The British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year is a British

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. Ma ...

, given annually to works of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

as part of the

British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the National ...

(known as the Nibbies) . It was established in 1996, replacing the British Illustrated Children's Book of the Year and British Children's Author of the Year categories. It is currently sponsored by

W H Smith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and m ...

, although previously it has been sponsored by Red House (who also sponsor the

Red House Children's Book Award The Federation of Children's Book Groups Children's Book Award is a set of annual literary prizes for children's books published in the U.K. during the preceding calendar year. It recognises one "Overall" winner and one book in each of three cat ...

). Previously called the "British Children's Book Award", it was renamed to Children's Book of the Year in 2010.

Shortlisted works and winners

2006

* ''

Ark Angel ''Ark Angel'' is the sixth book in the ''Alex Rider'' series written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novel is a spy thriller which follows the attempt by the title character, Alex Rider, to foil the plot of a Russian billionaire. The ...

'' by

Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz, (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include ''The Diamond Brothers'' series, the ''Alex Rider'' series, and ''T ...

(winner) * ''

I, Coriander ''I, Coriander'' is a young adult novel by Sally Gardner, published in 2005, a historical fantasy set in London at the time of the Puritan Commonwealth. The novel traces the time period of the beheading of Charles the 1st through the Restoratio ...

'' by

Sally Gardner Sally Gardner is a British children writer and illustrator. She won both the Costa Children's Book Award and the Carnegie Medal for ''Maggot Moon'' (Hot Key Books, 2012). Under her pseudonym Wray Delaney she has also written adult novels.

* ''

SilverFin ''SilverFin'' is the first novel in the Young Bond series that depicts Ian Fleming's superspy James Bond as a teenager in the 1930s. It was written by Charlie Higson and released in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2005 by Puffin Books in conjunct ...

'' by

Charlie Higson Charles Murray Higson (born 3 July 1958) is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer. He has also written and produced for television and is the author of the ''Enemy'' book series, as well as the first five novels in the ''Young Bo ...

* ''

Eldest ''Eldest'' is the second novel in the ''Inheritance Cycle'' by Christopher Paolini and the sequel to ''Eragon''. It was first published in hardcover on August 23, 2005, and was released in paperback in September 2006. ''Eldest'' has been released ...

'' by

Christopher Paolini Christopher James Paolini (born November 17, 1983) is an American author and screenwriter. He is best known for ''The Inheritance Cycle'', which consists of the books ''Eragon'', ''Eldest'', ''Brisingr'', ''Inheritance'', and the follow up short ...

* '' ...and that's when it fell off in my hand'' by

Louise Rennison Louise Rennison (11 October 1951 – 29 February 2016) was an English author and comedian who wrote the ''Confessions of Georgia Nicolson'' series for teenage girls. The series records the exploits of a teenage girl, Georgia Nicolson, and her best ...

* '' Wizardology: The Book of the Secrets of Merlin'' by Douglas Steer

2007

* '' Flanimals of the Deep'' by

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

(winner) * ''

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas ''The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'' is a 2006 Holocaust novel by Irish novelist John Boyne. Much like the process he undertakes when writing most of his novels, Boyne has said that he wrote the entire first draft in two and a half days, without ...

'' by

John Boyne John Boyne (born 30 April 1971) is an Irish novelist. He is the author of eleven novels for adults and six novels for younger readers. His novels are published in over 50 languages. His 2006 novel ''The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'' was adapte ...

* '' The Incredible Book Eating Boy'' by

Oliver Jeffers Oliver Brendan Jeffers (born 1977) is a Northern Irish artist, illustrator and writer who now lives and works in Brooklyn. He went to the integrated secondary school Hazelwood College, then graduated from the University of Ulster in 2001. ...

* ''

Peter Pan in Scarlet ''Peter Pan in Scarlet'' (2006) is a novel by British author Geraldine McCaughrean. It is the official sequel to J. M. Barrie's ''Peter and Wendy'' (1911), as it was authorised by Great Ormond Street Hospital, which was granted all rights to the ...

'' by

Geraldine McCaughrean Geraldine McCaughrean ( ; born 6 June 1951) is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including ''Peter Pan in Scarlet'' (2004), the official sequel to ''Peter Pan'' commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, t ...

* ''

Wintersmith ''Wintersmith'' is a comic fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, set in the Discworld and written with younger readers in mind. It is labelled a "Story of Discworld" to indicate its status as children's or young adult fiction, unlike ...

'' by

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...

* '' Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend'' by

Francesca Simon Francesca Isabella Simon (born 23 February, 1955) is an American-born British author who resides in North London. She is most famous for writing the ''Horrid Henry'' series of Children's literature, children's books. She is the daughter of scre ...

(author) and

Tony Ross Anthony Lee Ross (born 10 August 1938) is a British author and illustrator of children's picture books. In Britain, he is best known for writing and illustrating his Little Princess books and for illustrating the Horrid Henry series by Frances ...

(illustrator)

2008

* '' Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman'' by

(author) and

(illustrator) (winner) * ''That's Not My Penguin'' by Fiona Watte * '' Katie Price's Perfect Ponies'' by

Katie Price Katrina Amy Alexandra Alexis Price (''née'' Infield; born 22 May 1978) is an English media personality and model. She gained recognition in the late 1990s for her Glamour photography, glamour modelling work and had regular appearances on Pag ...

