Tag / Blue Peter Book Awards

by jo

Blue Peter Book Awards 2018 Shortlist

We’re a bit late to the party this year, but we’re still here and supporting! The fantastic Blue Peter Book Awards 2018 shortlist has been announced – and there are some great books in there.

Blue Peter Book Awards 2018 logo, unveiled with the Blue Peter Book Awards Shortlist

The Blue Peter Book Awards 2018 shortlist has been announced! Wizards, warriors, wabbits, weird worlds, leper colonies and creepy things take the 2018 top spots. They’re all competing to win the Best Story and Best Book with Facts.

The contenders for Best Story are ‘The Island at the End of Everything’ by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, ‘Wed Wabbit’ by Lissa Evans and ‘The Wizards of Once’ by Cressida Cowell. Each of these nominations have strong girl characters who must undertake dangerous journeys in their quest to triump over evil. But who will triumph from the Blue Peter Book Awards 2018 shortlist?

Battling to be crowned Best Book with Facts are ‘Corpse Talk: Ground- Breaking Scientists’ by Adam Murphy & Lisa Murphy, ‘Real-Life Mysteries’ by Susan Martineau, illustrated by Vicky Barker and ‘Beyond the Sky: You and the Universe’ by Dara Ó Briain, illustrated by Dan Bramall.

Blue Peter Book Awards 2018 Shortlist

BookTrust are again managing the Blue Peter Book Awards. All the books are published in the last 12 months. They are voted for by over 500 children from 12 schools across the UK. The winners will be revealed on World Book Day on the 1st March 2018.

The judges are ‘Kid Normal’ authors Greg James and Chris Smith, Poet and ‘Darcy Burdock’ author Laura Dockrill. School Librarian of the Year 2016 Amy McKay and Blue Peter editor and non-voting chair Ewan Vinnicombe make up the panel. They also selected the shortlist.

Greg James said. “Chris and I love Blue Peter SO much so to be asked to judge their Book Award was a total dream. It was brilliant to lock ourselves away and get lost in the entries. It was an incredibly tough choice but we are confident we’ve chosen books that will inspire a new generation of young readers.”

Amy McKay said: “It was a massive honour and pleasure to judge the Blue Peter Book Awards, I loved every minute of it! There were many fantastic books to choose from and I’m very proud of our eventual shortlists. I’m already eagerly awaiting hearing which books children vote as the winners.”

Blue Peter editor, Ewan Vinnicombe said: “In Blue Peter’s 60th year the Book Awards will play a key role in our celebrations. The shortlist is just so exciting and shows the creative strength in children’s publishing at the moment. With a diverse mix in both categories, I can’t wait to find out what school children in the UK decide are their favourites.”

The Blue Peter Book Awards have been celebrating children’s literature since 2000. BookTrust has managed the Blue Peter Book Awards since 2008. The 2017 winners were Kieran Larwood and David Wyatt who won Best Story with Podkin One Ear and David Long and Kerry Hyndman who won Best Book with Facts for Survivors.

Laura Dockrill explained. “I adored judging the Blue Peter Book Award. The nominated list was incredibly strong and made judging the prize so difficult. Which I think is a very good thing for the world of children’s books! I met wizards, talking toys with speech impediments, and was flown across the globe to marvellous new landscapes. I met big foot, uncovered mysteries
and had my head blown off by space facts. It was a wonderful privilege and the shortlist is stunning!”

Diana Gerald, CEO, BookTrust commented. “The Blue Peter Book Awards are a brilliant way to celebrate children’s literature and get youngsters excited about reading. BookTrust is honoured to be involved in such prestigious awards and hopefully inspire even more children to become lifelong readers.”

Keep up-to-date with the Awards at www.booktrust.org.uk/bluepeter and on Twitter by following @Booktrust and #BPBA

H earns her first Blue Peter badge

by jo

Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 WINNERS!

It’s World Book Day, and this means just one thing if you’re a book lover who also watches Blue Peter – the Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 winners have just been announced!

Blue Peter Book Awards 2016

Two graphic artists turned authors are Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 winners, chosen by schoolchildren across the UK.

Ross MacKenzie The Nowhere Emporium - Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 Winners

Scottish children’s writer Ross MacKenzie, who is also a graphic designer for a national newspaper, has won Best Story with his latest title, The Nowhere Emporium.

Adam Frost - The Epic Book of Epicness - Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 Winners

Adam Frost from Essex, who creates fantastic, wacky, information graphics which are often found in his books, has won Best Book with Facts with The Epic Book of Epicness.

