Rob Biddulph, Serena Patel And SF Said Amongst Winners Of The First Week Junior Book Awards
The Week Junior Book Awards
The UK’s most influential children’s magazine has announced the nine winners of its first children’s book awards. On 2nd October, The Week Junior Book Awards 2023, sponsored by Bookily from National Book Tokens and in partnership with The Bookseller and World Book Day, were celebrated at a ceremony at London’s County Hall. Guests from across the UK children’s publishing industry came together to applaud the uplifting, enriching, and life-enhancing power of books to change children’s lives, and the talented people who create them.
The inaugural awards were chaired by Editorial Director of The Week Junior, Anna Bassi, who said: “Our wonderful – and thoroughly deserving – winning titles represent a broad and fascinating spectrum of topics, genres and voices, but what they all have in common is their absolute power to captivate, entertain and inform young readers. The judges were unanimous in their decisions and I feel privileged to celebrate the success of the authors, illustrators and publishers whose brilliant books bring such pleasure to children, and help form a love of reading that will have benefits for the rest of their lives.”
Science, animals and the environment were at the heart of a number of the winning titles, including Audio Adventures: Natural Wonders of the World (Ladybird), written by Sidra Ansari and brilliantly narrated by actor Ben Bailey-Smith. The book takes listeners on a sound-filled journey through the natural world and beat stiff competition including comedian Richard Ayoade’s The Book That No One Wanted to Read, to win Children’s Audiobook of the Year. The judges described it as “exceptional” and a great example of how publishers should embrace audio.
Anita Ganeri, the critically acclaimed author of the Horrible Geography series, won the Older Fiction award with Real Life Dragons and Their Stories of Survival (Wayland). The title explores the fascinating stories of ten real-life dragons and the myths and legends surrounding them. Meanwhile Rob Lloyd Jones’s 24 Hours In Space won Children’s Book of the Year: STEM (in association with The Week Junior Science+Nature magazine).
Mystery and adventure stories proved popular, with winners including Serena Patel’s Anisha, Accidental Detective: Holiday Adventure (Usborne), which won the Younger Fiction category. Author J. T. Williams won the exciting Children’s Book of the Year: Breakthrough, supported by World Book Day, with The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Drama and Danger (Farshore), the first in a new adventure series set in the 18th century, featuring characters inspired by real Black British historical figures. The award for older fiction went to Tyger, the “triumph of a novel” by SF Said and illustrated by Dave McKean (David Fickling Books).
Author and illustrator Aoife Dooley won Children’s Illustrated Book of the Year for Frankie’s World, a graphic novel starring an autistic protagonist. Judges praised the book’s “engaging, accessible illustrations and really welcome message about being yourself”. They also noted the high calibre of illustrations across the winning titles, created by talent from across the globe, including Jianan Liu from China and Caribay M. Benavides from Buenos Aires.
Focussing on mental health, a vital topic in children’s publishing, The Extraordinary Book That Makes You Feel Happy (Weldon Owen Children’s Books) by Poppy O’Neill was awarded Children’s Book of the Year: Younger Non-Fiction (6-9 year-olds). This innovative book includes a foreword from mindfulness expert Wynne Kinder, and details projects, ideas and activities to help children feel positive, confident, focused, calm and included.
The Week Junior invited readers to help choose the Children’s Book Cover of the Year. Thousands of kids cast their votes online, and Rob Biddulph’s Peanut Jones and the Twelve Portals was propelled into first place. The Week Junior’s Art Director, Dave Kelsall, described the book as: “A highly imaginative, colourful and ‘in-your-face’ cover that grabs your attention immediately”.
Each category was judged by a panel of experts, with judges including children’s TV presenter Radzi Chinyanganya, presenter and YouTuber Maddie Moate, and award-winning authors Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Elle McNicoll. The awards were set up at the start of 2023, to address the lack of critical discourse around children’s literature and shine a light on the brilliant work of both new and established children’s authors.