Anagnostis Literary Awards 2018: ‘Silouani’ by Thodoris Papaioannou won the Children’s Literature Award.

Silouani, the most subversive young adult holiday book, by Thodoris Papaioannou and illustrated by Daniela Stamatia, was honoured on Tuesday 12 June in the packed auditorium of the Benaki Museum with the ‘Children’s Literature Book Award’ from the 2018 Anagnostis Literary Awards.The judging panel of the Anagnostis Awards singled out Silouani, a book that has received rave reviews from critics and has been much loved by young readers. Thodoris Papaioannou states:Silouani is my first novel for children and teenagers. It all began with a letter given to me by my pupil Silouani on her last day at primary school. ‘This, sir, is for you,’ she said, looking me straight in the eye. I don’t know how many times I read it. And then I began wandering around the mountains near Edessa and Panagitsa, searching for answers to those wonderful questions children ask whenever they put their thoughts down on paper. And so the story of Silouani and the ‘children of the mountain’ was born; they may be imaginary heroes, but they live in places that are entirely real.We would like to thank Theodoros Papaioannou very much for his trust, and also Daniela Stamatia for her wonderful illustrations, which blend seamlessly with the text. Silouani is a book that enchants with the simplicity and pedagogical clarity with which it approaches nature, the relationships between children, children and adults, play, the conflicts that are themselves transformed into play, and their collaboration with the English scientist studying a young bear in the mountains. Nature is friendly when you live with it lightly. Even the fears of the city-dwelling mother fade away gently… In short, everything comes naturally. Without didactic grandstanding. Mariza Decastro, The ReaderThodoris Papaioannou’s first book for older children is a fantastic journey through nature and the mountains of Edessa, inspired by a letter given to him at the end of a school year by one of his pupils, Silouani. A dreamlike read, an introduction to nature and the unfamiliar. Red Fox  Silouani is a wonderful story that speaks to children about the magic of nature, its benefits, and how beneficial our connection with it is. For nature, if you allow yourself to listen to it with your whole being, it will repay you by revealing the most intoxicating scents, the most fairy-tale-like images and the most evocative sounds.A delightful, lyrical novel with beautiful black-and-white sketches that bring scenes from children’s everyday lives to life.Dora Andreadaki, parents24.gr Find out more about Thodoris Papaioannou here: https://ikarosbooks.gr/authors/papaioannoy-thodoris