The TOP TEN CARNEGIE winners were announced by CILIP today as part of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the award.

The  suitably varied list includes  the pastoral and the urban: Philippa Pearce's seminal timeslip novel TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN and  Melvin Burgess' gritty realistic novel for teenagers, JUNK. At the time Burgess' novel about a young heroin addict aroused much attention and controversy. Critics questioned whether this was suitable material for children's literature. However, first published in 1996, the book remains popular and is often studied in school.

 Another groundbreaking book Eve Garnett's THE FAMILY FROM ONE END STREET also makes the top ten. By today's standards the gentle humour that Garnett employs to describe the working class Ruggles family may be judged patronising but it was the first British book to portray a working class family as central characters.  Garnett's book is the oldest on the list and the most recent is Jennifer's Donnelly's elegantly penned murder mystery set int he Adirondacks, A GATHERING LIGHT. Donnelly is the only non-British author on the list.  A GATHERING LIGHT is known in the US as A Northern Light and  our own NORTHERN LIGHTS by Philip Pullman also makes the list. THE OWL SERVICE, Alan Garner's tension charged  mythic story based on the Mabinogian is recognised for its powerful themes and masterly writing.  The inclusion of Kevin Crossley-Holland's evocative STORM acknowledges  that short books for younger children can address powerful themes, though books for this age group are rarely honoured in book awards when competing against fiction for older readers.

The remaining three titles are SKELLIG by David Almond, THE BORROWERS by Mary Norton and THE MACHINE GUNNERS by Robert Westall.

 Notable by its absence is any recognition of the ethnic diversity of multicultural Britain. It is to be hoped that future Carnegie winners will reflect this reality, as Garnett did with her challenge to the middle-classness of children's literature in 1937.

So did the panel get it right? Inevitably a top ten selection means that some titles will have been overlooked, C. S Lewis'  THE LAST BATTLE, for instance. You are invited to comment on the Carnegie choices and propose your own selection in the open forum.

More information about the top ten below:

The Family From One End Street

There are seven children in the Ruggles family - three girls and four boys - and though they are poor, they manage to have a lot of fun. All the Ruggles are lovable, interesting and very individual - from capable Lily Rose down to baby William.

A Gathering Light

When Mattie Gokey is given a bundle of letters to burn she fully intends to execute the wishes of the giver, Grace Brown. When Grace Brown is found drowned the next day in Big Moose Lake, Mattie finds that it is not as easy to burn those letters as she had thought. And, as she reads, a riveting story emerges - not only Grace Brown's story but also Mattie's hopes and ambitions for the future and her relationships with her friends and family. Published to widespread acclaim this wonderful novel, part murder mystery and part coming-of-age story, is an astounding and accomplished piece of literature.

Junk

A true-to-life story of two teenagers drawn into the dangerous and destructive world of heroin addiction.

Northern Lights

In this first part of the "Dark Materials" trilogy, Lyra's friend Roger disappears. She and her daemon, Pantalaimon, determine to find him. Their quest leads them to the bleak splendour of the North where a team of scientists are conducting unspeakably horrible experiments.

Skellig:

When a move to a new house coincides with his baby sister's illness, Michael's world seems suddenly lonely and uncertain. Then, one Sunday afternoon, he stumbles into the old, ramshackle garage of his new home, and finds something magical. A strange creature - part owl, part angel, a being who needs Michael's help if he is to survive. With his new friend Mina, Michael nourishes Skellig back to health, while his baby sister languishes in the hospital. But Skellig is far more than he at first appears, and as he helps Michael breathe life into his tiny sister, Michael's world changes forever...

Storm

Annie lives with her elderly parents in a remote cottage. She is used to being alone. Every day she walks by the lonely marsh to school. Only in winter, when the wind howls in the trees, is Annie ever afraid. Her sister Willa is pregnant and Annie is overjoyed when she comes home to have her baby. Annie tells Willa the names of local plants and Willa tells Annie about the ghost, murdered by highwaymen, who is said to haunt the old forge nearby. Then, on a terrible night, with the phone lines down, Willa goes into labour. Annie is terrified of the ghost, but knows she must brave the storm to fetch help. As she ventures into the night, a horseman swings into view. He offers to take Annie to town. Before she can protest, Annie finds herself lifted on to his saddle and off they set on an intense, dream-like journey. Only once he has deposited her safely on the doctor's doorstep, does the horseman reveal that he is the ghost she fears.

The Borrowers

The Borrowers lived in the secret places of quiet old houses; behind the mantelpiece, inside the harpsichord, under the kitchen clock. They owned nothing, borrowed everything, and thought human beings were invented just for their use. Until one of the Borrowers made friends with a human.

The Machine Gunners

'Some bright kid's got a gun and 2000 rounds of live ammo. And that gun's no peashooter. It'll go through a brick wall at a quarter of a mile.' Chas McGill has the second-best collection of war souvenirs in Garmouth, and he desperately wants it to be the best. When he stumbles across the remains of a German bomber crashed in the woods - its shiny, black machine-gun still intact - he grabs his chance. Soon he's masterminding his own war effort with dangerous and unexpected results...

The Owl Service

Winner of both the Guardian Award and the Carnegie Medal, this is an all-time classic, combining mystery, adventure, history and a complex set of human relationships. It all begins with the scratching in the ceiling. From the moment Alison discovers the dinner service in the attic, with its curious pattern of floral owls, a chain of events is set in progress that is to effect everybody's lives. Relentlessly, Alison, her step-brother Roger and Welsh boy Gwyn are drawn into the replay of a tragic Welsh legend -- a modern drama played out against a background of ancient jealousies. As the tension mounts, it becomes apparent that only by accepting and facing the situation can it be resolved.

Tom's Midnght Garden

When Tom hears the grandfather clock strike thirteen he is not prepared for what is going to happen. Outside the back door is a garden, which everyone tells him doesn't exist. But the magical place in which Tom finds himself is certainly a garden - his midnight garden