Longlist Revealed for Inaugural Inclusive Books For Children Awards 2024
The longlist for the inaugural Inclusive Books for Children (IBC) Awards 2024 has been announced. The longlists celebrate the best books demonstrating inclusivity from the past year across two categories: picture books for ages three to seven and children’s fiction for ages five to nine.
The longlists feature books with strong representation of racialised minority, disabled, neurodiverse, or LGBTQIA+ protagonists and are as follows:
Picture book category:
Dadaji’s Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande, illustrated by Ruchi Mhasane (Andersen Press)
Faruq and the Wiri Wiri by Sophia Payne, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat (Templar Publishing)
Lost in the City, by Alice Courtley, illustrated by Alice Courtley (Orchard Books)
My Brother is an Avocado by Tracy Darnton, illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail (Simon & Schuster Children’s UK)
Speak Up! by Nathan Bryon, illustrated by Dapo Adeola (Puffin, Penguin Random House Children’s)
Stop! That’s Not My Story! by Smriti Halls, illustrated by Erika Meza (Simon & Schuster Children’s UK)
To The Other Side written and illustrated by Erika Meza (Hachette Children’s Group)
The Missing Piece by Jordan Stephens, illustrated by Beth Suzannah (Bloomsbury Publishing)
The Pet Potato, by Josh Lacey, illustrated by Momoko Abe (Andersen Press)
You’re So Amazing by James and Lucy Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George (Faber & Faber)
CHILDREN’S FICTION category (ages 5-9) are:
Budgie by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by David Barrow (Barrington Stoke)
Lizzie and Lucky: The Mystery of the Lost Chicken by Megan Rix, illustrated by Tim Budgen (Puffin, Penguin Random House Children’s)
Marv and the Killer Plants by Alex Falase-Koya, illustrated by Paula Bowles (Oxford Children’s Books)
Meet the Maliks Twin Detectives: The Cookie Culprit by Zanib Mian, illustrated by Kyan Cheng (Hodder Children’s Books)
Nikhil and Jay: Off to India by Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Soofiya (Otter-Barry Books)
Princess Minna: The Best Princess by Kirsty Applebaum, illustrated by Sahar Haghgoo (Nosy Crow)
Sona Sharma Wish Me Luck by Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Jen Khatun (Walker Books)
Secret Beast Club: The Dragons of Emerald Yard by Robin Birch, illustrated by Jobe Anderson (Puffin, Penguin Random House Children’s)
Too Small Tola Makes It Count by Atinuke, illustrated by Onyinye Iwu (Walker Books)
Praising the longlisted authors and illustrators, Sarah Satha, co-founder of Inclusive Books for Children said, ‘Reading them is a profoundly joyous experience.’
The third category, books for Babies and Toddlers (1–3), will go straight to shortlist due to the low number of submissions. All shortlists will be announced in January.
The judges are Jeffrey Boakye, A M Dassu, Aoife Dooley, Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, Farrah Serroukh and Sonali Shah.
Find out more about the awards and Inclusive Books for Children.
