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Entries open for the HarperCollins Reading for Pleasure Awards 2026

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The HarperCollins Reading for Pleasure Awards 2026 are open now. Now in their 9th year, the awards are run in association with The Open University and UK Literacy Association (UKLA) and recognise and celebrate teachers, schools and educators that successfully promote and encourage children’s reading for pleasure, both within and beyond the school setting.

The categories in the awards are as follows:

  • Early Career Teacher (0-3 years in teaching)
  • Experienced Teacher (3 years plus)
  • Whole School
  • School Reading Champion (  e.g., Librarians/other educators) 
  • Community Reading (immediate and/or wider community, from local area to local authority)
  • The HarperCollins Author’s Choice Award is chosen by the guest judge as their personal favourite and will win a virtual visit from that author

This year’s judges are Joy Court, co-founder of All Around Reading, Teresa Cremin, Professor of Education at The Open University, Alison David, Consumer Insight Director at Farshore, Martin Galway, Head of School Programmes at National Literacy Trust, Lee Newman, Executive Publisher at Collins, Cally Poplak, Managing Director of HarperCollins Children’s Books and Farshore, David Reedy, reading expert and former President of the UK Literacy Association, and author and Authorfy founder Mel Taylor-Bessent.

Winners receive £250 worth of books of their choice, selected from HarperCollins Children’s Books, Farshore, Barrington Stoke and Collins and twenty copies of Help Your Child Love Reading by Alison David.

Professor Teresa Cremin says, ‘Research from around the world has shown the power and potential of reading for pleasure, demonstrating that choice-led reading in early years has a significant impact on well-being and academic performance. The Reading for Pleasure Awards celebrate the dedication, innovation, and creativity shown by educators in order to entice, engage and encourage young readers, within school and beyond.’

Nichola Rossall, Assistant Principal at past-winning Willow Primary School, says ‘Willow Primary School was incredibly proud to receive the Whole School Reading for Pleasure Award. This achievement recognizes the hard work we’ve put into building a vibrant reading culture over the last few years. We highly recommend that other schools apply for this award; it is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on your success and share good practice with the wider educational community.’

The deadline for entries is midnight, Sunday 14th June, using forms found via this link: https://collins.co.uk/blogs/the-book-squad-blog/reading-for-pleasure-awards-how-to-enter

The winners will be announced on Saturday 17 October at the Open University Conference in Milton Keynes.

More information about the awards and all the details on how to enter can be found here: https://collins.co.uk/pages/reading-for-pleasure-awards or https://ourfp.org/share-your-practice/

 

Shortlists Announced for the 2025 UKLA Book Awards

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The shortlists are out for the 2025 UKLA Book Awards, the only national awards entirely judged by teachers. This year’s teacher judges have selected books that are positive, empowering or representative of children’s lives.

For UKLA, giving classroom practitioners the opportunity to read high quality new children’s books is as important as finding an overall winner. Research carried out by members of UKLA (Cremin et al 2008) clearly demonstrates the links between teachers’ knowledge of children’s books and the likelihood of pupils reading for pleasure. Despite this evidence, teachers are seldom given time to read new books or the funding to purchase them when they do.

The shortlisting meeting was held at Liverpool John Moores University, and preparations were carefully thought out. Chris Lockwood, Awards Chair says, ‘From the moment the Book Awards team met our 2025 teacher judges and their group leaders in Liverpool last September, we knew that we were in for a treat. They were a reflective, informed and enthusiastic group, serious about the responsibility of choosing just six books from each of the four wonderful longlists. At the shortlisting meeting, it was a joy to hear teachers reflecting on the advice we had received from Dr. Darren Chetty and Nikki Gamble on “how to be a good judge”, and they certainly were. The Book Awards Team have received a very warm welcome by everyone involved with children’s literature in Liverpool – the schools, the universities and other professionals involved in promoting the importance of Reading for Pleasure.’

