kids encyclopedia robot

Waterstones Children's Book Prize facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The Waterstones Children's Book Prize is an annual award given to a work of children's literature published during the previous year. First awarded in 2005, the purpose of the prize is "to uncover hidden talent in children's writing" and is therefore open only to authors who have published no more than three books.

Beginning in 2012, the prize was divided into three categories: Picture Books, Fiction 5–12, and Teen. Each category winner receives £2,000 with an overall winner chosen from the three getting an additional £3,000 (thus the overall winner receives £5,000 in total).

Winners and shortlists

2005 – The Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill

2006 – The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding

2007 – Darkside by Tom Becker

  • Nathan Fox: Dangerous Times by L. Brittney
  • Jake Cake: The Werewolf Teacher by Michael Broad
  • Sebastian Darke by Philip Caveney
  • A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd
  • Bunker 10 by J. A. Henderson
  • The Black Book of Secrets by F. E. Higgins
  • The Case of the Missing Cats by Gareth P. Jones
  • The Thing with Finn by Tom Kelly
  • Smugglers by Christopher Russell

2008 – Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls

2009 – 13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison

  • How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant by Elen Caldecott
  • Zelah Green Queen of Clean by Vanessa Curtis
  • Changeling by Steve Feasey
  • Gnomes are Forever by Ceci Jenkinson
  • The Lady in the Tower by Marie-Louise Jensen
  • Mapmaker's Monsters by Rob Stevens
  • Numbers by Rachel Ward

2010 – The Great Hamster Massacre by Katie Davies

  • Flyaway by Lucy Christopher
  • The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh
  • The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
  • Love, Aubrey by Suzanne Lafleur
  • The Seven Sorcerers by Caro King
  • The Toymaker by Jeremy De Quidt
  • Meteorite Strike by A. G. Taylor
  • Desperate Measures by Laura Summers

2011 – Artichoke Hearts by Sita Brahmachari

  • The Memory Cage by Ruth Eastham
  • Tall Story by Candy Gourlay
  • The Pain Merchants by Janice Hardy
  • Wereworld: The Rise of the Wolf by Curtis Jobling
  • Fantastic Frankie and the Brain-Drain by Anna Kemp
  • A Beautiful Lie by Irfan Master
  • Mortlock by Jon Mayhew
  • When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

For 2011, publications the Prize was divided into three categories with separate shortlists, announced in February 2012.

2012 – The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle (Overall and Picture Book)

Teen
  • You Against Me, Jenny Downham
  • Being Billy, Phil Earle
  • Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, Morgan Matson
  • My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, Annabel Pitcher
  • Divergent, Veronica Roth
  • Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys
Fiction 5–12
  • The Brilliant World of Tom Gates, Liz Pichon
  • The Windvale Sprites, Mackenzie Crook
  • Muncle Trogg, Janet Foxley
  • Sky Hawk, Gill Lewis
  • Milo and the Restart Button, Alan Silberberg
  • Claude in the City, Alex T. Smith
Picture Book
  • The Pirates Next Door, Jonny Duddle
  • No!, Marta Altés
  • I Don't Want to be a Pea!, Ann Bonwill and Simon Rickerty
  • A Bit Lost, Chris Haughton
  • I Want My Hat Back, Jon Klassen
  • Good Little Wolf, Nadia Shireen

2013 – Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher (Overall and Teen)

Teen
  • Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher
  • Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
  • Skin Deep by Laura Jarratt
  • Insignia by S. J. Kincaid
  • Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
  • Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind by Andy Robb
Fiction 5–12
  • Wonder by R. J. Palacio
  • The Wolf Princess by Catherine Constable
  • Atticus Claw Breaks the Law by Jennifer Gray
  • The Secret Hen House Theatre by Helen Peters
  • Chronicles of Egg: Deadweather and Sunrise by Geoff Rodkey
  • I Am Not A Loser by Jim Smith
Picture Book
  • Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb
  • Rabbityness by Jo Empson
  • Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton
  • The Worst Princess by Anna Kemp
  • The Journey Home by Frann Preston-Gannon
  • Can You See Sassoon? by Sam Usher

2014 — Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell (Overall and Fiction 5-12)

Teen – Geek Girl by Holly Smale

  • The Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale
  • Butter by Erin Lange
  • If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
  • Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O'Porter
  • Our of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Fiction 5–12 – Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell

  • The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani
  • Darcy Durdock by Laura Dockrill
  • Shiverton Hall by Emerald Fennell
  • Skull in the Wood by Sandra Greaves
  • The Last Wild by Piers Torday

Picture Book – Open Very Carefully by Nicola O'Byrne

  • Harold Finds a Voice by Courtney Dicmas
  • Weasels by Elys Dolan
  • Penguin in Peril by Helen Hancocks
  • Time For Bed, Fred! by Yasmeen Ismail
  • The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water by Gemma Merino

2015 — Blown Away by Rob Biddulph (Overall and Picture Book)

