Big Little Book Award for Subhadra Sen Gupta, Rajiv Eipe
Writer Subhadra Sen Gupta and illustrator Rajiv Eipe are the winners of the fifth Big Little Book Award that was announced on Tuesday
The jury termed Sen Gupta a prolific but a particular writer who takes a route that is not an easy one. (Express photo by Tashi Tobgyal) The winners of the fifth edition of the Big Little Book Award, the annual literary award to celebrate the best in children’s literature, were declared today. Writer Subhadra Sen Gupta and illustrator Rajiv Eipe won the awards for the best writer and the best illustrator respectively. This year’s chosen language was English and the winners were selected from over 300 entries. Every year, the award focuses on an Indian language and celebrates the best of children’s literature written in it. Last year’s chosen language was Hindi. The award also recognises the contribution of illustrators in a separate category.
Delhi-based writer Sen Gupta is the author of several books for children, mostly on historical themes. These include the very popular A Children’s History of India (Rupa, 2015), The Unknown Indians: People Who Quietly Changed Our Worlds (Rupa, 2016), Kings and Queens (Rupa, 2016), A Bagful of History (Puffin, 2018), among others. Her latest book, The Constitution of India for Children (Puffin), was released earlier this year. At a time when historical accounts are being closely contested, the jury citation for Sen Gupta lauded her for her depth of research. “…We can count on her rigour and her background research to stand by her content and always find her positions are balanced and enable the reader to arrive at their own decisions. Something very few writers for children in India in English can add to their list of qualities in writing,” it said.
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