Congratulations to Alex Latimer whose hilarious cartoon-style chapter book Gordon the Meanest Goose on Earth (Oxford University Press) has been crowned the winner of this year’s The Alligator’s Mouth Award.

The Alligator’s Mouth Award was founded in 2018 by specialist children’s bookshop The Alligator’s Mouth in partnership with The Bright Agency. The aim of the award is to champion and celebrate highly-illustrated fiction titles for 6-8 year-olds –  an important, and often overlooked, category of books that helps children build reading stamina and gain confidence at a crucial stage of their reading journey.

Gordon the Meanest Goose on Earth was selected from a shortlist of five books by a judging panel of authors, illustrators and booksellers, including last year’s winners Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre, who said: ‘It was a fantastic shortlist – really strong. We both loved Gordon, it’s a very funny story, beautifully written and full of fantastic gags. The pictures work so well with it, bold and strong – they really make you laugh. Well done, Alex!’

Margaret Wallace-Jones and Tony West, co-owners of The Alligator’s Mouth said: ‘We are so pleased to add Gordon to our pantheon of winners – he’s fantastically mean and grumpy, and his journey to redemption (via a flower) is marvellously entertaining and deeply satisfying. Children everywhere will be delighted by this funny, intelligent, inventive, subversive and beautifully designed book. Huge congratulations to Alex and the team at OUP – this book is a corker.’

Find more children’s book awards here.