The winners of The Week Junior Book Awards 2024, brought to you by The Week Junior and The Bookseller, with partners WHSmith, World Book Day and LoveReading4Kids have been revealed at an awards ceremony hosted by tv and radio presenter Fee Mack at County Hall in London. 14 books were crowned from over 450 entries, with two of the awards – Children’s Choice and Children’s Book Cover of the Year – voted for by readers of The Week Junior.
View the full list of winners, judges comments and more here.
The expert judging panel included teachers, booksellers and literacy champions along with former Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho, Newsround presenter Ricky Boleto, award-winning author-illustrator Nadia Shireen, author and Place2Be ambassador, Sophie Dahl and teacher and TV personality Bobby Seagull.
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Now in its second year, the awards were created to address the need for greater mainstream discourse around children’s literature and the lifelong benefits of reading for pleasure. They celebrate the remarkable work of both emerging and established children’s authors, illustrators and publishers, and bring their work to the attention of The Week Junior’s avid young readers and their families.
Editorial director of The Week Junior, Anna Bassi says, “We’re delighted to honour these incredible books and their power to bring pleasure to children through words, pictures, ideas and imagination. The line-up boasts extraordinary stories, compelling characters, fascinating facts, incredible illustrations and useful advice. With awards for both fiction and non-fiction and subjects spanning everything from dinosaurs to the digestive system, there is something here for every young reader – even those who say they don’t like reading.”
New award categories for 2024 included Poetry, Picture Book, Animals and Nature, Wellbeing, Hobbies and Interests, and Graphic Novel. These were incorporated in response to feedback from publishers and to reflect the passions and interests of The Week Junior’s readers.
Some of the award-winning authors will be appearing at The Week Junior Book Festival, during the school half-term on 29 October at Barbican Centre, London.
Full list of winners
CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR: BREAKTHROUGH
My Name is Sunshine Simpson
Author: G.M. Linton, illustrator: Fuuji Takashi, publisher: Usborne
CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR: GRAPHIC NOVEL
Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir
Author and illustrator: Pedro Martin, publisher: Guppy Books
CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR: YOUNGER FICTION
Pizza Pete and the Perilous Potions
Author: Carrie Sellon, illustrator: Sarah Horne, publisher: Guppy Books
CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR: OLDER FICTION
Safiyyah’s War
Author: Hiba Noor Khan, publisher: Andersen Press
Highly commended
Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer
Author: Jeffrey Boakye, publisher: Faber
CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR: HOBBIES AND INTERESTS
Rhinoceros Can’t Draw… But You Can!
Author: Luke Newell, illustrator: Luke Newell & Mr Griff, publisher: Noodle Juice
CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR: NON-FICTION
Welcome to Our Table: A Celebration of What Children Eat Everywhere.
Author: Laura Mucha & Ed Smith, illustrator: Harriet Lynas, publisher: Nosy Crow
CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR: STEM (in association with The Week Junior Science+Nature)
Where Are You Really From?
Author: Adam Rutherford and E.L.Norry, illustrator: Adam Ming, publisher: Hachette Children’s Group
Highly commended
Wonderfully Wired Brains
Author: Louise Gooding, illustrator: Ruth Burrows, publisher: DK
CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR: ANIMALS AND NATURE
The Tyrannosaur’s Feathers
Author: Jonathan Emmett & Dr Adam S. Smith, illustrator: Stieven Van der Poorten, publisher: UCLan
CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK OF THE YEAR
Amy Gets Eaten
Author: Adam Kay, illustrator: Henry Paker, publisher: Penguin Random House
Highly commended
Gigantic
Author and illustrator: Rob Biddulph, publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books
CHILDREN’S AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR
Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Ruling the World
Author: Louie Stowell, narrator: Ben Willbond, publisher: W.F. Howes
Highly commended
Animal Tales from India: Ten Stories from the Panchatantra
Author and narrator: Nikita Gill, publisher: Nosy Crow
CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR: POETRY
A Dinosaur at the Bus Stop: Poems to Have Fun With
Author: Kate Wakeling, illustrator: Eilidh Muldoon, publisher: Otter-Barry Books
CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR: WELLBEING
Friendship Survival Guide
Author: Caroline Young, illustrator: Various, publisher: Usborne
Highly commended
My Family, Your Family
Author: Laura Henry-Allain MBE, illustrator: Giovana Medeiros, publisher: Penguin Random House
CHILDREN’S CHOICE
Guinness World Records 2024
Author: Craig Glenday (Editor-in-chief), cover designer: Rod Hunt, publisher: Guinness World Records
CHILDREN’S BOOK COVER OF THE YEAR (sponsored by Publiship)
The Kingdom Over the Sea
Author: Zohra Nabi, cover designed and illustrated by: Tom Clohosy Cole, publisher: Simon & Schuster
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