Always an excellent initiative, this Youth Prize which opens comics to an audience which will be that of tomorrow as well as the rewarded authors. More than 250 Saint-Malo students, aged 8 to 11, chose to award the Ville de Saint-Malo 2024 Youth Comic Prize to Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris, for their album The First Cat in Space Ate the pizza, published by Albin Michel editions.
The Youth Comic Book Prize City of Saint-Malo is awarded by the Quai des Bulles comics and projected image festival. It aims to elect a children's work published during the year and rewards its authors. It is awarded by a jury made up of 257 readers, aged 8 to 11. A total of 13 classes from CE2 to CM2 levels, coming from 7 schools in Saint-Malo, took part in the selection of the winning album from among 5 competing titles. The Ville de Saint-Malo / Quai des Bulles 2024 Youth BD Prize is therefore awarded to the album The First Cat in Space Ate Pizzaby Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris (ed. Albin Michel – trans. Philippe Touboul), with 32% of the votes. The authors will receive a grant of €1,200. Something terrible is happening in the sky: rats are eating the Moon! Only one hero can save the Earth, a bold and fearsome beast, a reckless and pizza-loving hero. And this hero is… a cat, who finds himself propelled into space. Helped by the Queen of the Moon and Loz 4000, a nail-cutting robot, will he manage to stop the rats in time?
Mac Barnett (author) and Shawn Harris (illustrator) grew up and still live today in California. Their youth album A Polar Bear in the Snow (ed. Candlewick, 2020) has received numerous awards in the United States. Mac Barnett has also written several children's albums translated in France, including Because (ed. Little Urban, 2019), Triangle, Carré et Circle (ed. École des Loisirs, 2018-2019) or even Extra-soft (ed. Milan, 2014).
The winners of previous editions
- 2023 : Mist, Volume 1 – The Dragon Awakensby Carine Hinder & Jérôme Pelissier – ed. Glénat
- 2022 : Sixteenth springby YunBo – ed. Delcourt
- 2021 : Lightfall, the last flameby Tim Probert – ed. Gallimard
- 2020 plus ACBD prices: The King of BirdsAlexander Utkin – éd. Gallimard
