Congratulations to Sheena Dempsey, whose graphic novel about two time-travelling penguins, Pablo and Splash: Roman Holiday (Bloomsbury Children’s Books), was voted Overall Winner of this year’s FCBG Children’s Book Award, the only national book award voted for entirely by children.

The success of Pablo and Splash reflects the continuing rise in popularity of graphic novels and illustrated fiction amongst young readers: ‘Bursting with humour, comic chaos and vibrant illustrations, the latest adventure in the much-loved series proved enormously popular with children across the country,’ said the award organisers.

To be crowned this year’s Overall Winner, Pablo and Splash: Roman Holiday had first to win the Books for Younger Readers category before overcoming stiff opposition from the winners of the Books for Younger Children and Books for Older Readers categories.

This year’s winner of the Books for Younger Children category was Gozzle, by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie (Macmillan Children’s Books), a warm and witty story about fatherhood and family.

In the Books for Older Readers category, the top spot went to My Name is Samim by Fidan Meikle (Floris Books). Also crowned as the winner of this year’s Jhalak Children’s and YA Prize, My Name is Samim is a powerful story of courage, resilience and hope based on the real-life experiences of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the UK.

The Children’s Book Award was founded in 1980 by national children’s reading charity the Federation of Children’s Book Groups. As the only national award voted for entirely by children, the Children’s Book Award continues to shine a spotlight on books that connect with young readers. Thousands of children and young people across the country took part, selecting their favourite books from the 10 shortlisted titles.

Commenting on this year’s winners, award co-ordinator Sarah Stuffins said: ‘This year once again saw an outstanding response from young readers, with thousands of children taking part in the voting process. The continued enthusiasm for the award demonstrates the importance of giving children ownership over the stories they read and celebrate. This year’s winners reflect a fascinating cross-section of children’s books: a hilarious time-travel adventure story in graphic novel format, a heart-warming family story from a popular author/illustrator duo, and a thought-provoking debut about migration.’

For more children’s book awards, click here.