The shortlists are:

3-6+ category

Gina Kaminkski Saves the Wolf, by Craig Barr-Green and illustrated by Francis Martin (Little Tiger Press)

There’s A Tiger on The Train, by Mariesa Dulak and illustrated by Rebecca Cobb (Faber)

Mr Mornington’s Favourite Things, written and illustrated by Karen George (Welbeck)

Geoffrey Gets the Jitters, written and illustrated by Nadia Shireen (Puffin)

Listening to the Quiet, written by Cassie Silva and illustrated by Frances Ives (Lantana)

Salat in Secret, by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and illustrated by Hatem Aly (Andersen Press)

 

7-10+ category

The Final Year, by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton (Otter-Barry Books)

Stitch, by Pádraig Kenny (Walker Books)

Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler (Simon & Schuster)

Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan (Andersen Press)

And I Climbed And I Climbed, by Stephen Lightbown, illustrated by Shih-Yu Lin (Troika Books)

The Wrong Shoes, written and illustrated by Tom Percival (Simon & Schuster)

 

 

11- 14+ category

The Things We Leave Behind, by Clare Furniss (Simon & Schuster)

The Boy Next Door, by Jenny Ireland (Penguin)

If My Words Had Wings, by Danielle Jawando (Simon & Schuster)

King of Nothing, by Nathaneal Lessore (Hot Key Books)

Glasgow Boys, by Margaret McDonald (Faber)

Keedie, by Elle McNicoll (Knights Of)

Shortlist Information Books 3-14+

Brilliant Black British History by Atinuke, illustrated by Kingsley Nebechi (Bloomsbury)

Big Bad Wolf Investigates Fairy Tales, by Catherine Cawthorne and illustrated by Sara Ogilvie (Bloomsbury)

Wild Languages of Mother Nature, by Gabby Dawnay and illustrated by Margaux Samson- Abadie (Wide Eyed Editions)

Slug Life written and illustrated by Moesha Kellaway (Rocket Bird Books)

Homebody, written and illustrated by Theo Parish (Macmillan)

Stones and Bones, written by Rob Wilshaw and illustrated by Sophie Williams (Cicada)

The winners will be announced at the UKLA International Conference in Liverpool on 27 June.

Find out more about UKLA.

Longlists announced for the 2025 UKLA Book Awards

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The longlists have been announced for the 2025 UKLA Book Awards, the only national children’s book awards to be judged by teachers. A total of 470 books were submitted across the four categories, publishers represented for the first time include Rocket Bird Books, The Neem Tree Press, Alanna Max and Greystone Books.

Awards Chair, Christine Lockwood, said, ‘We always approach this difficult but exciting task with great anticipation.  The longlisting team were challenged to select from a very rich and exceptional list of submissions this year and they have come up with four enticing longlists.  It is always a joy to meet our committed, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic longlisters in person, after a long summer of reading and exchanging views online.  I would like to thank them for their hard work over the summer.  The longlists will now pass to our teams of teacher judges and their group leaders in Liverpool and the North-West, and I can’t wait to share these books with them over the next year.’

This year there are 87 judges covering the four categories and they have until mid-March to read the longlisted books, discuss them with their group leaders, and share them with pupils.

Longlist 3-6+

I Want a Dog. Written and illustrated by Jon Agee (Scallywag Press)

Gigantic. Written and illustrated by Rob Biddulph (HarperCollins)

Gina Kaminkski Saves a Wolf. Written by Craig Barr-Green and illustrated by Francis Martin (Little Tiger Press)

Doris. Written and illustrated by Lo Cole (Rocket Bird Books)

The Magic Callaloo. Written by Trish Cooke and illustrated by Sophie Bass (Walker Books)

Beneath. Written and illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld (Scallywag Press)

There’s A Tiger on The Train. Written by Mariesa Dulak and illustrated by Rebecca Cobb (Faber)

Grey. Written by Laura Dockrill and illustrated by Lauren Child (Walker Books)

The Golden Hare. Written and illustrated by Paddy Donnelly (The O’Brien Press)

Champ. Written by Payam Ebrahimi, illustrated by Reza Dalvand and translated by Caroline Croskery (Aldana Libros)

Dim Sum Palace. Written and illustrated by X. Fang (Pushkin Press)

