Animals rule the roost in the shortlist for the Booktrust Early Years Awards 2010
Booktrust is pleased to announce the shortlist for the 2010 Booktrust Early Years Awards which this year demonstrate the magnitude of talent and imagination that aims to excite, entice and inspire young children.
Books featuring animals dominated the Best Picture Book category, from flying jellyfish and stinky skunks to smart fish and a rather large moose.
Old favourites such as the long-running Usborne series That’s Not My… and well established authors and illustrators such as Rod Campbell and Annie Kubler proved to have enduring popularity for the youngest readers, all featuring in the shortlist for the Best Book for babies category.
A host of new talent is celebrated in the Best Emerging Illustrator category, with four out of the six shortlisted books by debut illustrators
The shortlisted books by category are...
The Best Book for babies under one-year-old:
> Goodnight Buster by Rod Campbell (Macmillan Children's Books)
> Happy Snappy (Mr Croc) by Jo Lodge (Hodder Children's Books)
> Hop a Little, Jump a Little by Annie Kubler (Child's Play International Ltd)
> I Love My Mummy by Giles Andreae, illus. Emma Dodd (Orchard Books)
> That's Not My Tiger by Fiona Watt, illus. Rachel Wells (Usborne)
> Who's in the Garden? by Phillis Gershator, illus. Jill McDonald (Barefoot Books)
The Best Picture Book for children up to five-years-old:
> Ernest by Catherine Rayner (Macmillan Children's Books)
> The Fox in the Dark by Alison Green, illus. Deborah Allwright (Alison Green Books)
> Jeremiah Jellyfish Flies High by John Fardell (Andersen Press)
> The Night Iceberg by Helen Stephens (Alison Green Books)
> One Smart Fish by Chris Wormell (Jonathan Cape)
> Sing a Song of Bottoms by Jeanne Willis, illus. Adam Stower (Puffin Books)
Best Emerging Illustrator for children up to five-years-old:
> Birdsong by Ellie Sandall (Egmont)
> The Django by Levi Pinfold (Templar)
> Dogs Don't Do Ballet by Anna Kemp, illus. by Sara Ogilvie (Simon and Schuster)
> Jack Frost by Kazuno Kohara (Macmillan Children's Books)
> Jeremiah Jellyfish Flies High by John Fardell (Andersen Press)
> The Talent Show by Jo Hodgkinson (Andersen Press)
The awards honour books that are dynamic and creative in words, design and illustration encouraging a sustained passion for books in each child.
The judges of the Early Years Award include broadcaster and TV Presenter Kirsty Gallacher and award-winning author/illustrator Michael Foreman as well as an expert panel of children’s literature specialists featuring Bookstart founder Wendy Cooling MBE, Bookstart Coordinator Janet Harrison and Modern Matron Jackie Woodroffe.
Chair of judges and children’s literature consultant Wendy Cooling comments:
‘It was, as ever, a tough choice to select six books for each category from the wide range of excellent books for early years children being currently published. In particular, picture books for the very young are exciting and stimulating this year and reflect the brilliant creativity and imagination of today’s writers and illustrators. Children sharing these books with adults will be well on the way to falling in love with books and to becoming life-long readers.’
The winner for each category will be announced at an awards ceremony to be held at BAFTA on the 2 September 2010.
Each winner will receive a cheque for £2,000; in addition, the Best Emerging Illustrator will receive a specially commissioned piece of artwork by a leading illustrator.
Download a press release about the shortlist here
Download a leaflet with information on all the shortlisted titles - PDF
Download an A3 poster - PDF, 2.7MB
About the awards
The awards are made in three categories:
> Best Book for babies under one year old
> Best Picture Book for pre-school children up to five years of age
> Best Emerging Illustrator of a book for pre-school children up to five years of age
The winners of each category receives a cheque for £2,000. In addition, the best emerging illustrator receives a specially commissioned award by a leading illustrator.
The panel of judges is chaired by children's books consultant Wendy Cooling MBE.
Prize administration
Prize information
Sarah Jones
t 020 8516 2960
e prizes@booktrust.org.uk
Press enquiries
Will White
t 020 8875 4583
e will.white@booktrust.org.uk
