The shortlist for the Klaus Flugge Prize was announced this evening, Wednesday 18 May. Established in 2016, the prize was set up to honour Klaus Flugge, founder of Andersen Press and one of the most influential figures in children’s picture books. It is awarded to the most promising and exciting newcomer to children’s picture book illustration.

From a longlist of twenty-four picture books by debut illustrators, the panel of judges have chosen six to shortlist. This year’s judges are award-winning illustrator Emily Gravett; Flavia Z Drago, 2021 Klaus Flugge Prize winner; Nikki Bi, Co-Founder and the Beyond Books Lead at Civic Square in Birmingham; and Martin Salisbury, Professor of Illustration at Cambridge School of Art in Anglia Ruskin University. The panel is chaired by Julia Eccleshare, Director, Hay Children’s Festival.

They were looking for fresh, exciting picture book illustrators and, after two years of pandemic isolation, stories that reflected our desire for community, freedom and joy. The six shortlisted books star a lonely mammoth (in New York), a bear with extraordinary hair, and an alley cat rally driver (at the wheel of a washing machine); one is set at the swimming pool, another on the deck of the RMS Carpathia, the ship that sailed to the Titanic’s rescue. Themes include the importance of choice, the urgency of cleaning our polluted oceans, and being yourself.

The six shortlisted books are:

Mammoth, Adam Beer, written by Anna Kemp, editor Helen Mackenzie Smith, art director Jane Buckley (Simon and Schuster)
The story of a mammoth with nobody to trumpet with, the judges found this joyful and full of humour. They loved how Adam Beer gives this mammoth real personality and admire the way the illustrations are full of detail, offering a wonderful variety of perspectives. They felt the text and illustrations work together particularly well.

Rescuing Titanic, Flora Delargy, editor Lucy Brownridge, art director Karissa Santos (Wide Eyed Editions) [ACHUKA Book of the Day 24 Nov 2021]
Flora Delargy’s book is an illustrated version of the true story of the RMS Carpathia, which changed course mid voyage to help rescue survivors of the Titanic disaster. The judges admired her use of colour and light and the way she fills the different scenes with life and movement, capturing the full drama of the events.

Pierre’s New Hair, Joseph Hollis, editor Emilia Will, designer Jade Wheaton (Tate)
Pierre is a bear who loves hair and roller-skating. But can his moves and his quiff impress his favourite roller disco team, the Poodle Squad? The judges loved the anarchy and edge Joseph Hollis brings to his story, and his clever use of the pages and layout. Despite the absurdity, he builds a believable world, the details adding up into something real.

The Tale of the Whale, Padmacandra, written by Karen Swann, editor Janice Thomson, designer Ness Wood (Scallywag Press)
A small child begins a magical journey on the back of a huge and beautiful baleen whale. Together they sail the oceans, dancing with dolphins, diving through the blue seas and exploring the ocean beds. The judges admired the way the illustrations carry the story “so that you are swimming with the whale”. Padmacandra’s images are full of atmosphere and beautiful to look at.

Choices, Roozeboos, designer Sarah Dellow (Child’s Play)
This book is all about choices: little ones (like which ice cream to have), big ones (such as whether to go on the super-duper giant slide), and whether to dive into the swimming pool, even though you are afraid. The judges describe this book as freewheeling and full of energy, with an unruly chaos that feels completely genuine. The message about the importance of making choices is subtly delivered, and Roozeboos is clearly a great observer of humanity.

Alley Cat Rally, Ricky Trickartt, editor Emily Ball, designer Ivanna Khomyak (Flying Eye Books)
Asta the ginger cat reengineers the family washing machine into a racing car and signs on for the big cat auto race. She’s determined to show the other racers she’s no slow-poke but winning, well, that would be a dream come true. The judges loved the fizz and fun of Asta’s world and the clever details. Ricky Trickartt controls the pace of the story superbly and children will relish it.

Chair of the judges Julia Eccleshare said: “Our judges have selected a shortlist full of humour, drama, beauty and big ideas. We can see in these six books values that are intrinsic to so many of the picture books published by Klaus Flugge: empathy, diversity, a child-centredness and a generosity of spirit. The illustrators’ ability as artists and storytellers is very exciting. Post-pandemic, picture books are booming.”

The winner will be announced on Wednesday 14 September 2022 and will receive a cheque for £5,000.

Andersen Press have just announced acquisition of Adoette, a new picture book written and illustrated by Lydia Monks, her first book on the Andersen list. Adoette will be published in hardback in September 2022.

The book was inspired by Lydia’s participation in the fight to stop 10,000 trees being unnecessarily chopped down in her hometown of Sheffield. The campaign attracted support from many big names such as Jarvis Cocker, and Chris Packham. They were successful, and thousands of trees were saved from the cull and have inspired similar campaigns around the country.

In the book Adoette lived to be 100 years old. Just imagine all the things she saw! She lived on the same street all her life, but one day, people decided it would be best if she would go… Lydia Monks beautifully tells the tale of the life of one tree, from a young sapling to a mighty oak, becoming the beating heart of the community she lived in, right up until the day they cut her down.

But there’s hope, when one little girl takes one of her acorns to plant in the community garden.

Sue Buswell, Andersen Press’ Editorial Director for picture books acquired world rights for the book from Lydia’s agent Hilary Delamere from The Agency in a one-book deal – another book has since been signed due for publication in 2025.

On the book Lydia has said, “In 2014, Sheffield council started cutting down thousands of healthy, mature street trees. One of the trees on the list to be felled was outside my daughter’s school. It was a big old ash tree, that had probably stood there for 150 years, long before the school was built. The school children played around it after school, and it seemed like a friendly presence on the street. I wondered about what the tree had witnessed over the years, and that inspired the book. ‘Adoette’ is a Native American name which means ‘large tree’. Lots of people, including myself, joined campaign groups to save the Sheffield trees, and happily the old ash tree is still standing today.”

Sue Buswell adds, “I have been passionate about the nurture and planting of native trees for as long as I can remember and now, more than ever, as the importance of trees to our well being and environment is more widely understood, I am so proud that Lydia chose Andersen Press as publisher for this stunning, timely and compelling story.”

Adoette written and illustrated by Lydia Monks will be released in hardback 1^st September 2022, £12.99 ISBN: 9781839131899