Children’s Book Award 2024 Shortlist Announced

The Children’s Book Award 2024 shortlist has been announced, with children choosing their favourite books from the last year. 

Children nationwide are now invited to vote for their favourite of the ten shortlisted books. Online voting will open on 25th March and the deadline will be 12 noon on 18th May. 

The category winners and the author of the best children’s book published in the 2023 nomination period will be announced at a glittering awards ceremony which takes place in Central London on Saturday 8th June, and will be live-streamed.

The Children’s Book Award is the only national award for children’s books that is voted for entirely by children. It is owned and coordinated by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups and is highly respected by teachers, parents and librarians. It has brought acclaim and strong sales to past winners such as J.K. Rowling, Patrick Ness, Andy Stanton, Malorie Blackman, Anthony Horowitz and Michael Morpurgo, who has won a record four times. The award has often been the first to recognise the future stars of children’s fiction and has the ability to turn popular authors into bestsellers.

The full shortlist for the Children’s Book Award 2024 is as follows:

Books for Younger Children

• Gigantic - written and illustrated by Rob Biddulph, published by HarperCollins
• The Big Dreaming - written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Daniel Egneus, published by Bloomsbury
• The Fastest Tortoise in Town – written by Howard Calvert and illustrated by Karen Obuhanych, published by Walker Books
• The Princess and The (Greedy) Pea - written and illustrated by Leigh Hodgkinson, published by Walker Books 

Books for Younger Readers

• Adventure Mice: Otter Chaos  - written by Philip Reeve and illustrated by Sarah McIntyre, published by David Fickling Books
• Marv and The Killer Plants - written by Alex Falase-Koya and illustrated by Paula Bowles, published by OUP
• Press Start! Game On, Super Rabbit Boy! - written and illustrated by Thomas Flintham, published by Nosy Crow

Books for Older Readers

• Code Name Kingfisher - written by Liz Kesser, published by Simon and Schuster
• Deadlock - written by Simon Fox, published by Nosy Crow
• The Final Year - written by Matt Goodfellow and illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton, published by Otter-Barry Books 

Sarah Stuffins, Children’s Book Award Coordinator says, "The Children’s Book Award is back and it’s always a  pleasure to see what brilliant stories have been chosen. We have the hugely popular Michael Rosen on the shortlist this year, as well and previous winner, Thomas Flintham. Children are a very demanding and exacting audience – books need to hook them into a story rightaway, and keep them turning the pages, right to the end! And it’s a testament to these wonderful books that they’ve all not just delighted their readers, but inspired them to vote.

Congratulations to our wonderful shortlisted authors and illustrators, and many thanks to all the children who voted for this year’s wonderful shortlist. Good luck, everyone!"

Vote online for your favourites here: www.fcbg.org.uk/childrens-book-award-2024