The School Library Association are pleased to announce the 2024 longlist for our Information Book Award (IBA) with our sponsors, Hachette Children’s Group (HCG), and Peters, who support the award.
Now in its fourteenth year, the Information Book Award aims to highlight the importance of non-fiction by celebrating the high standard of children’s information books being published.
The awards are divided into three age categories, judged by a panel of educators. Children also have the opportunity to vote for their favourites in each shortlist group, as well as overall, to determine four additional Children’s Choice winners.
The judges have whittled down over 150 entries to just 35 outstanding non-fiction titles, deemed to give children an informative and engaging reading experience and to give school staff a versatile resource to use in the school library or classroom. With the most longlist titles the IBA has ever seen, the topics covered are more diverse than ever including growing up, music, careers, the natural world and STEM, and of course includes the classic children's favourites: dinosaurs and poop.
Chair of the Judges, Margaret Pemberton said, “This year has produced some stunning books, not only in their content but also in their illustrations and the book production. The longlist showcases the emotions that information books can evoke – from amazement to laughter to shock; wondering what your future will be, and starting to create your place in it.”
The SLA is continuing its IBA Book Club for Schools for a fourth year by gifting packs of shortlisted books to school libraries, thanks to funding from the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS). To apply, schools can visit www.sla.org.uk/iba
Alison Tarrant, the SLA‘s CEO said, “We’re delighted to announce a longlist with more books on it than ever before – a testament to the hard work of publishers, authors and designers who are bringing increasingly visual appeal, credibility and engaging experiences to young readers.
"Following stellar feedback last year, where 100% of schools said they’d take part again, the support from ALCS means we can again open our IBA Book Club, enabling schools which otherwise wouldn’t be able to get involved to share the shortlists with their pupils and participate in the Children’s Choice. Seeing the impact this Book Club has on pupils and the way the information books empower and engage them shows me there is a strong future for children’s information books."
The longlist for each age category is as follows:
Age 0-7
- 24 Hours in a Zoo, Lan Cook, illustrated by Anastasia Thomas (Usborne)
- Darwin’s Super-Pooping Worm Spectacular, Polly Owen, illustrated by Gwen Millward (The Quarto Group)
- Does a Monkey Get Grumpy? : Animals Have Feelings Too, Moira Butterfield, illustrated by Adam Ming (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
- Mama Mammals: Reproduction and Birth in Mammals, Cathy Evans, illustrated by Bia Melo (Cicada Books)
- Plant, Annabel Griffin, illustrated by Tjarda Borsboom (Hungry Tomato)
- Please Don’t Bite Me, Nazzy Pakpour, illustrated by Owen Davey (Flying Eye Books)
- Salat in Secret, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, illustrated by Hatem Aly (Andersen Press)
- That’s Mathematics, Chris Smith (based on lyrics by Tom Lehrer), illustrated by Elīna Brasliņa (Mama Makes Books)
- The Tyrannosaur’s Feathers, Jonathan Emmett & Dr Adam S. Smith, illustrated by Stieven Van der Poorten (UCLan Publishing)
- We Are All Astronauts, Kate Pankhurst, illustrated by Kate Pankhurst (Bloomsbury Children's Books)
- Welcome to Our Table: A Celebration of What Children Eat Everywhere, Laura Mucha & Ed Smith, illustrated by Harriet Lynas (Nosy Crow)
- Who Ate All the Bugs?, Matty Long, illustrated by Matty Long (Oxford University Press)
Age 8-12
- Against the Odds, Alastair Humphreys, illustrated by Pola Mai (Templar)
- Arthur Who Wrote Sherlock, Linda Bailey, illustrated by Isabelle Follath (Andersen Press)
- Brilliant Black British History, Atinuke, illustrated by Kingsley Nebechi (Bloomsbury Children's Books)
- Can You Get Rainbows in Space?, Dr Sheila Kanani, illustrated by Liz Kay (Puffin)
- Evolution, Dr Sarah Darwin & Dr Eva-Maria Sadowski, illustrated by Olga Baumert (What on Earth!)
- Hear Our Voices, Radhika Natarajan & Chao Tayiana, illustrated by Alexander Mostov (The Quarto Group)
- How to be a Detective and Other Crime-Fighting Jobs, DC Alexandra Beever, illustrated by Sol Linero (Nosy Crow)
- Human 2.0, Patrick Kane, illustrated by Samuel Rodriguez (Big Picture Press)
- Lessons From Our Ancestors, Raksha Dave, illustrated by Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong (Magic Cat)
- Unspoken, Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Dare Coulter (Andersen Press)
- Stand Up and Speak Out Against Racism, Yassmin Abdel- Magied, illustrated by Aleesha Nandhra (Walker Books)
- The Truth Detective, Tim Harford, illustrated by Ollie Mann (Hachette Children’s Group: Wren and Rook)
Age 13-16
- Bright Stars of Black British History, J.T. Williams, illustrated by Angela Vives (Thames & Hudson)
- Cash is Queen, Davinia Tomlinson, illustrated by Andrea Oerter (The Quarto Group)
- Engineers Making a Difference, Dr Shini Somara, illustrated by Manuel Šumberac & Adam Allsuch Boardman (What on Earth!)
- How to Love: A Guide to Feelings & Relationships for Everyone, Alex Norris, illustrated by Alex Norris (Walker Books)
- Growing Up: An Inclusive Guide to Puberty and Your Changing Body, Rachel Greener, illustrated by Clare Owen (Nosy Crow)
- Lads, Alan Bisset (Hachette Childrens Group: Wren & Rook)
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Musical World, Jeffrey Boakye, illustrated by Ngadi Smart (Faber Children’s)
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Rise Up and Sing, Andrea Warner, illustrated by Louise Reimer (Greystone Kids)
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Story of Now, Shelina Janmohamed, illustrated by Laura Greenan (Hachette Children’s Group)
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Welcome to the Arts: Dance, Alistair Spalding, illustrated by Jason Raish (Big Picture Press)
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You Grow Girl!, Dr Zoe Williams, illustrated by Luna Valentine (Hachette Children’s Group: Wren & Rook)
The shortlist will be announced in June, along with the release of accompanying activities that can be easily implemented in a school library or classroom setting. The shortlist books will be available at a discounted price from Peters.