Jackson and Whitley scoop overall SLA Information Book Award

Sharna Jackson and Dr Zoé Whitley have won the School Library Association Information Book Award for their “stunning” book Black Artists Shaping the World (Thames and Hudson).

The awards, sponsored by Hachette Children’s Book Group and Peters, aim to “emphasise the importance of non-fiction by highlighting and celebrating the high standard of children’s information books”. The awards are broken down into three categories, for children aged 0–7, 8–12 and 13–16, as well as an overall winner.

Jackson and Dr Whitley’s work triumphed in the 13–16 category as well as taking the overall title. The judges praised it as a “stunning beginners’ guide to the best of contemporary Black art". Populated with "dynamic black and white portraits", the "thoughtfully presented examples of a wide range of types of art [with] clear, concise text and exceptional design" creates a "classic" for any school library, they said.

Meet the Microbes, written by Dr Emily Grossman and illustrated by Maggie Li (Wren & Rook), won the 0–7 category. Judges praised the illustrations which “help readers to visualise concepts that can be hard to understand". They said: “This title is a colourful exploration of how these tiny living things play a crucial role in our existence.” 

The judges’ winner of the 8–12 age category is Making a Baby: An Inclusive Guide to How Every Family Begins by Rachel Greener, illustrated by Clare Owen (Nosy Crow). Praised by judges as being "interesting, factually correct, and insightful", this book crucially celebrates the diversity of many different types of family.

As well as the judges’ choices, children have also had the opportunity to vote for their favourite book from the shortlist in order to determine an additional Children’s Choice winner in each age category, and one overall. Funded by the Foyle Foundation, this year schools were invited to take part in the IBA Book Club, through which 24 schools received a bundle of free books from a relevant age category in exchange for sharing their experiences of using the shortlist in their school library or classroom and taking part in the 2022 Children’s Choice voting. 

Students showed their agreement with the judges by giving Black Artists Shaping the World its third win as the Children’s Choice Winner of the 13–16 age category. An eye-popping celebration of Black history, Black and British: An Illustrated History by David Olusoga, illustrated by Jake Alexander and Melleny Taylor (Macmillan Children’s Books) was named the Children’s Choice Winner of the 8–12 age category, as well as the Children’s Choice Overall Winner. And finally, Katie Daynes and Jordan Akpojaro’s gentle and sensitive lift-the-flap book, What is Racism?, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat (Usborne), was crowned the Children’s Choice Winner of the 0–7 age category.

The winners were announced on Tuesday 22nd November at a ceremony at the offices of Hachette Children’s Group, London.

The evening also saw the announcement of the Hachette Children’s Group Award for Outstanding Contribution to Information Books. Launched in 2017, the award is given to an eminent UK writer or illustrator of information books for children, to mark an exceptional contribution to excellence in their field. Following in the footsteps of Nicola Davies, Nicola Morgan and Marcia Williams, along with last year’s winner, Anita Ganeri, the 2022 award went to Owen Davey. 

Davey is a non-fiction illustrator who has worked with a wide range of clients, including WWF, National Geographic, Disney, the Guardian, BBC, Google and ZSL London Zoo. He is the author and illustrator of numerous non-fiction children’s books on animals, which have been published in more than 25 languages around the world. 

Margaret Pemberton, chair of the IBA, says: "Once again, the judges have been excited by the quality of the books submitted for this award. The range of subjects, standard of writing and production have made the judging process challenging. After detailed and energetic discussion, we are delighted by this year’s winners."

Alison Tarrant, SLA c.e.o. said: “It’s wonderful to see such important topics and themes reflected in the shortlist, showing us what young people are interested in and care about. We’re pleased that, thanks to generous funding from the Foyle Foundation, we’ve been able to run an IBA Book Club that’s got the books into the hands of the children themselves and supported schools to engage with these brilliant titles. This valuable award once again celebrates some outstanding winners.”

Hilary Murray Hill, c.e.o. of Hachette Children’s Group added: "Information books play a vital role in feeding the minds and development of children and young people today. It is more important than ever that school libraries are supported in providing those readers with access to appealing factual content. We are delighted to sponsor the SLA Information Book Awards in its 12th year. To ensure the high-quality non-fiction publishing continues to reach readers, it is essential that we continue to celebrate and draw attention to the knowledge, creativity and imagination of authors and illustrators in this field."