Let’s Go! haw êkwa!. Written and illustrated by Julie Flett (Greystone Books)

Mr Mornington’s Favourite Things.  Written and illustrated by Karen George (Welbeck)

Stop! That’s Not My Story. Written by Smriti Halls and illustrated by Erika Meza (Simon & Schuster)

I Love Books. Written and illustrated by Mariajo Ilustrajo (Frances Lincoln)

Lulu’s Nana Visits. Written by Anna McQuinn and illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw (Alanna Max)

Poetry is Not for Me! Written by Joshua Seigal and illustrated by Rebecca Burgess (Collins)

Geoffrey Gets the Jitters. Written and illustrated by Nadia Shireen (Puffin)

Listening to the Quiet. Written by Cassie Silva and illustrated by Frances Ives (Lantana)

Salat in Secret. Written by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and illustrated by Hatem Aly (Andersen Press)

The Elephant and the Sea. Written and illustrated by Ed Vere (Puffin)

The Starling’s Song. Written by Octavie Wolters and illustrated by Michele Hutchinson (Pushkin Press)

 

Longlist 7-10+

Puppet. Written by David Almond and illustrated by Lizzy Stewart (Walker Books)

Little House. Written by Katya Balen and illustrated by Richard Johnson (Barrington Stoke)

The Wonder Brothers. Written by Frank Cottell-Boyce and illustrated by Steven Lenton (Macmillan)

Mis Mary-Kate Martin’s Guide to Monsters: The Wrath of the Woolington Worm Written by Karen Foxlee and illustrated by Freda Chiu (Pushkin Press)

The Final Year. Written by Matt Goodfellow  and illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton (Otter-Barry Books)

Stitch. Written by Pádraig Kenny (Walker Books)

Code Name Kingfisher. Written by Liz Kessler (Simon & Schuster)

Safiyyah’s War. Written by Hiba Noor Khan (Andersen Press)

And I Climbed And I Climbed. Written by Stephen Lightbown and illustrated by Shih-Yu Lin         (Troika Books)

On Poetry Street. Written by Brian Moses and illustrated by Mark Elvins (Scallywag Press)

The Wrong Shoes. Written and illustrated by Tom Percival (Simon & Schuster)

The Boy Who Made Monsters. Written by Jenny Pearson and illustrated by Katie Kear (Usborne)

Impossible Creatures. Written by Katherine Rundell and illustrated by Tomislav Tomić (Bloomsbury)

The Letter with the Golden Stamp. Written by Onjali Q Raúf (Orion)

The Clockwork Conspiracy. Written by Sam Sedgman (Bloomsbury)

Murray  and Bun : Murray the Viking. Written and illustrated by    Adam Stower (HarperCollins)

Pizza Pete and the Perilous Potions. Written by Carrie Sellon and illustrated by Sarah Horne (Guppy Books)

Greenwild: The World Behind the Door. Written by Pari Thomson and illustrated by Elisa Paganelli (Macmillan)

Norah’s Ark. Written by Victoria Williamson (Neem Tree Press)

Quiet Storm. Written by Kimberly Whittam (Usborne)

 

Longlist 11- 14+

This Book Won’t Burn. Written by Samira Ahmed (Atom)

Bird Boy. Written by Catherine Bruton (Nosy Crow)

You Could Be So Pretty. Written by Holly Bourne (Usborne)

I Am Wolf. Written by Alastair Chisholm (Nosy Crow)

Sing If You Can’t Dance. Written by Alexia Casale (Faber)

Where The Heart Should Be. Written by Sarah Crossan (Bloomsbury)

Eddy, Eddy. Written by Kate De Goldi (Old Barn Books)

Electric Life. Written by Rachel Delahaye (Troika)

Finding Phoebe. Written by Gavin Extence (Andersen Press)

Northern Soul. Written by Phil Earle (Barrington Stoke)

The Things We Leave Behind. Written by Clare Furniss (Simon & Schuster)

Noah Frye Gets Crushed.  Written by Maggie Horne (Firefly Press)

The Boy Next Door. Written by Jenny Ireland (Penguin)

