The Week Junior Book Awards have unveiled the 2025 shortlist, celebrating the best in children’s literature across 13 categories, including audiobooks, graphic novels and hobbies. There’s also a category highlighting new and debut authors.

Now in its third year, The Week Junior Book Awards were created to celebrate the very best in books for young readers, increasing awareness of the lifelong benefits of reading for pleasure and ultimately inspiring children to discover their next great read.

The shortlist reveals the vital role children’s literature plays in tackling important topics in an approachable way, helping young people make sense of their world. Editorial Director of The Week Junior, Anna Bassi says, ‘From anarchic animals, rowdy Romans, riddles and rollercoasters, to magic, money and monsters, the outstanding books on this year’s shortlists are guaranteed to ignite young imaginations and spark family conversations. At a time when the world can feel unstable and overwhelming, it’s incredibly reassuring to see children’s authors, illustrators and publishers rising to the ever more important challenge of informing, entertaining and boosting empathy through their work. I’m delighted to have the help of so many expert and enthusiastic judges – including The Week Junior’s readers – to help decide which of these exceptional books should triumph.’

The Week Junior 2025 shortlists:

Animals & Nature

Beasts from the Deep by Matt Ralphs, Kaley McKean (Nosy Crow)

Lots of Things to Know About Seas and Oceans by Emily Bone (Usborne)

There is a Season by Murphy’s Sketches (UCLan)

Wildlife Crossing – Protecting Animal Pathways Around the World by Catherine Barr, Christiane Engel (Otter-Barry Books)

Wildlife in the Balance by Dr Sharon Wismer, Terri Po (Flying Eye Books)

 

Audiobook

Grimwood: Party Animals! by Nadia Shireen (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)

Mayowa and the Sea of Words by Chibundu Onuzo (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

Myths of China by Xiaobing Wang, Katie Ponder read by Windson Liong (DK)

Totally Chaotic History: Roman Britain Gets Rowdy! by Greg Jenner, Dr Emma Southon, Rikin Parekh (W.F. Howes)

 

Breakthrough Book

Peregrine Quinn and the Cosmic Realm by Ash Bond (Bonnier Books UK)

The Boy in the Suit by James Fox (Scholastic)

The Boy to Beat the Gods by Ashley Thorpe (Usborne)

The Cheat Book vol.1 by Ramzee (Orchard Books (Hachette Children’s Group))

Tidemagic: The Many Faces of Ista Flit by Clare Harlow (Penguin Random House)

 

Cover of the Year

A Head Full of Magic by Sarah Morrell (Hashtag Press Ltd)

Guinness World Records 2025 (Guinness World Records Limited)

The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys, Steve Sheinkin (Rock The Boat (Oneworld Publications))

The Boy Who Fell From the Sky by Benjamin Dean (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)

The Shy Book by Howard Pearlstein, James Munro (Graffeg)

 

 

 

 

 

Factual

Deborah Meaden Talks Money by Deborah Meaden (Farshore)

Explodapedia: Rewild by Ben Martynoga, illustrated by Moose Allain (David Fickling Books)

First Questions and Answers: Why are there wars? by Katie Daynes, Mairi Mackinnon, illustrated by Oksana Drachkovska (Usborne)

Tasty Tales by Anna Lena Feunekes (UCLan)

The History of Information by Chris Haughton (DK)

 

Fiction (Older)

Keedie by Elle McNicoll (Knights Of)

Shipwrecked by Jenny Pearson (Usborne)

The Letter with the Golden Stamp by Onjali Q Rauf (Hachette Children’s Group)

The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)

Turtle Moon by Hannah Gold (Bonnier Books UK)

 

Fiction (Younger)

Badgers are GO! by Susannah Lloyd, Nici Gregory (David Fickling)

Betty Steady and the Toad Witch (Farshore) Nicky Smith-Dale illustrated by Sarah Horne

Dungeon Runners: Hero Trial by Kieran Lawood, Joe Todd-Stanton (Nosy Crow)

Grimwood: Party Animals! by Nadia Shireen (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)

Watts & Whiskerton: Buried Bones and Troublesome Treasure by Meg McLaren (Bonnier Books)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic Novel

Blitz One Family’s War by Martin Impey (Harbour Moon Publishing)

Blue, Barry & Pancakes: Beach Ball Bedlam by Dan Abdo, Jason Patterson (Rock the Boat)

Pablo and Splash by Sheena Dempsey (Bloomsbury Children’s)

Rune by Carlos Sanches (Flying Eye Books)

Unicorn Boy by Dave Roman (Hachette Children’s Group)

 

Hobbies and Interests

100 Things to Know About Sport (multiple authors) (Usborne)

Chefs Wanted by Allegra McEvedy (DK)

The Life-Changing Magic of Skateboarding by Sky Brown (Magic Cat Publishing)

The Ultimate Kids’ Guide to Dogs by Graeme Hall (Penguin Random House)

This Book Will Make You an Artist by Ruth Millington (Nosy Crow)

 

Picture Book 

Blue Monster by Petr Horacek (Otter-Barry Books)

Godrey is a Frog by Alex Latimer (Oxford University Press)

Grandpa Kuma by Michelle Maiden (Wacky Bees Books)

Serena and the Little Blue Dog by Rosemary Clunie (Head of Zeus)

The Cafe at the Edge of the Woods by Mikey Please (HarperCollins UK)

There’s a Tiger on the Train by Mariesa Dulak, illustrated by Rebecca Cobb (Faber)

 

Poetry

And I Hear Dragons edited by Hanan Issa, illustrated by Eric Heyman (Firefly Press)

Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher, Dermot Flynn (Penguin Random House)

Out of this World by Michael Rosen, Ed Vere (HarperCollins UK)

Tomorrow We Begin by Matt Goodfellow (Bloomsbury Children’s)

We Are Family – Six Kids and a Super-Dad – A Poetry Adventure by Oliver Sykes, illustrated by Ian Morris (Otter-Barry Books)

 

STEM Book

Big Bad Wolf Investigates: Fairy Tales by Catherine Cawthorne (Bloomsbury Children’s)

Science is Lit: Crazy Chemistry and Epic Experiments by Big Manny (Penguin Random House)

Scientists in the Wild: Antarctica by Helen Scales and K. Hendry (Flying Eye Books)

The World’s First Rollercoaster by Mike Barfield (Bonnier Books UK)

 

Wellbeing

Every Body by Molly Forbes (Penguin Random House)

Happy Days: 365 Facts to Brighten Every Day of the Year by Emily Coxhead (Walker Books)

Little Dinosaurs, Big Feelings by Swapna Haddow (Magic Cat Publishing)

The Get Well Spell by Hannah Peckham (Award Publications Ltd)

The shortlist committee, including children’s book consultant Jake Hope, award-winning bookseller Sanchita Basu de Sarkar, and The Bookseller’s children’s editor Caroline Carpenter, will now hand over to a panel of judges to select the winners, including singer and author Geri Halliwell Horner, CBeebies’ George Webster, presenter and actor Rhys Stephenson, and lexicographer Susie Dent to select the winning titles. The Week Junior readers will also vote for the winners of the Children’s Choice and Cover of the Year Awards categories. Winners will be announced at an award ceremony in central London on 29 September.

The Awards are sponsored by LoveReading4Kids, Fun Kids, World Book Day and Place2Be.