Six ‘thoroughly deserving’ books shortlisted for £10k Oscar’s Book Prize

Six “thoroughly deserving” books by the likes of Nadia Shireen and Nicola Kinnear have been shortlisted for the £10,000 Oscar’s Book Prize, which celebrates the best illustrated book for young people.

Up for the prize are: Billy and the Pirates by Nadia Shireen (Puffin); Can I Play? by Nicola Kinnear (Alison Green); Frank and Bert by Chris Naylor Ballesteros (Nosy Crow); Teapot Trouble: A Duck and Tiny Horse Adventure by Morag Hood (Two Hoots); The Boy with Flowers in His Hair by Jarvis (Walker Books) and The Gecko and the Echo by Rachel Bright and Jim Field (Orchard).

Oscar’s Book Prize is supported by Amazon and the Evening Standard. It was set up by James Ashton and Viveka Alvestrand to celebrate magical stories for children in memory of their son Oscar, who was three-and-a-half when he died from an undiagnosed heart condition in December 2012.

This year’s shortlist was selected by a judging panel including Cressida Cowell, the former Children’s Laureate, The British Book Awards Illustrator of the Year 2022, Dapo Adeola, and author and two-time winner of Oscar’s Book Prize, Benji Davies. Completing the panel is Lisa de Meyer, the UK books country manager at Amazon, and the prize co-founder, Viveka Alvestrand.

The winner of the £10,000 prize will be announced by the award’s patron, Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice, at a ceremony on Tuesday 9th May in central London, and will become the 10th picture book to take the prize.

Adeola said: “Narrowing down the entries to just six titles was incredibly difficult – but it’s been a joy to take on the challenge of deciding between so many outstanding stories. I was blown away by the creativity, the characters and the storytelling of each and every book, and loved the different things that the books tell us about friendships.

“There is so much to be said about the importance of children’s books, and the impact that their magic can have on those that read them. I hope that this year’s shortlist gets into the hands of as many young readers as possible, because these stories will quite rightly stay with them for years to come. What a set of books to end the prize’s first decade with!"

Lisa De Meyer added: “It has been such an honour to support Oscar’s Book Prize once again. Over the past 10 years, the prize has brought some outstanding picture books to the fore and this year’s shortlist is no different. We have read some fantastical and magical stories and we are all extremely proud of the chosen shortlist – any one of them would be a thoroughly deserving winner.”