There is a secret vice shared among a number of older children. No, it's not dope. It's not some ultra-violent morally degenerate computer game. It's picture books.

A few clever librarians have found a way to supply the addicts. They've adopted the practice of leaving a box of picture books out specifically for older readers to browse through; they call this box 'The Baby-sitter Box'. It allows those older kids who might have reading difficulties, or just enjoy reading picture books, to save face. They can pretend they're borrowing a picture book for a session of baby-sitting. It's a great idea, but isn't it a shame that picture book reading beyond a certain age has to be done in secret.

Picture books use simple texts. They have to, in order to suit the developing vocabulary of very young children. But to judge the sophistication of picture books just by examining the simplicity of their texts is to completely miss the point. The illustrations often carry a sophisticated narrative alongside a simple text. Where the adult reader will have a command of the written word, the child reader will often be better at reading the pictures.
Adults are a vital part of the picture book audience, and so are older children who may be hanging around during a reading. And because the illustrations can be read on so many different levels, a good picture book has something for all ages. I suspect that the written word standing alone would have a tougher time addressing such a wide age range. Certainly no other form of literature has to sustain so much scrutiny, so many re-readings, as a favourite picture book.

So, we have this marvelous medium that allows children to hold their own with the grownups. But just when kids are becoming comfortable with the written word--when they're really getting to grips with the all important interaction between text and pictures--adults pull the carpet from beneath them and insist, "you're TOO OLD for picture books now." Many adults mistakenly believe the pictures are just training wheels on the road to literature...something to be done away with as soon as possible. This hasty disposal of pictures may well be the hurdle that trips up so many children on their way to reading maturity. It's especially a problem for boys, who we're now discovering rely more on their spatial skills than do girls, and are reluctant to surrender the visual part of narrative.

Why deprive kids of their books with pictures in them? Never mind the famous quote from Alice in Wonderland...printed words and pictures working together have actually been proven to deliver information more efficiently than any other medium. I've even got the U.S. Military to back me up on this fact. In the build up to World War II, the U.S. Military recognized that they would need to train civilians into technically skilled jobs very quickly. Of course, the military were intent on using a medium that would train soldiers most efficiently. Out of all the media they investigated--including film--it turned out that the humble medium of comics was the most efficient. Words and pictures together helped win The War.

We adults need to recognize the contribution illustrations make to literacy. I get depressed when I see so many picture book reviews that fob off the illustrations with the bland clichéd phrase 'beautifully illustrated' after a long description of the text. This shows how desperately some adults need a boost in their visual literacy skills (perhaps studying the narrative structure within the illustrations in a picture book could help). As someone who both writes and illustrates, I believe that if you neglect the illustrations and the way they interact with the text, you've missed most of the picture book (and most of my hard work.)

People often say to me, "don't you spend half your time thinking about the text?" Writing and thinking about text is a tiny part of my job. I spend far more time thinking about the pacing of the illustration, the structure, the page-turns and layout, the composition, the sight lines, setting, character design, continuity, lighting, colour...all of these aspects are vital to create the different story lines and details that I weave into the artwork.

A picture book story is the sum total of the text and illustrations together. Those parents and teachers who take the time to study the abundant offerings in picture book illustrations will find they offer plenty of food for thought and discussion. Like a first-rate family film, picture books can be high quality entertainment for all ages. And though they are educational, they're not just training wheels. They're visual poetry--an art form in their own right and worthy of everyone's attention.

Any kid could tell you that.

HELEN COOPER WON THE 1998 KATE GREENAWAY MEDAL FOR HER BOOK, PUMPKIN SOUP. HERE IS THE TEXT OF HER ACCEPTANCE SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE CEREMONY ON 14 JULY, 1999 IN THE BRITISH LIBRARY.

I've made two big discoveries this week. First, I've discovered that I come from a long line of people who have educated themselves at their local library. My 84 year old granny, who I only met once when I was eleven, stayed with me having flown over from Australia. What she mainly talked about were books and libraries. She didn't have much formal education but, from an early age, borrowed books from the library, then walked the three miles home, reading all the way. She could only take out one book at a time, so she'd stay in the library as long as she could, reading a different book, and before she went home, she'd hide it behind 'something boring looking' so it would still be there next week.

