Booktrust Early Years Award facts for kids

The Booktrust Early Years Awards were special prizes given each year for the best picture books for young kids. They were first called the Sainsbury’s Baby Book Award. A group called Booktrust, which is a charity that helps people love reading, organized these awards. From 1999 to 2004, a supermarket chain called Sainsbury's helped pay for the awards. The last time these awards were given out was in 2010.

By 2005, there were three main award categories:

• The Baby Book Award
• The Pre-School Award
• The Best Emerging Illustrator Award

Winners in each category received £2000. The person who won the Emerging Illustrator award also got a special prize made just for them. The companies that published the winning books also received awards.

List of Prize Winners

Here are some of the amazing books and illustrators who won these awards:

• 2010
  • Baby Book Award: Giles Andreae, I Love My Mummy (Orchard Books)
  • Pre-School Award: Chris Wormell, One Smart Fish (Red Fox)
  • Best Emerging Illustrator Award: Levi Pinfold, for The Django (Templar)
• 2009
  • Baby Book Award: Ed Vere, Chick (Puffin)
  • Pre-School Award: Mara Bergman & Nick Maland, Oliver Who Travelled Far and Wide (Hodder Children's Books)
  • Best Emerging Illustrator Award: Katie Cleminson for Box of Tricks (Jonathan Cape)
• 2008
  • Baby Book Award: Georgie Birkett, Is This My Nose? (Red Fox)
  • Pre-School Award: Jeanne Willis & Gwen Millward, The Bog Baby (Puffin Books)
  • Best Emerging Illustrator Award: Tim Hopgood, for Here Comes Frankie! (Macmillan Children's Books)
• 2007
  • Baby Book Award: Jess Stockham, Tucking In! (Child's Play)
  • Pre-School Award: Polly Dunbar, Penguin (Walker Books)
  • Best Emerging Illustrator Award: Emily Gravett, for Monkey and Me (Macmillan)
• 2006
  • Baby Book Award: Mandy Stanley, How Do You Feel? (HarperCollins Children's)
  • Pre-School Award: Sam Lloyd, Mr. Pusskins (Orchard Books)
  • Best New Illustrator Award: Catherine Rayner, for Augustus and His Smile (Little Tiger Press)
• 2005
  • Baby Book Award: Lara Jones, Poppy Cat’s Farm (Campbell Books)
  • Pre-School Award: Jack Tickle, The Very Dizzy Dinosaur (Little Tiger Press)
  • Best New Illustrator Award: Kanako Usui, for The Fantastic Mr Wani (Little Tiger Press)
• 2004
  • Baby Book Award: David Ellwand & Mike Jolley, I Love You! (Templar)
  • Pre-School Award: Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler, The Snail and the Whale (Macmillan)
  • Best New Illustrator Award: Polly Horner, for Polly and the North Star (Orion)
• 2003
  • Sam Lloyd, Happy Dog, Sad Dog (Little Tiger Press)
• 2002
  • Annie Kubler, Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (Child's Play)
• 2001
  • Sandra Lousada, Baby Faces (Baby Campbell)
• 2000
  • Alex Ayliffe, Boo Barney (Orchard Books)
• 1999
  • Helen Oxenbury, Tickle, Tickle (Walker Books)

Shortlisted Books

Each year, many great books were considered for the awards. Here are some of the books that made it to the shortlist in different years, meaning they were close to winning!

• 2008
  • Baby Book Award:
    • Georgie Birkett, Is This My Nose? (Red Fox)
    • Angela Brooksbank, Baby's Very First Book: Day (Campbell Books)
  • Pre-School Award:
    • Jeanne Willis & Gwen Millward, The Bog Baby (Puffin Books)
    • Andy Cutbill & Russell Ayto, The Cow That Laid an Egg (HarperCollins Children's Books)
  • Best Emerging Illustrator Award:
    • Tim Hopgood, for Here Comes Frankie! (Macmillan Children's Books)
    • Gwen Millward, for The Bog Baby (Puffin Books)
• 2007
  • Baby Book Award:
    • Jess Stockham, Tucking In! (Child's Play)
    • David McKee, Elmer’s First Counting Book (Andersen Press)
  • Pre-School Award:
    • Polly Dunbar, Penguin (Walker Books)
    • Mara Bergman & Nick Maland, Oliver Who Would Not Sleep (Hodder Children’s Books)
  • Best Emerging Illustrator Award:
    • Emily Gravett, for Monkey and Me (Macmillan)
    • Viviane Schwarz, for Timothy and the Strong Pyjamas (Alison Green Books)
• 2006
  • Baby Book Award:
    • Mandy Stanley, How Do You Feel? (HarperCollins Children's)
    • Kathy Henderson & Paul Howard, Look at You! (Walker Books)
  • Pre-School Award:
    • Sam Lloyd, Mr. Pusskins (Orchard Books)
    • Oliver Jeffers, Lost and Found (HarperCollins Children’s)
  • Best Emerging Illustrator Award:
    • Catherine Rayner, for Augustus and His Smile (Little Tiger Press)
    • Sebastien Braun, for I Love My Mummy (Boxer Books)
• 2005
  • Baby Book Award:
    • Lara Jones, Poppy Cat’s Farm (Campbell Books)
    • John Butler, Can You Cuddle Like a Koala? (Little Orchard)
  • Pre-School Award:
    • Jack Tickle, The Very Dizzy Dinosaur (Little Tiger Press)
    • Jez Alborough, Duck's Key Where Can it be? (HarperCollins Children's)
  • Best New Illustrator Award:
    • Kanako Usui, for The Fantastic Mr Wani (Little Tiger Press)
    • Rob Scotton, for Russell the Sheep (HarperCollins Children's)
• 2003
  • Sam Lloyd, Happy Dog, Sad Dog (Little Tiger Press)
  • Roger Priddy, Baby Activity Centre (Priddy Books)
• 2001
  • Sandra Lousada, Baby Faces (Baby Campbell)
  • Debi Gliori, Where, Oh Where, is Baby Bear? (Little Orchard)
• 1999
  • Helen Oxenbury, Tickle, Tickle (Walker Books)
  • Lucy Cousins, Humpty Dumpty and Other Nursery Rhymes (Macmillan)