Teen - Half Bad by Sally Green

  • The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald
  • Dead Ends by Erin Lange
  • Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill
  • Smart by Kim Skater
  • The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Fiction 5-12 - Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens

  • Girl with a White Dog by Anne Booth
  • Cowgirl by GR Gemin
  • Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen
  • Violet and the Pearl of the Orient by Harriet Whitehorn, illustrated by Becka Moor
  • A Boy Called Hope by Lara Williamson

Picture Book - ''Blown Away by Rob Biddulph

  • The Queen's Hat by Steve Antony
  • The Dawn Chorus by Suzanne Barton
  • Where Bear? by Sophy Henn
  • Atlas of Adventures by Lucy Letherland, words by Rachel Williams
  • The Sea Tiger by Victoria Turnbull

2016 — My Brother is a Superhero by David Solomon (Overall and Younger Fiction)

Older Fiction - The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson

  • The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
  • Seed by Lisa Heathfield
  • 13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt
  • I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
  • The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

Younger Fiction - My Brother is a Superhero by David Solomon

Illustrated Book - The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield

  • Have You Seen Elephant? by David Barrow
  • Cinderella's Sister and the Big Bad Wolf by Lorraine Carey and Migy Blanco
  • Hector and Hummingbird by Nicholas John Frith
  • The Crow's Tale by Naomi Howarth
  • Super Happy Magic Forest by Matty Long

2017 — The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (Overall and Younger Fiction)

Older Fiction - Orangeboy by Patrice Lawrence

  • Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eager
  • Paper Butterflies by Lisa Heathfield
  • The Wildings by Nilanjana Roy
  • Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit
  • The Sun is also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Younger Fiction - The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

  • Cogheart by Peter Bunzl
  • Captain Pug by Laura James
  • Beetle Boy by MG Leonard
  • Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford
  • Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

Illustrated Book - There’s a Tiger in the Garden by Lizzy Stewart

  • The Bear Who Stared by Duncan Beedie
  • Life is Magic by Meg McLaren
  • Super Stan by Matt Robertson
  • The Journey by Francesca Sanna
  • Tiger in a Tutu by Fabi Santiago

2018 — The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (Overall and Older Fiction)

Older Fiction - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

  • The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy
  • Ink by Alice Broadway
  • This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada
  • Thornhill by Pam Smy
  • Troublemakers by Catherine Barter

Younger Fiction - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend

  • The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson
  • Kid Normal by Greg James and Chris Smith
  • The Legend of Podkin One-Ear by Kieran Larwood
  • A Place Called Perfect by Helena Duggan
  • Who Let the Gods Out? by Maz Evans

Illustrated Book - The Secret of Black Rock by Joe Todd-Stanton

  • Fergal is Fuming! by Robert Starling
  • I Really Want the Cake by Simon Philip
  • Leaf by Sandra Dieckmann
  • The Night Box by Louise Greig
  • Superbat by Matt Carr

2019 — The Boy At The Back Of The Class by Onjali Q. Raúf (Overall and Younger Fiction)

Older Fiction - Children Of Blood And Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

  • A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos
  • Boy 87 by Ele Fountain
  • Me Mam. Me Dad. Me. by Malcolm Duffy
  • The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
  • The Truth About Lies by Tracy Darnton

Younger Fiction - The Boy At The Back Of The Class by Onjali Q. Raúf

  • Brightstorm: A Sky-Ship Adventure by Vashti Hardy
  • The Boy Who Grew Dragons by Andy Shepherd
  • The House With Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson
  • The Mystery of the Colour Thief by Ewa Jozefkowicz
  • The Train to Impossible Places by P.G. Bell

Illustrated Book - The Girl by Lauren Ace and Jenny Løvlie

  • 100 Dogs by Michael Whaite
  • Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison
  • Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
  • Mini Rabbit Not Lost by John Bond
  • The King Who Banned the Dark by Emily Haworth-Booth

2020

Older Fiction

  • A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
  • Bearmouth by Liz Hyder
  • Internment by Samira Ahmed
  • "I Will Not Be Erased": Our stories about growing up as people of colour by gal-dem
  • Jemima Small Versus the Universe by Tamsin Winter
  • The Million Pieces of Neena Gill by Emma Smith-Barton

Younger Fiction

  • The Middler by Kirsty Applebaum
  • Asha & the Spirit Bird by Jasbinder Bilan
  • Charlie Changes Into a Chicken by Sam Copeland
  • The Deepest Breath by Meg Grehan
  • High-Rise Mystery by Sharna Jackson
  • Our Castle by the Sea by Lucy Strange

Illustrated Book

  • Look Up! by Nathan Bryon
  • Once Upon a Unicorn Horn by Beatrice Blue
  • Otto Blotter, Bird Spotter by Graham Carter
  • One Fox by Kate Read
  • Me and My Sister by Rose Robbins
  • Hidden Planet by Ben Rothery
kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Waterstones Children's Book Prize Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.