Congratulations to Mike Barfield and Paula Bossio whose comic-book-style tour of the prehistoric animal kingdom, The Wild Life of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals (Buster Books), was crowned the winner of this year’s Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize at a live-streamed event at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford.

The Young People’s Book Prize celebrates the very best science books for under 14s and aims to highlight the important role that non-fiction books play in engaging young readers.  This year’s winner was chosen by judging panels made up of over 11,000 young people across the country from a shortlist of six titles selected by a panel of adult experts. Over the last few months, the young judges have read, analysed and weighed the shortlisted books against each other, before voting for their favourite.

The Wild Life of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals takes readers back in time to meet some of the astonishing animals that once thrived on Earth. From the earliest life forms living under the ocean, to the most fearsome dinosaurs, all the way through to early mammals like the woolly mammoth, discover what these amazing creatures looked like, how they lived and the ‘Living Legends’ that still have descendants walking the planet today.

Young judges comments:

‘This a fun, fact filled book on dinosaurs. I loved the illustrations and presentation, which made it a clear winner.’ Roman, Year 6.

‘I thought this book was fun and interesting the pictures were good and had funny comments.  This was a lively introduction to the history of dinosaurs.’ Chloe, age 11.

‘I love dinosaurs so much, so this is a perfect book for me – I really liked the way the book looked and felt and the illustrations were great. It’s a book you can definitely read more than once.’ Anonymous, Year 6.

‘This is my favourite book EVER! The illustrations are so good and there is so much interesting information in the book.’ Evie, age 9.

Commenting on this year’s award, Professor Tamsin Mather FRS, chair of the adult judging panel said: ‘The Wild Life of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals is great to either dip in and out of, or to read from cover to cover. The ability to choose your reading approach is important to get young readers to interact with non-fiction. On top of that, it is a brilliant book. The comic-book style and humour makes it fun and engaging, the science is spot on, and the book is very informative. All of us on the shortlisting panel also appreciated the fact that it covers all prehistoric life, not just dinosaurs.’

Applications to help judge next year’s Young People’s Book Prize will open in the autumn. Read our interview with science lead Dawn McCann from Hillside Primary School to find out more about running a young judges panel and the benefits of getting involved.