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Penguin Random House and Hachette both have four books on the 15-strong shortlists for the Sainbury’s Children’s Book Awards, while Walker sports two.
The shortlisted titles comprise, in the Baby and Todder category: Oi Frog! by Kes Gray, illustrated by Jim Field (Hodder Children’s Books, part of Hachette), Little World to the Moon by Stuart Atkinson, illustrated by Allison Black (PRH), and Nibbles Numbers by Emma Yarlett (Little Tiger Press, also owned by PRH); in the Picture Book category, My Pet Star by Corrinne Averiss, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw (Hachette Children’s Books), Look Up! by Nathan Bryon, illustrated by Dapo Adeola (PRH) and The Same but Different Too by Karl Newson, illustrated by Kate Hindley (Nosy Crow); and in Fiction, Boot by Shane Hegarty, illustrated by Ben Mantle (Hachette Children’s Books), Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties by Humza Arshad and Henry White, illustrated by Aleksei Bitskoff (Penguin Random House and The Umbrella Mouse by Anna Fargher (Pan Macmillan).
Meanwhile in the Learning and Development category, shortlisted are: You are Awesome Journal by Matthew Syed, illustrated by Lindsey Sagar and Toby Triumph (Hachette Children’s Books); The Awesome Book of Space by Adam Frost (Bloomsbury) and The Everyday Journey of Ordinary Things by Libby Deutsch, illustrated by Valpuri Kerttula (Quarto's Ivy Kids). In the Favourite Characters category, the shortlisted trio are: We’re Going on a Bear Hunt: Let’s Discover Baby Animals (Walker), Where’s Wally Exciting Expeditions written and illustrated by Martin Hanford (Walker) and Where’s the Wookie 2 from Lucasfilm (Egmont).
Sainsbury’s is partnering with BookTrust for the awards, which are now in their sixth year.
Danika Cave, Sainbury’s books buyer, said: “2019 has seen the highest volume of nominations to date and the quality and breadth of titles continues to increase year on year. I feel very passionately about the importance of children’s literature and its ability to inspire and engage our youngest customers.” She added that the shortlisting process “was incredibly challenging with the Picture Book category being of particular note for its diversity and quality.”
Jill Coleman, director of children’s books at BookTrust, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Sainsbury’s again on its Children’s Book Awards. Sainsbury’s share our passion for brilliant books which excite and inspire a diverse range of children to read for the joy of it. This year, we have more nominations than ever; the shortlist is fantastic and it’s going to be a very tough job to pick the winners in August.”
The winners will be announced on 28th August, alongside the Sainsbury’s Children’s Classic award, which celebrates a book which has brought joy to generations of children. The winning author in each category will receive £1,000 and the shortlist and winning titles are promoted in Sainsbury’s stores.