Last term, Chisholm Catholic College Library was successful in its application to the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s (CBCA) Sun Project: Shadow Judging. The Library received funding of a $120 voucher to purchase shortlisted books and a $600 voucher to support a writer and/or illustrator workshop.

As a result, last week, the student Shadow Judges were treated to a talk by local author Nadia L King. Nadia discussed what judges are looking for when they evaluate and judge texts, building skills the shadow judges will use to evaluate and judge texts on the Shortlist, according to the CBCA Book of the Year Awards criteria.

Our Shadow Judges will assess the titles they read for:

• Literary merit – aesthetic qualities of language, standing the test of time, realistic characters
• Cohesiveness – language, theme, style
• Appeal to the implied readership
• Quality – illustrations, book design, production, editing
• Originality in the treatment of literary elements as they apply to the form of the work.

Nadia then stayed during lunch and talked to an enthusiastic group about some of the great characters in fiction, giving students a list of her favourite authors (which are now on display in the library).

Mrs Cally Black
Head of Library & Information Services