The Nestlé Children's Book Prize, and Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for a time, was a set of annual awards for British

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

that ran from 1985 to 2007. It was administered by BookTrust, an independent charity that promotes books and reading in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and sponsored by

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

, the manufacturer of Smarties chocolate. It was one of the most respected and prestigious prizes for children's literature. There were three award categories defined by audience ages 0 to 5 years, 6 to 8 years, and 9 to 11 years (introduced in 1987 after two years with no single prize). Silver and bronze runners-up in each category were introduced in 1996 and designation of one overall winner was abandoned at the same time. Eligible books were written by UK citizens and residents and published during the preceding year (not precisely the calendar year). The shortlists were selected by a panel of adult judges, finally chaired by Julia Eccleshare, children's books editor for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. First, second, and third places were determined by British schoolchildren—at least finally, by vote of "selected school classes" The prize was discontinued in 2008 by what was described as a "mutual" decision from BookTrust and Nestlé, with "no hostility". Explaining their reasons for this decision, BookTrust stated it had "been reviewing the organisation's priorities and how prizes and awards fit in with its strategic objectives", while Nestlé was "increasingly moving its community support towards the company strategy of nutrition, health and wellness." Additionally, they said that it was a "natural time to conclude" and that they were "confident that increased importance has been placed on children's books."

Winners

There were 65 winning books in 23 years and 72 silver or bronze runners-up in the last twelve years.

1980s

1990s

Beginning in 1996, the awards included silver and bronze winners rather than a single overall winner.

2000s

Notes

References