Polly Noakes has been announced as the 12th annual winner of the Oscar’s Book Prize for her touching story of friendship and hope, Just The Two Of Us.
The author and illustrator, who lives in rural North Yorkshire with her family, picked up the £10,000 award for the best picture book for young children at a celebrity-packed central London event on Tuesday evening.
Just The Two Of Us, the story of what happens when a child’s imaginary friend is no longer needed, was chosen ahead of five other titles on a shortlist that spotlighted literary talent from Cornwall, Wales and London.
Shortlist for Oscar’s Book Prize 2025
- All You Need to Know About Dogs by Fred Blunt (Happy Yak)
- Gina Kaminski Rescues the Giant by Craig Barr-Green and Francis Martin (Little Tiger)
- Hank Goes Honk by Maudie Powell-Tuck and Duncan Beedie (Little Tiger)
- Just the Two of Us by Polly Noakes (Andersen Press)
- Terrible Horses by Raymond Antrobus and Ken Wilson-Max (Walker)
- There’s a Tiger on the Train by Mariesa Dulak and Rebecca Cobb (Faber)
Supported by Amazon and the London Standard, the prize’s judging panel this year included CBeebies presenter Ben Cajee, along with the bestselling children’s author Smriti Halls and Imogen Russell Williams, an expert reviewer with a comprehensive knowledge of classic and contemporary children’s literature.
It is awarded in memory of book-loving Oscar Ashton, who died in 2012 of an undiagnosed heart condition aged three and a half.
The prize champions UK picture books and seeks to gently remind parents and carers of the power of early-years reading.
Polly Noakes graduated from Cambridge School of Art in 2015 with an MA in Children's Book Illustration.
As well as her own books, including The Very Long Sleep and Hide and Seek, Polly has illustrated for a number of other authors, using techniques such as monoprint, watercolour, gouache and collage.
OBP judge Smriti Halls said: “It’s a tenderly, beautifully spun story which I just loved. We go on quite a journey in this book but we come out at the other end feeling uplifted.”