If My Words Had Wings. Written by Danielle Jawando (Simon & Schuster)

The Grimmelings. Written by Rachael King (Guppy Books)

King of Nothing  Written by Nathaneal Lessore (Hot Key Books)

Little Bang. Written by Kelly McCaughrain (Walker Books)

Glasgow Boys. Written by Margaret McDonald (Faber)

Keedie. Written by Elle McNicoll (Knights Of)

Louder Than Hunger. Written by John Schu (Walker Books)

 

Longlist Information Books 3-14+

Stand Up and Speak Out Against Racism. Written by Yassmin Abdel-Magied and illustrated by Aleesha Nandhra (Walker Books)

Brilliant Black British History. Written by Atinuke and illustrated by Kingsley Nebechi (Bloomsbury)

Lads. Written by Alan Bisset (Wren & Rook)

Wildlife Crossings. Written by Catherine Barr and illustrated by Christiane Engel   (Otter-Barry Books)

Big Bad Wolf Investigates Fairy Tales. Written by Catherine Cawthorne and illustrated by Sara Ogilvie (Bloomsbury)

Wild languages of Mother Nature. Written by Gabby Dawnay and illustrated by Margaux Samson- Abadie (Wide Eyed Editions)

Tasty Tales. Written and illustrated by Anna Lena Feunekes (UCLan)

Against The Odds. Written by Alastair Humphreys and illustrated by Pola Mai (Templar)

Story of Now. Written by Shelina Janmohamed and illustrated by Laura Greenan (Welbeck)

Slug Life. Written and illustrated by Moesha Kellaway (Rocket Bird Books)

Measuring Me. Written and illustrated by Nicola Kent (Little Tiger Press)

Explodapedia: Rewild. Written by Ben Martynoga and illustrated by Moose Allain (David Fickling Books)

This Book Will Make You An Artist. Written by Ruth Millington and illustrated by Ellen Surrey (Nosy Crow)

Homebody. Written and illustrated by Theo Parish      (Macmillan)

Stolen History. Written by Sathnam Sanghera and illustrated by Jen Khatun (Puffin)

Welcome to the Arts: Dance. Written by Sir Alistair Spalding and illustrated by Jason Raish (Big Picture Press )

Wilding. Written by Isabella Tree and illustrated by Angela Harding (Macmillan)

Rise Up and Sing. Written by Andrea Warner and illustrated by Louise Reimer (Greystone)

Mission Arctic Written by Katherine Weiss-Tuider and illustrated by Christiane Schneider (Greystone)

Stones and Bones. Written by Rob Wilshaw and illustrated by Sophie Williams (Cicada)

UKLA is a registered charity, which has as its sole object the advancement of education in literacy. UKLA is committed to promoting good practice nationally and internationally in literacy and language teaching and research.

UKLA especially supports the development of approaches to literacy learning and teaching which underpin these understandings. The Association recognises the significance for effective language and communication learning of literature, drama, the visual media, non-fiction texts and information technology, as well as welcoming approaches to teaching which draw on the resources of a wide range of cultures and which are informed by a detailed understanding of how literacy and language work.

UKLA Book Award Winners 2024

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The winners of the UKLA 2024 Book Awards have been announced. The judges, a panel of twelve teachers, have chosen winners across four categories, picturebooks, fiction and information books.

The Hare-Shaped Hole written by John Dougherty and illustrated by Thomas Docherty (Frances Lincoln) is the winner in the 3 – 6+ category. The judges felt that this ‘beautiful, moving and important book’ gives children of all ages the vocabulary to talk about loss, praising the ‘beautifully crafted’ language and the ‘gentle , expressive’ illustrations  for creating an ‘emotional toolkit’ for young children.

Wildsmith: Into the Dark Forest by Liz Flanagan, illustrated throughout by Joe Todd-Stanton and published by independent UCLan Publishing is the winner of the 7 – 10 + category. This ‘excellent adventure’ with its ‘anime like’ illustrations and  the ‘brilliantly written age-appropriate text’ make it the ‘perfect first chapter book’ providing ‘pure reading for pleasure’, said the judges.

