A CHILDREN’S author from Chedworth has spoken of her delight at being given a prestigious award for her latest work.
Sarah Garland (pictured) was announced as the winner of the inaugural Little Rebels Children’s Book Award for her graphic novel, Azzi In Between.
Mrs Garland told the Standard: “I’m very pleased and very happy with the award.
“I think that it’s the most purposeful book that I’ve written.”
Azzi In Between tells the powerful story of a family forced to flee their homeland and settle in a strange and unfamiliar country.
The author was moved to write the novel after witnessing Burmese refugees first-hand while living in New Zealand.
“I wrote it for them and for all the children who receive refugees into their school,” she said.
“Hopefully the book will help them to understand what they have been through.”
Speaking about the book, guest judge and children’s author Elizabeth Laird said: “Azzi tells a simple and powerful story, one with which we should all be tragically familiar.”
Mrs Garland was presented with a cheque for £500 and a framed illustration by cartoonist Ros Asquith at the Alliance of Radical Booksellers Bookfair in London.
This is not the first time the Gloucestershire author’s work has won awards, her story Shadows on the Barn earned her a Smarties award for children’s fiction.
The author will be visiting Cirencester as part of the Children’s Literary Festival on Friday, August 16 – for more information on Sarah Garland visit www.sarahgarland.co.uk
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