Susie Dent, Jamie Oliver and Adam Rutherford shortlisted for The Week Junior Book Awards 2024
Jamie Oliver, Susie Dent, Julia Donaldson and Adam Rutherford are among those shortlisted for The Week Junior Book Awards, run in partnership with The Bookseller, alongside WHSmith, World Book Day, and LoveReading4Kids.
Oliver is shortlisted for Children’s Audiobook of the Year for his debut audiobook Billy and the Giant Adventure (Penguin Audio), which the chef narrates himself. "Countdown" and "8 out of 10 Cats" presenter Susie Dent has been nominated for Roots of Happiness (Puffin) in the Wellbeing category; Donaldson is shortlised for the Children’s Picture Book of the Year for The Bowerbird (Macmillan Children’s Books), illustrated by Catherine Rayner. Rutherford, geneticist and host of "Inside Science" on BBC Radio 4, is up for the award in the STEM category for Where Are You Really From? (Hachette Children’s Group). Television presenter Philippa Forrester is the running for the crown in the Animals and Nature category for Amazing Animal Journeys (DK).
Pari Thomson’s Greenwild: The World Behind the Door (Macmillan Children’s Books) is in contension for the Breakthrough Award, sponsored by the World Book Day Charity, with Zohra Nabi’s The Kingdom Over the Sea (Simin & Schuster) and G M Linton’s My Name is Sunshine Simpson (Usborne).
This year six new categories where introduced in response to feedback from publishers and the interests of The Week Junior’s readers. These included: Animals and Nature, Graphic Novel, Hobbies and Interests, Picture Book, Poetry, and Wellbeing. These join the existing categories: Audiobook, Breakthrough Book (sponsored by the charity World Book Day), Cover of the Year, Fiction Older (9-12 year-olds), Fiction Younger (6-9 year-olds), Non-Fiction, and STEM, run in partnership with The Week Junior Science+ Nature magazine.
The Week Junior readers will have a chance to have their say as they are invited to vote for Book Cover of the Year and the Children’s Choice Award, the overall winner of the shortlist in all categories. The judges also include "CBBC Newsround" presenter Ricky Boleto, Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho and author Sophie Dahl.
All of the shortlisted books will be shared with The Week Junior readers and their families through a 12-week promotional campaign.
Anna Bassi, editorial director of The Week Junior, said: "The 74 books on our shortlist represent an incredible range of authors, illustrators, designers, stories and subjects – testament to the endless creativity and innovation in children’s publishing. Our judges are in for some excellent reading over the next couple of months. I’m really excited to find out which of the books readers of The Week Junior elect to win our Children’s Choice trophy – this is their chance to vote and I hope they’ll use it."
Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller, commented: "In its second year, The Week Junior Book Awards already feels firmly established; and these shortlists have everything we need them to have, showcasing the breadth, creativity, colourfulness, and the sheer power of storytelling and fact-weaving that we know children’s writers and illustrators are always capable of. Hurrah once again to The Week Junior for continuing to support children’s books."