She went on to have four kids of her own. By then, she could take out four books for each person in the family. Twenty books a week. "And I read them all." she said. So it seems loitering in the library is in my blood.

I have no formal art education myself, so I used the Children's Library at Carlisle very extensively. (They let me have 8 books out.) So you can imagine how thrilled I am to be standing here today for this award given by librarians - an award that recognises visual literacy, and it's most important ambassador, the picture book.

Which brings me to my second recent discovery. The 'Baby-sitting box'. Ever come across the Baby-sitting box? I've heard that some quick thinking librarians have adopted the practice of leaving a box of picture books out for older readers to browse through. The baby-sitter box allows older kids who might have reading difficulties, or even just like reading picture books, to save face. They can pretend they're borrowing a picture book for a session of baby-sitting. A great idea, but very sad that picture book reading has to be a secret vice beyond a certain age.

Picture books need a reasonably simple text because they have to suit the developing vocabulary of a young child. But these same young children are very visually astute - often more so than adults. Most good picture books combine simple texts with sophisticated art--as it just so happens that this medium is completely within the grasp of young kids.

Then, just when these kids are becoming more comfortable with the written word, when they're really getting to grips with the all-important interaction between text and pictures, they hear this: "You're too old for picture books now." Here's a medium that kids can interpret better than most grownups is suddenly dismissed as baby stuff. Is it any wonder that so many kids give up reading, when adults dismiss picture books as best left behind in the nursery.

This practice seems peculiarly unfair, because picture books have the facility to appeal to all ages, as they can be read on so many different levels. The written word standing alone has a tougher time addressing such a wide age-range.

Of course when I'm working on a book, I have the under 7's firmly in mind. I want my books to be both accessible at first reading, and layered with goodies in the pictures, waiting to be discovered on repeated readings. And what other form of literature has to sustain so many repeated readings? I'll bet most kids know their favourite picture books far better than most teenagers know their G.C.S.E. books. What's more, the parents and carers are subject to dozens of repeated readings. Aren't they a vital part of the picture book audience?

And what about those who get caught in the crossfire? How about the big sister stealing a glance over Dad's shoulder as he reads to little brother? How about the teenage baby-sitters, uncles, aunts, and grandparents, all taking their turn? In our house, my little sister would pick on anyone who was foolish enough to sit down for a cup of tea--even the insurance man and the window cleaner.

Like a first rate family film, picture books can be high quality entertainment for all ages. And though they are educational, they're not just training wheels. They're visual poetry. An art form in their own right.

Before I go, I must thank all the people who've helped with this book. Everyone in the children's department at Transworld was involved in some way, but special thanks to my editor Annie Eaton, Ian Butterworth the designer, and my husband Ted Dewan. Thank you Library Association again for this. I'm so honored. But I won't be putting it on the mantel- piece...not just yet.

Because, at 7.30 tonight, there's a meeting in the little library at the bottom of my street. Sadly, it's to discuss whether the library can be saved from closure. They're calling it a public consultation so there is some hope. I thought maybe if I offer the library the thousand pounds worth of Children's books that is part of this prize, whip out my shiny new medal, and let them know just how crucial libraries have been for four generations of my family, it might get the meeting off to a good start. Maybe my one year old daughter, like generations before her, will have a local library to go to. Wish me luck.

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HELEN COOPER WON THE 1996 KATE GREENAWAY MEDAL FOR HER BOOK, THE BABY WHO WOULDN'T GO TO BED. HERE IS THE TEXT OF HER SPEECH DELIVERED TO THE BRITISH YOUTH LIBRARIES GROUP DINNER IN SEPTEMBER,1997. THE SPEECH WAS ACCOMPANIES WITH SLIDES.

Illustration is often the poor cousin of words. People who write about picture books often tend to focus on the text because they are usually word specialists. Writers themselves are often more articulate than illustrators, words being the tools of their trade, so are more likely to get up and talk about their work. Illustrators often aren't doing such good PR for visual narrative. And to be fair it is very difficult to translate visual ideas into words for an audience unfamiliar with visual terms. But how can we expect interested professionals to promote illustration if we illustrators don't talk about how much thought goes into the process.

