Shortlists announced for the UKLA Book Awards 2022

The UKLK Book Awards shortlists have been announced, with the shortlisted books selected by teachers from around the country.

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The UKLA Book Awards judges seek out books that "recognise a broad range of perspectives, experiences and voices".  Small publishers including Andersen Press, Flying Eye, Knights Of, Guppy Books, Pushkin, Faber and Thames & Hudson dominate this year's UKLA Book Awards shortlists, with inclusion and diversity a key feature. 

12 teachers nominated from the 85 involved in the shortlisting will now form the final judging panel and have the challenging task of reading all the shortlisted books in all categories. The winner's announcement will take place at the UKLA International Conference in Birmingham on July 1st.

Shortlists

In the 3-6 age category, Nadia Shireen appears with Barbara Throws a Wobbler, an empathetic tale which helps us to reflect on the universal impact of a bad day. Anna Milbourne's I'm (Almost) Always Kind relays an important message to young readers about the necessity to see things from another's perspective, which is a strong theme across this list. In Tom Percival's haunting picture book, The Invisible, he sensitively confronts the issue of being excluded by poverty, while James Catchpole and Karen George's What Happened to You? gives us the positive viewpoint of a child with a missing limb but no shortage of imagination. Alex Latimer and David Litchfield's Pip and Egg is a gentle story of friendship, nature and the circle of life and the final book in this group is the inspiring Freedom we Sing by Amyra and Molly Mendoza which poetically explores what freedom really means and looks like.

3 to 6+

Freedom We Sing written by Amyra León, illustrated by Molly Mendoza (Flying Eye)

What Happened to You? written by James Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George (Faber)

Pip and Egg written by Alex Latimer, illustrated by David Litchfield (Scholastic)

I'm (Almost) Always Kind written by Anna Milbourne illustrated by Asa Gilland, (Usborne)

The Invisible written and illustrated by Tom Percival (Simon & Schuster)

Barbara Throws a Wobbler written and illustrated by Nadia Shireen, (Puffin)

In the 7-10+ category, When Stars are Scattered - written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson with Omar Mohamed - tells the story of Omar and his brother Hassan and topically depicts the harsh reality faced by refugees. When Life Gives You Mangoes by Kereen Getten tells an evocative tale of memory loss, family and friendships. Lesley Parr's debut novel, The Valley of the Lost Secrets, is a powerful story of wartime evacuation to Wales, and the Carnegie shortlisted October October by Katya Balen explores family separation. Front Desk, the debut novel from Kelly Yang, draws on her own experiences of moving from China to America, and the Blue Peter and Waterstones award winning debut from Elle McNicholl, A Kind of Spark, is a powerful story about inclusion.

7 to 10+

October, October written by Katya Balen, illustrated by Angela Harding (Bloomsbury)

When Life Gives You Mangoes written by Kereen Getten (Pushkin Press)

When Stars are Scattered written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson, with Omar Mohamed (Faber)

A Kind of Spark written by Elle McNicholl (Knights Of)

The Valley of Lost Secrets written by Lesley Parr (Bloomsbury)

Front Desk written by Kelly Yang (Knights Of)

Three Carnegie shortlisted titles go head-to-head in the 11-14+ category. Tsunami Girl by Julian Sedgwick and Chie Kutsuwada, from small press Guppy, found favour for its prose and manga mash-up, telling the tale of the 2011 Japanese Tsunami. The verse novel Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam also relates a powerful true story of wrongful imprisonment and Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle is another story based on a real event; the slave uprising led by Tacky against British slavers in Jamacia 1760. The Short Knife by Ellen Caldecott tells how two sisters fight against the patriarchy in post Roman Britain. The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne by Jonathan Stroud was relished for its skilful genre blending mix of dystopian fantasy and western adventure. When the World was Ours by Liz Kessler also had its roots in a true family history powerfully telling three intertwined stories of World War 2.

11 to 14+

The Short Knife written by Elen Caldecott (Andersen)

When the World Was Ours written by Liz Kessler (Simon & Schuster)

Tsunami Girl written by Julian Sedgwick, illustrated by Chie Kutsuwada (Guppy Books)

The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne written by Jonathan Stroud (Walker)

Cane Warriors written by Alex Wheatle (Andersen)

Punching The Air written by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam (HarperCollins)

Judges of the category of Information Books 3- 14 particularly seek creative non-fiction from a "diverse range of voices and perspectives" which "emanates from the writer's passion about a subject rather than an obvious curriculum objective". The judges' selections span a range of subjects from Catherine Barr's stunning story of rewilding in Fourteen Wolves; to life on The Great Barrier Reef explored by Helen Scale; to life in miniature skilfully explained by Dr Jess Wade in Nano. Modern Art Explorer by Alice Harman can genuinely help a reader move from confusion and scepticism to understanding and appreciation and Ultimate Gamer- Career Mode by Craig Steele offers inspiration to both aspiring gamers and participants. What's the T? written by Juno Dawson offers really well reasoned advice and defines a myriad of labels and identities to make this important book as inclusive as possible.

Information Books 3-14+

Fourteen Wolves written by Catherine Barr, illustrated by Jenni Desmond (Bloomsbury)

What's the T? written by Juno Dawson, illustrated by soofiya (Wren & Rook)

Modern Art Explorer written by Alice Harman, illustrated by Serge Bloch (Thames and Hudson)

The Great Barrier Reef written by Helen Scales, illustrated by Lisk Feng, (Flying Eye)

Ultimate Gamer - Career Mode written by Craig Steele, illustrated by Berat Pekmezci (Kingfisher)

Nano written by Dr Jess Wade, illustrated by Melissa Castrillon (Walker)

For UKLA, giving classroom practitioners the opportunity to read high quality new children's books is as important as finding an overall winner. Research carried out by members of UKLA (Cremin et al 2008) clearly demonstrated the links between teachers' knowledge of children's books and the likelihood of pupils becoming successful readers. Despite this evidence, teachers are seldom given time to read new books or funding to purchase them when they do.