Tia Fisher’s Crossing the Line, Shadower’s Choice for the Carnegie Medal,  won the UKLA 11-14+ category. Inspired by the real experiences of a friend’s son in county lines drug dealing, this powerful exploration of entrapment techniques and the domino effect of bad choices is made brilliantly accessible by the verse novel structure. Tia commented, ‘I’m so grateful to the teachers who have promoted Crossing the Line in their schools, not only to the children but also to staff and parents. The UKLA award will give Erik’s story even greater visibility, opening much-needed conversations around county lines and exemplifying the importance of reading for pleasure.’

Finally, the 3-14+ Information Book category was one by another groundbreaking text, The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die by Peter Lantos, an account of the author’s experiences as a survivor of Bergen Belsen. The judges felt that Peter’s lived experience related in his ‘simple, direct and truthful style’ was entirely appropriate for the audience and, it ends on a positive note. ‘It’s a book, not about death, but about survival.’  Peter commented on his win, ‘I am delighted to receive this most prestigious award from the United Kingdom Literacy Association. The memory of having taught medical students for some 40 years adds a special appreciation to the fact that it comes from fellow teachers.’

As Chris Lockwood, Awards Chair said, ‘Once again, the range and quality of the books submitted for our award were of the highest standard.  There are many talented and creative writers, illustrators and translators bringing forward exciting and stimulating works for children and young people.  Publishers should be congratulated on their efforts to identify, nurture and support creators working in this area.  Our range of teacher judges this year needed all their skill, knowledge and insight to select the texts to go forward to the shortlists, and the final panel, which chose the winning books, should be proud and delighted with the outcomes.’

Judge Florella Scozzafava said, ‘Being on the UKLA teacher judging panel has helped me expand my reading habits and, with the support of other teacher judges, step out of my comfort zone. Hearing different interpretations on texts has helped me think more critically about what roles particular texts serve and this has made me even more deliberate in my book-buying decision making for school. I’ve come away from every meeting buzzing with ideas of how to use texts and inspired by colleagues across the country who work so hard to promote the love of reading.’

The awards are sponsored by Lovereading4Kids and Reading Cloud.

The Shortlists in full

3-6+                                   

Fox & Son Tailers written and illustrated by Paddy Donnelly (The O’Brien Press)

The Hare-Shaped Hole written by John Dougherty and illustrated by Thomas Docherty (Frances Lincoln)

10 Dogs written and illustrated by Emily Gravett (Two Hoots)

Martha Maps It Out written and illustrated by Leigh Hodgkinson (Oxford)

The Wilderness written and illustrated by Steve McCarthy (Walker)

Dick the Delightful Duck written by Kaye Umansky and illustrated by Ben Mantle (Alison Green)

 

7-10+                                 

The Song Walker written by Zillah Bethell and illustrated by Saara Katariina Söderlund (Usborne)

Call Me Lion written by Camilla Chester and illustrated by Irina Avgustinovich (Firefly)

How to be More Hedgehog written by Anne Marie Conway and illustrated by Danielle Dey (Uclan)

Wildsmith: Into the Dark Forest written by Liz Flanagan and illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton (Uclan)

Finn Jones Was Here written by Simon James Green and illustrated by Jennifer Jamieson (Scholastic)

Where the River Takes Us written by Lesley Parr and illustrated by David Dean  (Bloomsbury)

 

11-14+                              

Away with Words written by Sophie Cameron (Little Tiger)

Crossing the Line written by Tia Fisher (Hot Key)

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow written by Zoulfa Katouh (Bloomsbury)

Steady for This written by Nathanael Lessore (Hot Key)

All My Rage written by Sabaa Tahir (Atom)

I Must Betray You written by Ruta Sepetys (Hodder)

 

Information Books 3-14+                                      

Unspoken written by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Dare Coulter (Andersen)

Lands of Belonging: A History of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Britain written by Vikesh Amey Bhatt, and Donna Amey Bhatt and illustrated by Salini Perera (Nosy Crow)

The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die written by Peter Lantos (Scholastic)

Whose Tracks in the Snow? Written and illustrated by Alexandra Milton (Boxer Books)

Saving H’Non: Chang and the Elephant written by Trang Nguyen and illustrated by Jeet Zdung (Macmillan)

Darwin & Hooker written by Alexander Stewart and illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton (Bloomsbury)

 

Winners of the Reading for Pleasure Awards

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The winners of the HarperCollins Reading for Pleasure Awards 2024, in association with the Open University and the UK Literacy Association (UKLA), have been announced. The awards recognise and celebrate teachers who are putting Reading for Pleasure at the heart of their classrooms in creative and innovative ways, to inspire children to read.