Both were delighted to be crowned this year’s Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 winners and viewers will be able to see them receive their awards on Blue Peter (5pm) tonight from the Children’s Laureate, Chris Riddell – who will also be sketching live throughout the show.

Best Book with Facts winner, Adam Frost, who believes illustrations in books are just as important as words, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have won. I tried to fill my book with as many bizarre facts and funny pictures as possible. I loved writing it and am over the moon that kids are enjoying it.”

Best Story winner, Ross MacKenzie, who grew up watching Blue Peter, said: “It’s always a great moment to receive any sort of award, but to win The Blue Peter Book Awards for Best Story is extra special. Firstly, because it’s an award chosen by the readers. It’s fantastic and important that children have a voice, and I’m so glad they liked The Nowhere Emporium enough to give it their vote. And secondly, it’s special because Blue Peter was such a huge part of my childhood. I’m delighted and stunned to become a tiny part of the show’s history and I shall be humming that famous theme tune for the foreseeable future! And of course I always wanted a badge.”

The Epic Book of Epicness, which schoolchildren described as having ‘funny facts that made your head fizzle’, is illustrated with Frost’s infographics, designed by Simon Holland and Peter Clayman (Dutch&Dane), which reveal extraordinary facts from extreme weather to embarrassing toilet trouble, making learning fun for the reader.

The Nowhere Emporium tells the story of orphan Daniel Holmes who stumbles upon a mysterious shop that suddenly arrives in Glasgow. Before long, the ‘shop from nowhere’ and its owner, Mr Silver – draw Daniel into a world of magic and enchantment. When judging the Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 Winners, children described the story as giving them a ‘wonderful feeling’ and the plot was like ‘putting pieces into a jigsaw’.

A panel of judges including TV presenter Angellica Bell, winner of Blue Peter Best Story 2015 Pamela Butchart, National Literacy Programme Manager Jim Sells and Blue Peter editor [non-voting chair] Ewan Vinnicombe selected the shortlist from publishers’ submissions.

These were then read and voted on by more than 200 children from ten schools across the UK who decided the winners in each category. The winners were announced on a special World Book Day morning bulletin of Newsround.

The enormously popular Blue Peter Book Awards are managed by reading charity BookTrust, which works with schools to get more children reading for pleasure. The Awards celebrate the best authors, most creative illustrators and the greatest reads for children.

Ewan Vinnicombe, Editor, Blue Peter said: “It’s fantastic that the Blue Peter Book Awards have given children across the UK the chance to vote for their favourite books. Adam and Ross should be really proud and Blue Peter will continue to promote children’s books and our viewers’ love of reading throughout the year.”

Keep up-to-date with the Awards at www.booktrust.org.uk/bluepeter and on Twitter by following @Booktrust and #BPBA

by jo

Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 Shortlist

Woah. Can you believe it has been a year since the last Blue Peter Book Awards – and now on tonight’s CBBC show, the Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 shortlist will be announced!

Blue Peter Book Awards 2016

 

The Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 Shortlist is full of fun and interesting books – and I love it as a new way of discovering authors we might not know about. Since last year H has become a huge fan of Pamela Butchart and we’ve got her new book preordered in time for its release next year.

Here’s the press release:

The latest hilarious, heartbreaking book from Frank Cottrell-Boyce – the beloved writer of the London Olympics opening ceremony and award-winning author – is among six children’s books shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2016.

His book, The Astounding Broccoli Boy, which is illustrated by Steven Lenton, is competing for the Best Story Award along with The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair by Lara Williamson and The Nowhere Emporium by Ross MacKenzie.

Blue Peter Book Awards 2015 Shortlist Best Story

All three books are humorous but also tackle powerful issues, including bullying, being different, dealing with a parent’s death and living in a children’s home.

Shortlisted in the Best Book with Facts category is Penny Arlon’s FactFeed, a book of lists reinvented for the YouTube and BuzzFeed generation with its publisher, Scholastic, describing it as ‘great for reading on the loo’.

It is up against The Epic Book of Epicness, written and illustrated by Adam Frost, and The Silly Book of Weird and Wacky Words written by Andy Seed and illustrated by Scott Garrett.

Andy and Scott won the Best Book with Facts category in 2015 with their book The Silly Book of Side-Splitting Stuff.

Blue Peter Book Awards 2015 Shortlist Facts

The shortlist was announced today (Thursday 3 December) live on Blue Peter.

The four judges – Angellica Bell, Pamela Butchart, Jim Sells and non-voting chair Ewan Vinnicombe – cited the challenging topics in the books vying for Best Story and said many of the books made them cry with laughter but also with sadness.

