Here comes the judge

Publication date: Thursday 19 January 2012

A Haringey Council librarian is one of three judges who shortlisted this year’s Blue Peter Book Awards.

Rebecca Gediking, who works at Wood Green Library, joined Blue Peter Editor Tim Levell and author Linda Chapman to select the shortlist of four books that will be scrutinised by 200 viewers of the programme to select the winner.

The influential awards have been recognising and celebrating the best children’s authors for over ten years. This year’s shortlist was announced on Blue Peter by author Cressida Cowell, whose book, How to Train Your Dragon, was recently made into a film.

Rebecca started her career in libraries working part-time whilst studying for her degree in Drama and Theatre Studies. She is about to complete an MA in Library and Information Studies, but hasn’t hung up her dancing shoes completely. In her spare time she performs and directs shows with an amateur theatre group, Saint Monica’s Players. Rebecca is also a committee member for the Youth Libraries Group London.

Rebecca says:

I thoroughly enjoyed being involved in selecting the shortlist for the Blue Peter Book Awards. I think it’s a great concept that children have the final say because they are so discerning. It’s hard to anticipate that magic ingredient and I can’t wait to find out which one wins!

This year’s shortlist includes a factual book that contains all there is to know about the 2012 Olympics; a treasure trove of information about the extremes of the planet; a novel that investigates strange howls in the night, and a story of friendship, time travel and tragedy.

The winning author and illustrator (if applicable) will be awarded a Blue Peter Book Awards trophy during a half-hour special broadcast to coincide with World Book Day in March.

Haringey Council has nine libraries with over a million books, Blu-Rays, DVDs, CDs, language courses and talking books, as well as newspapers, magazines, local information and access to computers and online resources. There are also downloadable audiobooks and ebooks and a new smart-phone app allows customers to browse the catalogue and scan bar codes to check availability.

For more information on Haringey's Library service, including events, regular activities and how to join:

• go to the libraries page
• follow on twitter (website - external link)
• visit your nearest library

Subscribe to Email Alerts |  RSS News Feed | What is RSS? | News Archive

• Return to Latest News or the News Archive