This year, bestselling author Hannah Gold joined the judging panel as the guest judge.

The winners were awarded across six categories this year, with each category receiving £250 worth of books from across Farshore, HarperCollins Children’s Books, Collins and Barrington Stoke along with 20 copies of Help Your Child Love Reading by Alison David.

Early Career – WINNER: Charlotte Squirrell, Moorlands Church of England Primary Academy, Norfolk

Experienced Teacher – JOINT WINNERS: Chris Soul, Watford St John’s Church of England Primary School, Watford and Imogen Maund, Caldecott Primary School, Oxfordshire and a HIGHLY COMMENDED to Claire Burton-Gardner, Turnfurlong Junior School, Buckinghamshire

School Reading Champion – JOINT WINNERS: Henrietta Englefield, Colfe’s Senior School, London and Kathryn Handley, The Sir Donald Bailey Primary Academy, Nottinghamshire

Whole School – WINNER: Lydgate Infant School, Sheffield submitted by Vikki Varley and Daisy Whitehead

Community Reading Champion – JOINT WINNERS: Cathy Cook, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham and Simon Pollard, St Austell Festival of Children’s Literature, Cornwall

Author’s Choice – WINNER: Steeton Primary School, Yorkshire submitted by Claire Redman

The Early Career category was awarded to Charlotte Squirrell from Moorlands Church of England Primary Academy, who was recognised for her child-centric and diversity-led approach to developing a reading community within the school. The judges were impressed to see such a strong start from a passionate teacher at the  beginning of her career.

The Experienced Teacher category was awarded to two winners: Chris Soul from Watford St John’s Church of England Primary School and Imogen Maund from Caldecott Primary School. The judges applauded Imogen for going on a deep-dive into poetry, enthusing not only her class, but also inspiring the entire school to develop an ambitious plan for poetry.  With Chris, the judges were very impressed with his approach to engaging the whole school with the Storytime in School project, created by Farshore to encourage daily storytime in the classroom, and to extend his influence and experience to other schools. The judges were also very impressed with the school reading podcast.  The judges also gave a Highly Commended award to Claire Burton-Gardner from Turnfurlong Junior School for working hard to broaden the texts that children have access to within their school environment, with author visits throughout the year.

The School Reading Champion category has also been awarded to joint winners with Henrietta Englefield from Colfe’s Senior School and Kathryn Handley from The Sir Donald Bailey Academy taking the prize. The judges thought Henrietta demonstrated how reading can be implemented successfully in a secondary school setting. Kathryn was praised for her involvement of parents in encouraging a reading for pleasure habit beyond the classroom.

In the Whole School category, Lydgate Infant School is the winner. The entry was submitted by Vikki Varley and Daisy Whitehead. The judges said the school would be a great inspiration for other schools, with plenty of evidence-based data used as a springboard for a varied and comprehensive approach to embedding reading for pleasure.

The Community Reading Champion has been awarded to two winners. Both Cathy Cook from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and Simon Pollard of St Austell Festival of Children’s Literature were commended for being brilliant examples in igniting change in their communities, with Cathy being described by the judges as a trailblazer.

And finally, the Author’s Choice is Steeton Primary School, chosen by bestselling author Hannah Gold. On her decision, Hannah said ‘I loved the emphasis on creating numerous tactile reading places throughout the entire school. Spaces which undoubtedly lend a more relaxed, comfortable feel to reading – one of the cornerstones of fostering a reading for pleasure culture. I also have to give a special shout out to Eric Shaw for his incredible hard work and dedication. He sounds like a very special person indeed.’