TV presenter, Angellica Bell, described the judging experience as, ‘no mean feat reading 40 books cover to cover’ but claims it’s ignited a passion for reading.

She said: “When I was young, I didn’t read all that much and felt I had missed out on a fun imaginative part of the growing up process. Reading from a young age allows people to escape and be whoever they want to be and being part of this judging process has allowed me to experience those feelings now. As a mother, I want my children to love books and feel that they can be transported to different worlds and experiences anytime, anywhere!”

Also taking part in the judging was National Literacy Trust programme manager, Jim Sells, who said: “Choosing the shortlist was great fun but pretty tough. I’m particularly happy because these books have huge potential to engage children who don’t think that there is anything out there that they would like to read. The story books explore powerful themes but are written in a way which is easy to understand, while the fact books are really interesting.”

The winners will be decided by more than 200 schoolchildren from ten schools across the UK, who will read the shortlisted books and vote for their favourites in each category. The two winning books will be announced on the Blue Peter programme scheduled for World Book Day on 3 March 2016 and will be announced by Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell.

The celebrated Blue Peter Book Awards, which are managed by children’s reading charity BookTrust, celebrate the best authors, most creative illustrators and the greatest reads for children.

The shortlist:

Best Story

The Astounding Broccoli Boy written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce and illustrated by Steven Lenton (Pan Macmillan)

The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair written by Lara Williamson (Usborne)

The Nowhere Emporium written by Ross MacKenzie(Kelpies)

Best Book with Facts

The Epic Book of Epicness written and illustrated by Adam Frost (Bloomsbury)

The Silly Book of Weird and Wacky Words written by Andy Seed and illustrated by Scott Garrett (Bloomsbury)

FactFeed written by Penny Arlon (Scholastic)

The judges for this year’s Awards are:

Angellica Bell – TV presenter, mum and blogger

Ewan Vinnicombe – (non-voting chair) Editor, Blue Peter

Jim Sells – National Literacy Trust Programme Manager

Pamela Butchart – winner of the Blue Peter Best Story 2015

by jo

Pamela Butchart Joins Blue Peter Book Awards 2016 Panel

A school teacher, Pamela Butchart who won last year’s Blue Peter Best Story Award will join a brilliant panel of judges for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2016.

The Spy Who Loved School Dinners collage

Pamela Butchart, who teaches philosophy at secondary school, and last year won Blue Peter Best Story with her book ‘The Spy Who Loved School Dinners’ (H’s favourite from the shortlisted books), will join television and radio presenter Angellica Bell, National Literacy Trust’s programme manager Jim Sells and Blue Peter editor Ewan Vinnicombe.

The enormously popular Blue Peter Book Awards, which are managed by the reading charity Book Trust, celebrate the best authors, the most creative illustrators and the greatest reads for children.

Former winner Pamela Butchart, who spent much of her wedding day last year at a book signing, said: ‘I’m thrilled to have been asked to judge this year’s Blue Peter Book Awards. It really is an awesome honour – thank you. It was a dream come true to win the award in 2015 (I rarely take my badge off!) I can’t wait to help find this year’s winning books.
‘As a teacher, author and lover of children’s books I’ll be on the lookout for fantastic books that encourage reading for pleasure.’

Blue Peter editor, Ewan Vinnicombe said: ‘This year we’ve got a fantastic panel to judge our Book Awards and I’m looking forward to seeing which titles they shortlist, in what looks like an impressive year for children’s literature.’

The Blue Peter Awards 2016 will celebrate children’s books published in the last year in two categories: Best Story and Best Book with Facts. There will be three shortlisted books for each award chosen by the panel of judges and announced on Blue Peter on 3 December 2015.

At least 200 children from ten schools across the UK will then read the shortlisted books and vote for their favourites in each category. The two winning books will be announced on the Blue Peter programme scheduled for World Book Day on 3 March 2016.

The judges for this year’s awards are:

• Angellica Bell – TV presenter, mum and blogger
• Ewan Vinnicombe – (non-voting chair) Editor, Blue Peter
• Jim Sells – National Literacy Trust Programme Manager
• Pamela Butchart – winner of the Blue Peter Story Book 2015

Blue Peter Book Awards Judges 2015

The Blue Peter Book Awards have been celebrating children’s literature since 2000. The reading charity Book Trust has managed the Blue Peter Book Awards since 2008. The 2015 winners were Pamela Butchart who won Best Story with ‘The Spy Who Loved School Dinners’, illustrations by Thomas Flintham; and Andy Seed, a former primary teacher and deputy head for 17 years, who won Best Book with Facts with ‘The Silly Book of Side-Splitting Stuff’, illustrated by Scott Garrett.

