The short list for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2015 has been announced.
If you are looking for reading inspiration, here is a great place to start.
This year’s short list is totally dominated by female writers and illustrators, a rarity in book prize short lists.
Another recurring theme is that of detective novels! Robins Stevens is already on to the second (Arsenic For Tea) in her engrossing series, with the third (First Class Murder) due for release in July 2015.
It’s great to see a non-fiction title in the picture book category – Lucy Letherland’s Atlas of Adventures is a richly illustrated guide to the globe.
Best Illustrated Book
The Queen’s Hat by Steve Antony (Hodder / Hachette Children’s)
The Dawn Chorus by Suzanne Barton (Bloomsbury)
Blown Away by Rob Biddulph (HarperCollins)
Where Bear? by Sophy Henn (Puffin)
Atlas of Adventures by Lucy Letherland, words by Rachel Williams (Wide Eyed Editions)
The Sea Tiger by Victoria Turnbull (Templar)
Best Fiction for 5-12s
Girl with a White Dog by Anne Booth (Catnip)
Cowgirl by G.R. Gemin (Nosy Crow)
Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen (Random House Children’s Publishers)
Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens (Random House Children’s Publishers)
Violet and the Pearl of the Orient by Harriet Whitehorn, illustrated by Becka Moor (Simon & Schuster)
A Boy Called Hope by Lara Williamson (Usborne Publishing)
Best Book for Teens
The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald (Orion Children’s Books)
Half Bad by Sally Green (Penguin)
Dead Ends by Erin Lange (Faber & Faber)
Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill (Quercus)
Smart by Kim Slater (Macmillan Children’s Books)
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton (Walker Books)
