barbuda (manuscript to be published)
• 
  
• Abraham’s Treasure by Joanne Skerrett, Dominica (published by Papillote Press)
• 
  
• Inner City Girl by Colleen Smith Dennis, Jamaica (published by LMH Publishing)

The finalists were selected by a jury administered by The Bocas Lit Fest and made up of writers, literacy experts and academics from the Caribbean and Canada.

The first, second and third place winners will be announced at the NGC Bocas Lit Fest in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on 25 April 2014.

Good luck y'all.



 

Caribbean Children stories -'Tek Mi! Noh Tek Mi!' Book Review#3

ISBN: 978 976 638 069 4
Pages: 118
Age Group: 10 - 14 years

Publisher: Carlong Publishers(Caribbean) Ltd

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Welcome to the world of the fantastic in this collection of ten unusual and exciting Caribbean folktales. Both children and adults will enjoy reading and re-telling these stories with their sometimes very strange characters and events. What would you do if you met so-so head or so-so hand or so-so foot on a lonely country road?  How about the Tata Duende with his feet turned backwards? Or a fish which could give you what you wished for? You won’t be able to put  down this book when you start reading.

-->These stories, traditional and modern, span the CARICOM family of nations: from Belize in Central America to Montserrat in the Eastern Caribbean. The introduction to the folktales by Prof. Maureen Warner-Lewis. is in itself a gem worth reading. She says:

"Magic is a key ingredient of the folktale all over the world, 
 since it is through magic that the real world and the supernatural 
 world can co-exist in the land of the living."   

Expect magic as you read these stories. These folktales depart from the usual Anansi stories of African origin and show derivation from other geographic areas which have contributed to our history and culture. It is in the re-telling that these stories become our own. For example of Ti Jean and Mariquite-ATrue, True Trinidad Fairy Tale by Eintou Springer, Prof Warner-Lewis says:
         

 "In Europe, many traditional stories end with marriage and with the
 bride and groom living 'happily ever after'. This is the ending
 in this story."

This story also follows the classical patterns of traditional story telling (the fairy tale) with three impossible tasks given to the hero by the king. In carnival country it is not a problem that the country has no king. In any case the king is also the devil. Ti Jean can carry out the tasks only with the magical help of the heroine, Mariquite. But how much more Caribbean can you get than this:

 "Look! Mariquite say, and take out some food from her basket.
  It was good food - cassava and dumpling with fish steam down
  in coconut milk.Ti Jean eat and eat. Then he wash it down with
  a drink of mauby."

Another interesting feature of this folktale is that the French - based patois spoken by some Trinis is interspersed throughout the story.( The accompanying audio CD lets you hear how this sounds)

Some of the stories are set in modern times - there are still ghosts in Guyana, and two are based in history -Caribs, Tainos and Spaniards. Much to enjoy here. Four of the stories are on the accompanying audio CDs

Authors

Cherrell Shelley-Robinson -Jamaica
Eintou Pearl Springer -Trinidad and Tobago
Jane Grell - Montserrat
Jean F. Forbes -Jamaica
Michelle M. Petty -Belize
Mohamed Fazloor Yasin - Guyana
Myrna Manzanares -Belize
Nellie Payne  -Grenada

Audio Disc #1

Tek Mi! Noh Tek Mi! Read by Myrna Manzanares (Belize)
Lazy Manny-oh!  Read by Leon South (Jamaica)

Audio Disc #2

Miss Angie Read by Godfrey Rock (Guyana)
Ti Jean and Mariquite read by Eintou Pearl Springer (Trinidad and Tobago)

For a 'gleaner' review see http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090719/arts/arts3.html

Carlong contact
 email        marketing@carlongpublishers.com

 Purchase online
https://www.bookfusion.com/books/116181-tek-mi-noh-tek-mi-caribbean-folktales
or 
Sangsters Book Stores in Jamaica

More Caribbean Children's books from Jamaica

The Sand Pebbles Pleasure Series, developed by Carlong Publishers (Caribbean) Limited, aims to provide children with entertaining reading material featuring Caribbean situations. The series focuses on fiction and biographies, and includes collections of short stories, chapter books and novels.

 Books in the series


Every Little Thing Will Be All Right by Diane Browne
- BIAJ Best Children’s Book award, 2004
Five entertaining stories about boys and girls who have to find
resourceful ways of solving the special challenges which they face.










Jojo’s Treasure Hunt by Cherryl Shelley-Robinson
 –  BIAJ Best Children’s Book award, 2004
Twelve-year-old Jojo is determined to find a Spanish jar full of
treasure which will prevent his family losing their home. But, he
is afraid of the mid-night ghost.









Freedom Come by Jean Goulbourne
These five memorable stories recapture the exciting experiences
of children who lived in Jamaica as Tainos, slaves and buccaneers.







Miss Bettina’s House by Hazel D.Campbell
–BIAJ Best Children’s Book Cover award, 2006
Miss Bettina’s abandoned animals invite a homeless boy, Ernest,
to take care of them. But, they have to find a way to outwit the
dangerous rascal, Curry Dan, who wants to capture Miss Bettina's house.




Jenny and the General by Jean D’Costa
– BIAJ Best Children’s Book award, 2006
Ten-year-old Jenny is in trouble. Only her old pet Alsatian dog senses
the danger. He sets out to rescue her. Can he reach her in time?







 Little Island-Big Adventures by Maria Roberts Squires 
 – Best Children’s Book Cover award, 2009
Sara-Ann and her best friend Ruben get up to a lot of antics during
their last school year on their beloved island home on a tiny Grenadine
island in the Eastern Caribbean







Tek Mi! Noh Tek Mi! Caribbean Folktales 
ed Hazel D. Campbell
Eight authors from across the CARICOM region relate
ten unusual folktales originating in their countries. Accompanied
by two audio CDs







  Bernie and the Captain’s Ghost by Hazel D.Campbell
BIAJ Best Children's Chapter Book 2011

Six orphans are invited to spend their summer holiday in a
rural part of Jamaica. There they encounter an adventure which
challenges their physical and mental capabilities. Bernie, the main
character doesn’t allow his physical handicap to deter him from
solving the mystery of the Captain’s Ghost

**** NEW!!! ****

ISLAND PRINCESS IN BROOKLYN

by Diane Browne 

****A must read book ****

For more information on these books Email Carlong at
marketing@carlongpublishers.com

WEBSITE

http://www.carlongpublishers.com/book_listing_subject.php?id=32