Teresa Cremin, Professor of Education at The Open University, said, ‘These award-winning schools and teachers demonstrate the impact of giving reading for pleasure the respect it deserves. Their investment and involvement in strategically developing positive reader identities has clearly paid dividends. The impact of their work on young lives is evident and warrants both recognition and celebration’.

 

 

Shortlists announced for the UKLA Book Awards 2022

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The shortlists have been announced for the UKLA Book Awards 2022. The only awards chosen by teachers, talented new authors are well represented and independent publishers feature strongly.

The shortlists are:

3 to 6+                                                 

Freedom We Sing written by Amyra León, illustrated by Molly Mendoza (Flying Eye)

What Happened to You? written by James Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George (Faber)

Pip and Egg written by Alex Latimer, illustrated by David Litchfield (Scholastic)

I’m (Almost) Always Kind written by Anna Milbourne illustrated by Asa Gilland, (Usborne)

The Invisible written and illustrated by Tom Percival (Simon & Schuster)

Barbara Throws a Wobbler written and illustrated by Nadia Shireen, (Puffin)                                          

7 to 10+                                                               

October, October written by Katya Balen, illustrated by Angela Harding   (Bloomsbury)

When Life Gives You Mangoes written by Kereen Getten (Pushkin Press)

When Stars are Scattered written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson, with Omar Mohamed (Faber)

A Kind of Spark written by Elle McNicholl (Knights Of)

The Valley of the Lost Secrets written by Lesley Parr (Bloomsbury)

Front Desk written by Kelly Yang (Knights Of)

                                                               

11 to 14+                                                            

The Short Knife written by Elen Caldecott (Andersen)

When the World Was Ours written by Liz Kessler (Simon & Schuster)

Tsunami Girl written by Julian Sedgwick, illustrated by Chie Kutsuwada (Guppy Books)

The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne written by Jonathan Stroud (Walker)

Cane Warriors   written by Alex Wheatle (Andersen)

Punching The Air written by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam (HarperCollins)                  

                  

Information Books 3-14+                                                             

Fourteen Wolves written by Catherine Barr, illustrated by Jenni Desmond (Bloomsbury)

What’s the T? written by Juno Dawson, illustrated by soofiya (Wren & Rook)

Modern Art Explorer written by Alice Harman, illustrated by Serge Bloch (Thames and Hudson)

The Great Barrier Reef written by Helen Scales, illustrated by Lisk Feng, (Flying Eye)

Ultimate Gamer- Career Mode written by Craig Steele, illustrated by Berat Pekmezci (Kingfisher)

Nano written by Dr Jess Wade, illustrated by Melissa Castrillon (Walker)

For UKLA, giving classroom practitioners the opportunity to read high quality new children’s books is as important as finding an overall winner. Research carried out by members of UKLA (Cremin et al 2008) clearly demonstrated the links between teachers’ knowledge of children’s books and the likelihood of pupils becoming successful readers. Despite this evidence, teachers are seldom given time to read new books or funding to purchase them when they do.

12 teachers nominated from the 85 involved in the shortlisting will now form the final judging panel and have the challenging task of reading all the shortlisted books in all categories. The winner’s announcement will take place at the UKLA International Conference in Birmingham on 1 July.

The awards are sponsored by Lovereading4kids and Reading Cloud.

Deborah McLaren, Director of Lovereading4kids said, ‘This is a cracking shortlist of children’s books that deserve to be celebrated. The UKLA Awards are a special thing, ensuring that the teacher judges can share the books first-hand with their students, all with the aim of encouraging reading for pleasure. We are excited to see which books shine through this year, but they are all stars!’

A spokesperson at Reading Cloud added, ‘We are always heartened to see so many dedicated teacher judges all over the UK working with the longlisted, shortlisted and winning books to inspire a love of reading in their pupil groups and beyond. Encouraging reading for enjoyment and improving literacy are very much at the heart of Reading Cloud and through our platform, pupils can review and recommend books, sharing their enthusiasm for reading through a variety of accessible and engaging tools and features.’

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