The 2015 Children’s Peace
Literature Award was announced this week, and the winner is One True Thing by Nicole Hayes.
The award is organised by
the Psychologists for Peace Group, part of the Australian Psychological
Society. It is a biennial award to Australian authors of books for children
that encourage the peaceful resolution of conflict or promote peace at the
global, local or interpersonal level.
Here’s what the judges had
to say about One True Thing:
“The main character in the
winning book is Frankie, the 16 year old daughter of a female politician who is
running for Premier of Victoria and who becomes the target of a shock jock
trying to dig up damaging information about her past. The mother is struggling
to keep her secret and also address the strains it puts on her relationships as
well as her political hopes. The family is almost split apart and there are
many conflicts, not only between Frankie and her parents but also between
Frankie and her various groups of friends including band members and new
boyfriend. Several different methods of conflict resolution are demonstrated;
all are handled constructively and with empathy. After trying some ineffective
strategies, Frankie shows understanding, tolerance and persistence and her
actions are critical in resolving the conflicts peacefully.”
“The characters are realistic;
the story is engagingly written and makes compelling reading. The work is
concurrently of high literary quality and an excellent model of nonviolent
conflict resolution by the child concerned. The judges of the prize were
unanimous in their choice of this book to win the 2015 Children’s Peace
Literature Award.”
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