A short history of human rights and children's books
Anniversaries are valuable moments, spaces in which reflections on past and present can invigorate the future. The CILIP Carnegie Medal’s 80 th birthday is a great example. What better inspiration for book lovers than the words of Andrew Carnegie: ‘To try to make the world in some way better than you found it is to have a noble motive in life.’ The wonder of books ran through Carnegie's life and his philanthropy, and a constant theme was the vital importance of the free library, which ‘outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.’ The eight decades of the CILIP Carnegie Medal have encompassed war and devastation, human upheaval and suffering. The same years have also seen great moves to make the world a better place, growing international understanding of rights, freedom and equality, and profoundly life-changing human rights laws. These values emerge in contemporary