* ''

Born to Run ''Born to Run'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. As his effort to break into the mainstream, the album was a commercial success, peaking at number thr ...

'' by

Michael Morpurgo Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo (''né'' Bridge; 5 October 1943) is an English book author, poet, playwright, and librettist who is known best for children's novels such as ''War Horse'' (1982). His work is noted for its "magical storytellin ...

* ''

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

'' by

Jacqueline Wilson Dame Jacqueline Wilson (née Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for featuring realistic topics such as adoption and divorce without alienating her lar ...

2017

* '' The Girl of Ink & Stars'' - Kiran Millwood

2018

* ''

The Lost Words ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' by Robert Macfarlane and

Jackie Morris Jackie Morris (born 1961) is a British writer and illustrator. She was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2016 and won it in 2019 for her illustration of ''The Lost Words'', voted the most beautiful book of 2016 by UK booksellers. She i ...

— ''

The Hate U Give ''The Hate U Give'' is a 2017 young adult novel by Angie Thomas. It is Thomas's debut novel, expanded from a short story she wrote in college in reaction to the police shooting of Oscar Grant. The book is narrated by Starr Carter, a 16-ye ...

'' -

Angie Thomas Angie Thomas (born September 20, 1988) is an American young adult author, best known for writing '' The Hate U Give'' (2017). Her second young adult novel, ''On the Come Up'', was released on February 25, 2019. Early life Angie Thomas was born ...

(joint winners)

2019

*''The Ice Monster'' by

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little B ...

2020

* ''A Good Girl's Guide to Murder'' by Holly Jackson

British Children's Author of the Year

The British Children's Author of the Year Award was given annually to authors of

as part of the

. It was established in 1990 and awarded for the last time in 1995. During 1996 both the British Book Awards both it and the Illustrated Children's Book of the Year award were replaced by the Children's Book of the Year category.

Winners

1990

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

1991

Anne Fine Anne Fine OBE FRSL (born 7 December 1947) is an English writer. Although best known for children's books, she also writes for adults. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and she was appointed an OBE in 2003. Fine has written mor ...

1992

Dick King-Smith Ronald Gordon King-Smith OBE (27 March 1922 – 4 January 2011), was an English writer of children's books, primarily using the pen name Dick King-Smith. He is best known for ''The Sheep-Pig'' (1983). It was adapted as the movie ''Babe'' (1995) ...

1993

Raymond Briggs Raymond Redvers Briggs (18 January 1934 – 9 August 2022) was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story ...

1994

1995

Janet and Allan Ahlberg Janet Ahlberg (21 October 1944 – 15 November 1994; née Hall) and Allan Ahlberg (born 5 June 1938) were a British married couple who created many children's books, including picture books that regularly appear at the top of "most popular" lis ...

British Illustrated Children's Book of the Year

The British Illustrated Children's Book of the Year Award was given annually to

illustrated An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, video ...

works of

as part of the

. It was established in 1991 and awarded for the last time in 1995. For the 1996 British Book Awards both it and the Children's Author of the Year award were replaced by the Children's Book of the Year category.

Winners

1991

The Mousehole Cat ''The Mousehole Cat'' is a children's book written by Antonia Barber and illustrated by Nicola Bayley. Based on the legend of Cornish fisherman Tom Bawcock and the stargazy pie, it tells the tale of a cat who goes with its owner on a fishing ex ...

'' by

Nicola Bayley Nicola Bayley (born August 18, 1949) is a Singaporean-born British children's book illustrator and author. She is most known for her illustrations of cats, including in the books ''The Tyger Voyage'' by Richard Adams, ''The Mousehole Cat'' by An ...

1992

'' Farmer Duck'' by

Martin Waddell Martin Waddell (born 10 April 1941) is a writer of children's books from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He may be known best for his picture book texts featuring anthropomorphic animals, especially the ''Little Bear'' series illustrated by Barbara F ...

(ill.

Helen Oxenbury Helen Gillian Oxenbury (born 1938) is an English illustrator and writer of children's picture books. She lives in North London. She has twice won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal, the British librarians' award for illustration and been runner-up ...

)

1993

'' Penguin Small'' by

Mick Inkpen Mick Inkpen (born 22 December 1952) is a British author and illustrator. He is best known for his creations Kipper the Dog and Wibbly Pig. Background Inkpen was born on 22 December 1952 in Romford, Essex, England. He was educated at Royal ...

1994

Mummy Laid An Egg ''Mummy Laid an Egg: or, Where do Babies Come From?'' is a children's book by English author Babette Cole. It was published in 1994 and won the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year in that year. It has also been published as ''Mommy ...

'' by

Babette Cole Babette Cole (10 September 1950 – 15 January 2017) was an English children's writer and illustrator. Life and career Cole was born on Jersey in the Channel Islands. She attended the Canterbury College of Art (now the University for the Crea ...

1995

'' The Amazing Pop-Up Science Book'' by

Jay Young HLN is an American basic cable network. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the network primarily carries true crime programming. The channel was originally launched on January 1, 1982 by Turner Broadcasting as CNN2 (later renamed Headline News ...

{{Portal , Children's literature

Children's Book Award Children's Book Award is a generic term that has been applied to: * Caldecott Medal, Caldecott Medal, annual "most distinguished American picture book for children" * Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award from the Vermont Department of Lib ...

British children's literary awards Awards established in 1996 1996 establishments in the United Kingdom Annual events in the United Kingdom