Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize winner announced

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The winner of the 2011 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize is How the World Works, an interactive opus that uses illustrations, pop ups, flaps and more to make children think about the impact of human actions on our environment, while encouraging respect for the natural world.

The book’s author is Christine Dorion, the illustrator is Beverley Young, the designer and paper engineer is Andy Mansfield and the publisher is Templar Publishing.

The prize was awarded at a ceremony at the Royal Society in London on the evening of Thursday 1 December.

There were six books on the shortlist and the winner was chosen by junior judging panels made up of over 1000 young people from over 100 school and youth groups from across the UK and Commonwealth.

Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, said, “Science captured my imagination as a child, from exploring the minutiae of the natural world on my walk to school to chasing Sputnik as it blazed across the night sky. Brilliant science books also have the potential to do this and completely change children’s understanding of the world around them. We believe that by involving the young in the judging of the Royal Society Young People’s Books Prize we can help to inspire them with the joys of science, whilst also ensuring that the winner is chosen by those best qualified to judge, the readers themselves.”

The other books shortlisted for this year’s Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize are:

The Icky, Sticky Snot and Blood Book by Steve Alton and Nick Sharratt (Bodley Head)

What's the Point of Being Green? by Jacqui Bailey (Franklin Watts)

What Mr Darwin Saw by Mick Manning and Brita Granström (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)

The Story of Astronomy and Space (Usborne)

What Goes On In My Head? by Robert Winston (Dorling Kindersley)

For more information about the prize and how to participate in next year’s judging process please visit: http://royalsociety.org/awards/young-people/

The Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize did not take place in 2008 - 2010 due to funding issues but an anonymous donor has now stepped in with funding guaranteed for the next four years.