The shortlists in full
Children’s Book of the Year: Animals and Nature
- Amazing Animal Journeys by Philippa Forrester, illustrated by Tim Smart (DK)
- Animal FACTopia! by Julie Beer, illustrated by Andy Smith (Britannica Books/What on Earth Books(
- Please Don’t Bite Me: Insects that Buzz, Bite and Sting by Nazzy Pakpour (Flying Eye Books)
- The Tyrannosaur’s Feathers by Jonathan Emmett, Dr Adam S Smith, illustrated by Stieven Van der Poorten (UCLan)
- Weird Sea: Zombie Starfish, Underwater Aliens and Other Strange Tales of the Ocean by Sophie Burrows (Penguin Random House)
Children’s Audiobook of the Year
- Animal Tales from India: Ten Stories from the Panchatantra by Nikita Gill, narrated by the author (Nosy Crow)
- Billy and the Giant Adventure by Jamie Oliver, narrated by the author (Penguin Random House Group)
- Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, narrated by Samuel West (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
- Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Ruling the World by Louie Stowell, narrated by Ben Willbond (W F Howes)
- Onyeka and the Rise of the Rebels by Tọlá Okogwu, narrated by Nneka Okoye (Simon & Schuster)
- Stink: Fairy vs Boy by Jenny McLachlan, narrated by Caius Nicholas (Farshore)
Breakthrough Book of the Year, sponsored by World Book Day
- Digging for Victory by Cathy Faulkner (Firefly Press)
- Greenwild: The World Behind The Door by Pari Thomson, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli (Macmillan Children’s Books)
- My Name is Sunshine Simpson by G M Linton, illustrated by Fuuji Takashi (Usborne)
- The Kingdom Over the Sea by Zohra Nabi, illustrated by Tom Clohosy Cole (Simon & Schuster)
- The Nowhere Thief by Alice M Ross (Nosy Crow)
Cover of the Year
- Animal Tales from India: Ten Stories from the Panchatantra by Nikita Gill, illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat, designed by Manda Scott (Nosy Crow)
- Bite Risk by S J Wills, designed by Jose Real Art (Simon & Schuster)
- Boy Underground by Isabelle Marinov, illustrated by Paula Zorite, cover design by Sophie Jones (Sweet Cherry Publishing)
- Cloudlanders by Christopher Mackie, illustrated by Hoang Giang, cover design by Leah McDowell (Floris Books)
- Kyan Green and the Infinity Racers by David Wilkerson, cover illustrated by David Wilkerson and designed by Rose Gerrard (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
- My Name is Sunshine Simpson by G M Linton, cover design by Fuuji Takashi (Usborne)
- The Kingdom Over the Sea by Zohra Nabi, cover designed and illustrated by Tom Clohosy Cole (Simon & Schuster)
Children’s Book of the Year: Fiction Older
- Finding Bear by Hannah Gold, illustrated Levi Pinfold (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
- Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, illustrated by Tomislav Tomic, Virginia Allyn and Daniel Egneus (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
- Kicked Out by A M Dassu, illustrated by Daby Zainab Faidhi (Old Barn Books)
- Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer by Jeffrey Boakye (Faber)
- Man-Man and the Tree of Memories by Yaba Badoe, illustrated by Joelle Avelino (Head of Zeus)
- Monster in the Woods by Dave Shelton (David Fickling Books)
- Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan (Andersen Press)
- Adventuremice: Otter Chaos by Philip Reeve & Sarah McIntyre (David Fickling Books)
Children’s Book of the Year: Fiction Younger
- Faith Muntu and the Lost Elephant by Lela Burbridge, illustrated by Claire Pinfold (The Lela Initiative)
- Michael the Amazing Mind-Reading Sausage Dog by Terrie Chilvers, illustrated by Tim Budgen (Firefly Press)
- Pizza Pete and the Perilous Potions by Carrie Sellon, illustrated by Sarah Horne (Guppy Books)
- Yomi and the Fury of Ninki Nanka by Davina Tijani, illustrated by Adam Douglas-Bagley (Little Tiger)
Children’s Graphic Novel of the Year
- Bumble and Snug and the Shy Ghost by Mark Bradley, illustrated by the author (Hachette Children’s Group)
- Bunny vs Monkey: Multiverse Mix-up by Jamie Smart, illustrated by the author (David Fickling Books)
