Nearly 20 new and up-coming children’s authors are battling for the chance to join such illustrious past winners of the Waterstones children’s books prize as Sita Brahmachari, Jonny Duddle (illustrator of the new Harry Potter covers!) Annabel Pitcher and Katherine Rundell (and, incredibly, 15 of the 18 books on the 2015 shortlist are by women!).
While Sally Green’s Half Bad holds the fort for fantasy phenomenon, with its tale of good and bad witches, and The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender puts in a shout for magic realism, the shortlist is dominated by crime and mystery thrillers: Murder Most Unladylike ( a boarding school murder mystery), Smart (about a teenager investigating the death of a homeless man), Violet and the Pearl of the Orient, The Apple Tart of Hope, Dead Ends and A Boy Called Hope all feature private-eye protagonists.
The illustrated category for younger readers, meanwhile, is all about adventure, from exploring far-flung corners of the world in the Atlas of Adventures to a wind-swept London in The Queen’s Hat. Look at the full shortlist and see what our Children’s Books site members thought of each book below.
The three category winners and one overall champion will be announced at Waterstones London Piccadilly store on Thursday 26 March.
Here’s the shortlist in full
Best Illustrated Book:
The Queen’s Hat by Steve Antony (Hodder / Hachette Children’s) – read a review here and here and here!
The Dawn Chorus by Suzanne Barton (Bloomsbury) – read a review here
Blown Away by Rob Biddulph (HarperCollins) – Rob shows you How to draw a windy day!
Where Bear? by Sophy Henn (Puffin) – read a review here and be amazed as Sophy demonstrates How to draw expressions
Atlas of Adventures by Lucy Letherland, words by Rachel Williams (Wide Eyed Editions) – read a review here
The Sea Tiger by Victoria Turnbull (Templar)
Best Fiction for 5-12s:
Girl with a White Dog by Anne Booth (Catnip)
Cowgirl by GR Gemin (Nosy Crow) – read a review here
Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen (Random House Children’s Publishers) – read a review here
Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens (Random House Children’s Publishers) – read a review here and a quickfire interview with Robin, plus her top 10 boarding school stories
Violet and the Pearl of the Orient by Harriet Whitehorn, illustrated by Becka Moor (Simon & Schuster)
A Boy Called Hope by Lara Williamson (Usborne Publishing)
Best Book for Teens:
The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald (Orion Children’s Books) – read a review here and here
Half Bad by Sally Green (Penguin) – check out the first chapter, plus a quickfire interview with Sally, and reviews, reviews, reviews!
Dead Ends by Erin Lange (Faber & Faber) – read a review here and here
Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill (Quercus) – check out the first chapter, along with reviews here, here, here, and Louise’s blog about her journey to feminism
Smart by Kim Slater (Macmillan Children’s Books) – read a review here
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton (Walker Books) – our most reviewed book on the Children’s books site in March 2014!
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