We're absolutely delighted to announce our shortlist for this year’s Prize.
A fabulous five titles have made the shortlist this year - and each one is brim-filled with treats for young readers. Featuring anxious dogs, hungry dinosaurs, subverted fairy tales, a grief-stricken turtle and a tiny blue whale, the story themes range from loss and hope to facing fears to .... well, to what to eat in prehistoric times.
Geoffrey's got the jitters! It started last night when he was thinking about school - a funny, wiggly feeling in his tummy that grew and grew. But when Geoffrey's tummy jitters started talking to him - that's when he knew they were out of control. Geoffrey had to do something...
Meet Gigantic, the smallest blue whale in the Atlantic. Dwarfed by the other whales, Gigantic keeps to himself, making new friends and perfecting his somersaults and flips in the bay. But one day when Gigantic’s brother, Titan, gets stuck on the sand, it’s down to Gigantic and his smallest sea creature friends to save the day. Can they show it’s possible to be tiny and tough?
Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf? Certainly not Gina as she takes the narrative lead and tells the story in her own distinctive way. With fantastic illustrations from Francis Martin, and an innovative use of pictorial emoji language, this is the ideal book to empower every child to be the hero of their own story.
They were utterly buddies, and best friends forever, and whenever you looked, you would find them together... until quite unexpectedly... the end came. When Hertle disappears for good, Bertle can only see a Hertle-shaped hole where his friend should be. He pleads with it, gets angry with it, but the hole still won't bring his Hertle back. It seems like hope is lost... until Gerda the kindly bear finds him.
Set back in the days WHEN DINOSAURS WALKED THE EARTH, this is a hilarious picture-book about Smallasaurus, who enjoys a plant-based diet, and Badasaurus who likes to eat small dinosaurs who enjoy a plant-based diet.
We will be posting more information about each shortlisted book in the weeks to come - please do follow us on @oscarsbookprize to find out more! You can also view the full shortlist alongside a wide selection of children’s books on Amazon's dedicated page: amazon.co.uk/oscarsbookprize.
Huge congratulations to all of our shortlisted authors, illustrators and their publishers - and thank you for creating such outstanding books!
Thank you too to everyone who entered - as ever we feel truly humbled by the breadth of talent we're lucky enough to see each year.