- Dog Man 11: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea by Dav Pilkey, illustrated by the author (Scholastic)
- Drawn to Change the World Graphic Novel Collection: 16 Youth Climate Activisits, 16 Artists by Emma Reynolds, Ann Maulina, Natsha Donovan, Teo DuVall, Devon Holzwarth et al (HarperCollins)
- InvestiGators: All Tide Up by John Patrick Green, illustrated by the author (Macmillan Children’s Books)
- Juniper Mae: Knight of Tykotech City by Sarah Soh, illustrated by the author (Flying Eye Books)
- Mexikid by Pedro Martin, illustrated by the author (Guppy Books)
Children’s Book of the Year: Hobbies & Interests
- Art is Everywhere by Joe Haddow, illustrated by Ellie Hawes (UCLan Publishing)
- Cracking Cricket by Robin Bennett, illustrated by Matt Cherry (Firefly Press)
- Noodle Juice Rhinoceros Can’t Draw, But You Can! by Luke Newell, illustrated by Newell and Mr Griff (Noodle Juice)
- The Football School Encyclopedia by Alex Bellos and Ben Lyttleton, illustrated by Spike Gerrell (Walker Books)
- The Handbook of Forgotten Skills by Natalie Crowley and Elaine Batiste, illustrated by Chris Duriez (Magic Cat Publishing)
- What Can I Do With a Cardboard Box? by James Maclaine, illustrated by Harriet Noble and Erin Wallace (Usborne)
Children’s Book of the Year: Non-Fiction
- Guinness World Records 2024 by Craig Glenday (Guinness World Records)
- Infographica by Valentina D’Efilippo, Andrew Pettie and Conrad Quilty-Harper (Britannica Books / What on Earth)
- Noodle Juice Little Book Big Idea: What is philosophy? by Sarah Walden, illustrated by Katie Rewse (Noodle Juice)
- Very Short Introductions for Curious Young Minds: The Amazing Power of Activism by Lily Dyu (Oxford University Press)
- Welcome to Our Table: A Celebration of What Children Eat Everywhere by Ed Smith and Laura Mucha, illustrated by Harriet Lynas (Nosy Crow)
Children’s Picture Book of the Year
- Amy Gets Eaten by Adam Kay, illustrated by Henry Paker (Puffin)
- Can I Come Too by Owen Davey, illustrated by the author (Rocket Bird Books)
- Gigantic by Rob Biddulph, illustrated by the author (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
- The Bowerbird by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Catherine Rayner (Macmillan Children’s Books)
- Thunderboots by Naomi Jones, illustrated by Rebecca Ashdown (Oxford University Press)
- Wee Unicorn by Meg McLaren (Hachette Children’s Group)
Children’s Poetry Book of the Year
- A Dinosaur at the Bus Stop — Poems to Have Fun With! by Kate Wakeling, illustrated by Eilidh Muldoon (Otter-Barry Books)
A Whale of a Time by Lou Peacock, illustrated by Matt Hunt (Nosy Crow)
Balam & Lluvia’s House by Julio Serrano Echeverría, illustrated by Yolanda Mosquera (The Emma Press)
The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Joe Todd Stanton (Otter-Barry Books) - Wider Than The Sea by Serena Molloy, illustrated by George Ermos (Hachette Children’s Group)
Children’s STEM Book of the Year
- How to Spaghettify Your Dog by Hiba Noor Khan, illustrated by Harry Woodgate (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
- Izzy the Inventor and the Unexpected Unicorn by Zanna Davidson, illustrated by Elissa Elwick (Usborne)
- That’s Mathematics by Chris Smith based on lyrics by Tom Lehrer, illustrated by Elīna Brasliņa (Mama Makes Books)
- Where Are You Really From? by Adam Rutherford, illustrated by Adam Ming (Hachette Children’s Group)
- Wonderfully Wired Brains by Louise Gooding, illustrated by Ruth Burrows (DK)
Children’s Wellbeing Book of the Year
- Friendship Survival Guide by Caroline Young (Usborne)
- Growing Up: An Inclusive Guide to Puberty and Your Changing Body by Rachel Greener, illustrated by Clare Owen (Nosy Crow)
- My Family, Your Family: Let’s talk about relatives, love and belonging by Laura Henry-Allain, illustrated by Giovana Medeiros (Penguin Random House)
- Roots of Happiness by Susie Dent, illustrated by Harriet Hobday (Penguin Random House)
- The Bedtime Boat by Sital Gorasia Chapman, illustrated by Anastasia Suvorova (Farshore)