Keep up-to-date with the Awards at www.booktrust.org.uk/bluepeter and on Twitter by following @Booktrust and #BPBA

by jo

Blue Peter Book Awards 2015 Winners!

Today is a very exciting day for Blue Peter fans – the Blue Peter Book Awards 2015 winners have just been announced in a special Newsround early morning bulletin!

Blue Peter Book Awards

The Blue Peter Book Awards 2015 Winners are presented with their badges tonight on CBBC at 5.20pm – and H is extremely excited! She got ‘The Spy Who Loved School Dinners’ for Christmas after it grabbing her attention by being nominated late last year. In fact, she didn’t stop asking for it – the storyline appealed to her sense of humour.

Think of the Blue Peter Book Awards as being like the Richard and Judy Book Club – but for under tens with the much-sought after Blue Peter badge as a prize. A whole new world of reading opened up to H when she heard about the books, and the last few weeks on Blue Peter have led up to the big day- the results! So who has won?

Well we’re super excited, here’s the official press release with the winners announcement.

Two teachers, who have written funny and silly books, are top of their class as they win Best Book with Facts and Best Story in the Blue Peter Book Awards 2015, voted for by hundreds of schoolchildren.

The Spy Who Loved School Dinners collage

Pamela Butchart, who teaches philosophy at secondary school, won Best Story with her latest title The Spy Who Loved School Dinners, which was illustrated by Thomas Flintham. (hurrah!!!)

Andy Seed, a former primary teacher and deputy head for 17 years, won Best Book with Facts with The Silly Book of Side-Splitting Stuff, illustrated by Scott Garrett.

Both were delighted to be crowned this year’s winners and viewers will be able to see them
receive their awards on Blue Peter tonight from Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2013-2015 Malorie Blackman, as the show celebrates its 15th anniversary of the prize.

Pamela, who did a book-signing for The Spy Who Loved School Dinners on her wedding day, exclaimed: ‘WOW! Is this real-life?! I’m shocked and utterly over-the-moon about winning this fantastic award! It means the world to me that children voted for my book! Thank you.’

Silly Book Collage

Andy, who grew up watching Blue Peter, said: ‘To win a Blue Peter Book Award is a proper thrill not just because it revives all those happy childhood memories but because the show
today does a truly significant job in raising the profile of books and reading at a time when
this is needed more than ever. To win any award is a delight but to win the Blue Peter Book
Award sets my spine tingling like nothing else.’

The illustrators of the books also expressed their excitement about winning the prize. Thomas Flintham said: ‘Hooray! What fantastic news! It was exciting enough just to be nominated but to have won has forced me to do a little dance!’

Scott Garrett said: ‘I was so excited to hear that we’d won the Blue Peter Book Award! Blue
Peter was a big part of my early years. We’ve all grown up with it and to be part of it AND get an award is something very special to me – I can’t wait to get my badge! Illustrators don’t get inundated with awards, so I’m over the moon to have been awarded this one. Here’s to books!’

A panel of judges including Tom Gates author Liz Pichon, Rastamouse creator Michael de
Souza, The Bookseller journalist Anna James, and non-voting chair of judges, Blue Peter
editor Ewan Vinnicombe, selected the shortlist from publishers’ submissions.

These were then read and voted on by more than 200 children from ten schools across the UK to decide the winners in each category. The winners were announced on a special World Book Day morning bulletin of Newsround.

Pupils at Perry Wood Nursery and Primary School in Worcester said it was an ‘honour’ and
‘exciting as only ten schools in the whole of England can choose the winners of the Blue Peter Book Awards.’

The enormously popular Blue Peter Book Awards are managed by reading charity Booktrust, which works with schools to get more children reading for pleasure. The Awards celebrate the best authors, most creative illustrators and the greatest reads for children.

Ewan Vinnicombe, Editor, Blue Peter said: ‘It’s fantastic that in our 15th year of the Blue Peter Book Awards we have given 200 children across the UK the chance to vote for their favourite books. Pamela and Thomas, Andy and Scott should be really proud and Blue Peter will continue to promote children’s books and our viewers’ love of reading.’

