'Ants' - Macmillan Prize for Illustration 2021

‘Ants’ is an interactive illustrated book exploring the tiny world of ants and I am delighted to say it has been awarded the Macmillan Prize for Illustration 2021. The aim of the book was to create a little bit of happy and playfulness, while encouraging a fascination and connection to nature. Ants are a very accessible form of nature, and it is hoped that by making them the focus of this book, every child will be able to then interact with and build a fascination and sense of empathy for the tiny creatures we share our world with. Interactive elements are used throughout to establish the sense of the book being focussed on play and experiencing nature. Chris Inns, art and design director at Macmillan Children’s Books and chair of the judges, said: “Cara’s wonderful illustration immediately caught the judges’ attention. The use of a bright, but not obvious, palette of eye-catching colours and bold compositions, evocative of Matisse, made this book stand out in a very strong field. Cara’s stylish work produced an instant, positive and unanimous reaction, spreading smiles across the judging panel’s faces. Cara also added flaps and mechanisms to her book, making it interactive and further encouraging exploration and discovery through play. This aspect was integrated impeccably, making the book friendly and accessible for the very young." Rooney added: “I am so delighted and grateful to have won the Macmillan Prize for Illustration this year and am very thankful for the judges’ feedback on my book. I have always had a fascination for the natural world and having loved interactive books and activity books since I was little, I wanted to create work that would combine children’s curiosity with playful formats, encouraging interaction with the reader. This feels so surreal after admiring and being inspired by amazing previous winners of the competition and reading their beautiful published children’s books to my little brother and sister too.”