It was a "major concern" that the new programme for government made no commitment to reinstate the school book grant to schools and libraries, the Director of Children's Books Ireland (CBI) has said.
Mags Walsh, who was speaking as the shortlist for the Bisto Children's Book of the Year 2011 was announced today, said the abolition of the grant two years ago had "fundamentally affected access to books for kids who don't have access to books at home".
"It is worrying for kids who are so dependent on schools to be able to read books. The Labour Party made mention of the grant in their campaign but there is nothing about it in the programme from the coalition. It is a major concern for us."
The Bisto Children's Book of the year awards "celebrate excellence in children's literature and illustration" and ten books are on the shortlist.
Among those on the list are A Bit Lost by Chris Haughton; Dancing in the Dark by Peter Prendergast; Mac Rí Éireann by Caitríona Hasting and Andrew Whiton and The Tiny Little Fly, illustrated by Kevin Waldron.
The awards are open to books in Irish or English, by authors or illustrators born or resident in Ireland and published between January 1st and December 31st each year.
Ms Walsh said there had never been such a large pool of authors and illustrators for children's books, and the sector was thriving. "And on a positive note on the funding side, two of the books this year have come from a small new publisher, Little Island, which wouldn't be able toe exist without funding from the Arts Council," she said.
Chair of the shortlisting panel, Keith O'Sullivan, said the list offered something for readers of all ages.
The winners of this year's awards will be announced on May 16th. A full list of the shortlisted books is available at www.childrensbooksireland.ie
To mark the 21st anniversary of the awards, CBI will stage a travelling exhibition of the history of the awards and the previous 20 winning titles, authors and illustrators. The public are invited to vote for their favourite winning title in the Bisto Ballot, the winner of which will be announced in the autumn.
The exhibition will be at the National Library, Dublin, until May 16th before travelling to libraries around the State.
