The Children’s Choice Award provides the opportunity for young readers to shadow the judging process for the Information Book Awards.

Young judges vote for their preferred category winners and their Overall Winner alongside the adult judges.

The School Library Association, the award administrators, provide free resources for schools and reading groups to support the shadowing. In addition, schools can apply to be part of the Information Book Award Book Club. Members of the book club receive a free set of the shortlisted titles for a relevant category and are asked to share their experience of using the shortlist in their school library or classroom.

Timetable:

• The deadline for applying to the IBA Book Club is in mid May.
• The shortlist is announced in June and shadowing for the Children’s Choice Award starts.
• Voting for the Children’s Choice Award closes in October.
• The winners of the Information Book Award and the Children’s Choice Award are announced in November.

Cost: Free.

About the School Library Association:  The School Library Association (SLA) is a not-for-profit organisation that supports schools to develop their school library, establish a reading culture and deliver independent learning skill in order to help all children and young people fulfil their potential.  In addition, the SLA undertakes research into the benefits of school library provision and campaigns for all schools in the UK to have their own (or shared) staffed library.