So I had a little chat with H – and you can watch it too!

by jo

Blue Peter Book Awards 2015 Shortlist Announced

A comic strip with facts, beautifully illustrated fiction and non-fiction, gripping stories and funny books are all on the shortlist for the Blue Peter Book Awards

Blue Peter Book Awards

One of the nicest things about H getting older is introducing her to things I enjoyed when I was five – Blue Peter being one of them. We make a point of watching it together and it has become a regular part of our week. H is doing amazingly well with her reading at school and tends to prefer paperback books these days, so I knew the Blue Peter Book Awards would be something she’d be interested in. Now in its 15th year, the shortlist has just been announced!

Award-winning author and illustrator Chris Riddell’s latest book on the adventures of Goth Girl is among six children’s books shortlisted for the prestigious Blue Peter Book Awards 2015.

For the first time, a book using comic strips to tell real-life stories is also nominated for an award.

The Blue Peter Book Awards, which are celebrating their 15th year, are special as they ask children to read the shortlisted books and then vote for the two winners.

The shortlist was announced live on today’s (Thursday December 4th) Blue Peter by Michael Morpurgo, author of more than 120 children’s books, including War Horse, and President of the reading charity Booktrust, which manages the Blue Peter Book Awards.

Morpurgo was also presented with the CBBC show’s highest accolade, the gold Blue Peter badge, for inspiring millions of children with his books.

Chris Riddell’s Goth Girl and the Fete Worse Than Death is vying for the Best Story Award along with Boy in the Tower by primary school teacher Polly Ho-Yen and The Spy Who Loved School Dinners written by Pamela Butchart and illustrated by Thomas Flintham.

Adam Murphy’s Corpse Talk, which uses comic strips to tell the stories of scientists, writers, sovereigns and rebels from history, is competing for the Best Book with Facts with Animalium written by Jenny Broom and illustrated by Katie Scott, and The Silly Book of Side-Splitting Stuff written by Andy Seed and illustrated by Scott Garrett.

 The four judges – Liz Pichon, Michael de Souza, Anna James and Ewan Vinnicombe – highlighted the quality of illustrations used in many of this year’s shortlisted books, as well as the brilliant stories and imaginations of the authors.

 Liz Pichon, author of the Tom Gates series, and winner of the Blue Peter Book Awards Best Story 2013, said: ‘We have a brilliant selection, something for everyone. There’s beautifully illustrated fiction, gripping stories, funny books and the FIRST comic strip style book with facts which is fantastic.

‘We keep hearing that kids don’t read anymore, but if you get the right books in front of them they really will – I’ve seen it!

‘The Blue Peter Awards are a fantastic way of showcasing even more great books.’

Michael de Souza, co-creator of Rastamouse said: ‘We have a great selection of original stories as well as a book using comic strips, which is very different.

‘Books open up a new world for children. If we want to encourage children to read, we need to give them great stories, great illustrations and something they can relate to.’

Blue Peter Editor Ewan Vinnicombe, who was the non-voting Chair of the judging panel, said: ‘In our 15th year of the Blue Peter Book Awards I’m really excited with the judges’ shortlist. There is such a good range of titles in the mix and I can’t wait to find out on World Book Day when the winners are revealed – live on Blue Peter.

‘It was great that we could honour Michael Morpurgo with a Blue Peter gold badge. His stories have inspired so many children over so many years to read and love books.’

Approximately 200 children from 10 schools across the UK will read the shortlisted books and vote for their favourites in each category. The two winning books will be announced on the Blue Peter programme scheduled for World Book Day on 5 March 2015.

The enormously popular Blue Peter Book Awards, which are managed by Booktrust, celebrate the best authors, most creative illustrators and the greatest reads for children.

Blue Peter Book Awards 2015 Shortlist

The shortlist:

Best Book with Facts

  • Animalium written by Jenny Broom and illustrated by Katie Scott (Big Picture Press)
  • Corpse Talk: Season 1 by Adam Murphy (David Fickling Books)
  • The Silly Book of Side-Splitting Stuff written by Andy Seed and illustrated by Scott Garrett (Bloomsbury)

 Best Story

  • Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen (Doubleday Children’s)
  • Goth Girl and the Fete Worse Than Death by Chris Riddell (Macmillan Children’s Books)
  • The Spy Who Loved School Dinners written by Pamela Butchart and illustrated by Thomas Flintham (Nosy Crow)

 The judges for this year’s Awards are:

    • Michael de Souza – Co-creator of the Rastamouse book series and co-founder of Little Roots Ltd.
    • Anna James – Editor, We Love This Book and Media Editor, The Bookseller, and former school librarian
    • Liz Pichon – author of the Tom Gates series, and winner of the Blue Peter Book Awards Best Story 2013
    • Ewan Vinnicombe (non-voting chair) – Editor, Blue Peter and Head of Presentation for CBeebies and CBBC

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