The Carnegie of Carnegies list may raise a few eyebrows to those with fond memories of their own childhood greats. True, Tom’s Midnight Garden and The Borrowers are there, but where, oh where, is Harry Potter, the biggest phenomenon in children’s publishing?

Where is The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe? What about The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, The Sword in the Stone, The Eagle of the Ninth or I Capture the Castle? Although the Carnegie is one of the most distinguished prizes a children’s author can win, it, like all prizes, can fail to spot the true classic that gives lasting pleasure and stimulus to generations.

The Top Ten on the Carnegie of Carnegies are all interesting and some, such as Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights, indisputably great works of fiction. But why choose David Almond’s Skellig as the favourite? It is an intriguing, beautifully written story about a boy who may have discovered, and rescued, an angel in his new home, but one suspects its presence at No 1 may be due as much to the success it has had as a school play as a novel. Even more surprising is Melvyn Burgess’s Junk. He is a highly controversial writer whose novels for teenagers such as My Life as a Bitch and Doing It include some stark descriptions of sexual intercourse. Burgess’s tale of teenaged pregnancy, alcoholism, drug addiction and prostitution may strike a chord with the disaffected or the curious, but it is a surprising choice for a children’s literature award.

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