Cecil Bødker (27 March 1927 – 19 April 2020[1]) was a Danish writer and poet, most known for young adult fiction books about the character "Silas". For her "lasting contribution to children's literature" she received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Writing in 1976.[2][3]

Cecil Bødker
Born(1927-03-27)27 March 1927
Fredericia, Denmark
Died19 April 2020(2020-04-19) (aged 92)
Denmark
NationalityDanish
Occupation(s)Young adult fiction, poetry
Known forSilas series
Notable workØjet (The Eye)(1961)- as Cecil Skar,Leoparden (1970), Silas series
AwardsHans Christian Andersen Award (1966), Danish Critics Prize for Literature (Kritikerprisen) (1961), Batchelder Award

Biography

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Bødker was born in Fredericia, Denmark in 1927.

In 1955 she had her first poems published under the pseudonym Cecil Skar. In 1961 she debuted with the collection of novellas Øjet (The Eye), all treating the condition of human existence estranged from nature. The dystopian critique of civilization continued in Tilstanden Harley (The condition Harley) (1965) and Pap (Cardboard) (1967).[4]

Awards

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The biennial Hans Christian Andersen Award conferred by the International Board on Books for Young People is the highest recognition available to a writer or illustrator of children's books. Bødker received the writing award in 1966.[2][3]

In Denmark she won the annual Danish Critics Prize for Literature (Kritikerprisen) in 1961[5] and won the Ministry of Culture's children book prize (Kulturministeriets Børnebogspris) in 1968 for Silas og den sorte hoppe.[6] In 1998 she won the Grand Prize of the Danish Academy for her body of work as a writer.[7]

The English-language edition of Leoparden (1970), translated by Gunnar Poulsen and published by Atheneum Press in 1976, won the annual Batchelder Award from the American Library Association as the "children's book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States".[8]

Works

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Forfatteren Cecil Bødker er død". 19 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Hans Christian Andersen Awards". International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  3. ^ a b "Cecil Bødker" (pp. 54–55, by Eva Glistrup).
    The Hans Christian Andersen Awards, 1956–2002. IBBY. Gyldendal. 2002. Hosted by Austrian Literature Online. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  4. ^ Hertel, Hans. "Hestekragens moder vandt tre generationers hengivenhed." Politiken 27 March 2012. [1]
  5. ^ Litteraturpriser.dk
  6. ^ Kunststyrelsen.dk Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine List of recipients of the Children's book prize of the Danish Cultural Department
  7. ^ "Danskeakademi.dk". Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  8. ^ "Welcome to the (Mildred L.) Batchelder Award home page". Association for Library Service to Children. American Library Association. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
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