I don't belittle the skill involved in writing picture books. It's like writing haiku rather than prose. Every word needs to be carefully weighted. It's not easy. But writing though painful is soon over. Both The Baby who wouldn't go to bed and The Bear Under the Stairs wrote themselves in a morning. Of course some texts do take me a little longer but never more than a few weeks. The rest of the book takes me around a year to finish.

Notice so far I've been talking about the text. A picture book story is the sum total of narratives in both words and pictures.

The text is a flexible structure on which I build picture book . It isn't dissimilar to the way a film director might use a screen play. One of the earliest tasks in both film, and picture book making, is casting characters. I make animation style character sheet and models to help me form believable and consistent characters . Children will notice inconsistencies even if adults don't.

The next job is to divide the text and arrange it through book. It's the Illustrator taking on the role of director planning out shooting a script. What does the person reading the book really need to see? I have to act out all the character roles on paper. I want to make reader feel the emotions of the character.

Story boarding is a method which in originates in film. It's useful when getting to grips with the overall form of the book, and a very good way of pacing out the rhythm and drama of story. This work is continued at full size in the dummy, which is a rough version of the book . It's akin to rehearsal time. I test drive the dummy on both adults and children to weed out any sticking points.

Now I start thinking about all the details I want in he pictures to please readers of all age groups. To tell the story effectively I consider lots of different view points. This is the equivalent to the illustrator being the camera man. I can use close ups, long shots, birds eye view points etc., to give different dramatic results. Lighting a scene accurately makes an object more believable within picture space. I sometimes shine torch at a plasticine model to get the lighting correct.

A lot of research goes into location.The setting for The baby who wouldn't go to bed was inspired by a trip to Las Vegas and the American West. I studied the extraordinary architecture and wacky scale I saw there and used it as inspiration for the cheerful surreal characters in Baby's fantasy world.

I also looked at an exuberant 50's American style of pop graphics to work in a jaunty swinging quality to the book. The title page is a very good example of this. Bringing these sort of ideas into a book can help create a visual subtext in the final art work that words can't convey.To give you an example of this, the words in the bathroom scene, tell of Mum trundling the Baby all the way home. The illustration shows firstly the real bathroom floor that Mum stands on. Secondly babies imagined bathroom world. And it also suggests the elaborate monumental ritual that bedtime can be for a tired child.

So If picture books had credits like a film here's how they might look. Yet there's a tradition, that when a picture book is written and illustrated by two different people, the authors name appears first and books are filed on the shelves by author.This is a legacy from the time when story books with pictures, used illustration to illuminate a much longer text, for an older audience. Today's picture books are a much more mature art form, and address a very visually astute, younger audience.These children just learning to read are more likely to be able to distinguish between styles of different illustrators, than authors. Yet current shelving practice, makes it difficult for them to track their favorite illustrators, on the bookshelves.

Should we reconsider the way picture books are categorised? Well it wouldn't be easy. There's no money for libraries to buy two copies of a book and file one under the illustrator. But I do wish there was some way to encourage more focusing on the narrative structure within the pictures. We need to update the general thinking about the role of illustrator. I still see so many picture book reviews which end with a brief 'beautifully illustrated' after a long description of the text rather than an integrated discussion of the two. It would be a huge change for the better if words and the pictures were seen at least as equals.

I found an example of what I'm talking about in a major trade journal last week. Susan Wojciechowski it said in bold lettering. Still in bold The Christmas miracle of Jonathan Toomey published by Walker books. Then underneath in much lighter type which of course appears smaller and is harder to read, chucked in with the ISBN number, illustrated by PJ Lynch. That's how last years brilliant Greenaway winner has fared. No doubt if I didn't write my own texts I would get the same treatment.

Do we see this sort of thing because some children's book reviewers are not as interested in picture books? I often think picture books are seen as a lesser art form compared to novels. Certainly they have fewer words. But as well as being educational, the best ones are visual poetry, rather than training wheels. Luckily there are some wonderful children's book specialists doing a tremendous job at promoting picture books and picture book illustration. A lot of you are here tonight. The Kate Greenaway award is a huge boost for visual literacy. It recognises that picture book illustration is so much more than icing on top of the cake. It is in fact the major part of the picture book recipe.