White Ravens: ‘Democracy’ among the best books of 2016.

The graphic novel ‘Democracy’, by Alekos Papadatos, Avraam Kawa and Annie Di Donna, has been selected for inclusion in the 2016 White Ravens international list, in the international children’s and young adult books category! The committee’s statement reads as follows: ‘This suspenseful, innovative graphic novel offers a historical and literary review of the difficult journey of democracy from its birth in Ancient Greece, through the eyes of Leander, an Athenian unknown at the time. The deeply human characters operate within a dense plot brimming with references to the present day. The interplay between text and images captivates the reader. The thorough research undertaken for the book, as well as its rich vocabulary, provide valuable support as the reader explores the historical events. ‘This prestigious award is presented annually by the International Youth Library in Munich, the largest and most important children’s library in the world, to books that deserve international attention due to the global themes they address or their exceptional and pioneering visual and literary approach.The books are selected each year by experts in the field of children’s literature—library staff as well as external consultants—who read the books in the exhibition in their original language of publication.This year, the White Ravens catalogue includes 200 book titles, in 42 languages, from 60 countries. From 18 October 2016, the 200 reviews of the books included in this year’s catalogue are available on the International Youth Library’s website [www.ijb.de], whilst the printed catalogue will be released on 20 October at this year’s Frankfurt International Book Fair. Democracy was also honoured with the:the Greek Children’s Book Circle Award – IBBY 2016 in the category ‘Award for an author of books for teenagers and young adults’, &the ‘Best Script’ and ‘Best Comic by Wacom’ awards at the 2016 Greek Comics Awards. The White Ravens distinction has also been awarded to the books Ships That Carried the Imagination (Maria Angelidou and Antonis Papatheodoulou) in 2015, and Just a Little More... a fairy tale inspired by the poems of Giorgos Seferis (Alexis Kyritsopoulos) in 2013.