Congratulations to all the winning authors and illustrators of this year’s UKLA Book Awards! Celebrating exceptional children’s books that have a powerful impact both in the classroom and on individual readers, the UKLA Book Awards are the only national children’s book awards that are judged entirely by teachers.

Giving classroom practitioners the opportunity to read and discuss new, high-quality children’s books is a key aspect of the UKLA Book Awards. This year, 85 teacher judges were involved in the judging process, with a final panel of twelve being nominated to choose the winners from this year’s shortlists. The awards are also shadowed by schools and student teachers around the UK who vote for the Shadowers’ Choice Awards.

For a second year, a debut novel does the Carnegie and UKLA double as Beth O’Brien’s own voice, allegorical retelling of a fairytale classic wins the 11–14+ Category. The judges praised Wolf Siren (HarperCollins Children’s Books) for its ‘sensitive and tender portrayal of grief’, the ‘subtle but important representation’ and its ‘vivid world building’. In the Shadowers’ Choice Awards, UKLA past winner Jason Reynolds was crowned the winner of the 11–14+ category for his ‘antidote to toxic masculinity’ Twenty-Four Seconds From Now (Faber & Faber).

Alastair Chisholm’s Reek (Barrington Stoke), a dystopian vision of a polluted world dominated by greed that manages to convey both fear and hope, was the judges’ choice for the 7–10 Category. They were impressed by the ‘accessible storytelling’ and the book’s ‘important social justice themes’. For the Shadowers, however, it was J. P. Rose’s Birdie (Andersen Press), a heartfelt story of belonging and friendship set in post-war Yorkshire, that emerged as the winner after some intense online discussions.

Both the judges and the Shadowers chose picture books that directly address the reader for the hotly-contested 3–6+ Category. Alex Latimer’s celebration of art and creativity Don’t Think of Tigers (Andersen Press) was the judges’ winner. The Shadowers picked Once I Was a Tree by Eoin McLaughlin, illustrated by Guilherme Karsten (Nosy Crow) for their top slot.

Described by the judges as ‘visually stunning’ and a ‘genius concept’, the winner of the Information Books 3–14+ Category was Frog by Isabel Thomas, illustrated by Daniel Egnéus (Bloomsbury Children’s Books). Reflecting the growing popularity of graphic novels, the Shadowers’ Choice winner was Graphic Novel Builder: The illustrated guide to making your own comics by Edward Ross (Collins).

Commenting on this year’s awards, Nikki Gamble, Director of Just Imagine and this year’s award sponsor, said: ‘There has been a lot of talk about ‘reading in crisis’ in the National Year of Reading, but from experience of working with inspirational teachers in classrooms, we know that they make a difference to children’s engagement in reading and, in consequence, to their wellbeing, their ability to empathise and their ability to achieve their academic potential. The UKLA Book Awards, through the judging process, recognise the pivotal role that teachers have in creating lifelong readers. Once again, through careful deliberations, this year’s panel of judges and teacher shadowers have selected outstanding winners from very strong shortlists. We look forward to seeing these books celebrated in classrooms across the country.’

The UKLA is now looking to recruit judges for next year’s awards from Manchester and the surrounding area. If you would be interested in taking part, you can find out more here.