Waterstones' 2023 Children's Book Prize shortlists announced

The shortlists for the the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2023 have been announced. Every year Waterstones' expert booksellers vote for the books they believe are the very best in new children's writing and illustration.

The shortlists include 18 books across three categories. Six books will compete within each category to be crowned Category Winner, with the three category winners then vying for the overall title of Waterstones Children's Book Prize Winner 2023.

Last year, The Last Bear by Hannah Gold shot to the top of the bestseller charts after being announced as Waterstones Children's Book Prize Winner 2022 and saw an increase in sales of 434% across the Waterstones estate.

It is notable that many of the authors shortlisted this year chose to incorporate themes of mental health, reflecting an increase in public conversation and awareness following several years marked by a variety of challenges for young people, including the isolation and anxiety of lockdown and the impact of social media on wellbeing.

Jordan Stephens' debut picture book The Missing Piece, illustrated by Beth Suzanna, gently explores how to overcome feelings of isolation, whilst Gretel the Wonder Mammoth by Kim Hillyard looks at anxiety and how to ask for help if feeling overwhelmed. In the Younger Readers category, The Last Firefox by Lee Newbery is a warm-hearted adventure with a subtly embedded lesson on how to be courageous despite anxieties. For older readers, Angharad Walker's Once Upon a Fever is set in an imaginative fantasy world in which strong feelings are treated as a cause for illness, whilst Welcome to St Hell, the first ever graphic novel memoir on the Waterstones' shortlist, tells Lewis Hancox's story of transition and learning to become his happiest self.

Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2023 shortlisted titles (in alphabetical order by author):

Illustrated Books

The Fairy Garden by Georgia Buckthorn (author), Isabella Mazzanti (illustrator) (Ivy Kids)

What Do You See When You Look At a Tree? by Emma Carlisle (Big Picture Press)

I am NOT a Prince by Rachael Davis (author), Beatrix Hatcher (illustrator) (Hachette Children's Group)

Gretel the Wonder Mammoth by Kim Hillyard (Penguin Random House Children's)

The Station Cat by Stephen Hogtun (DK)

The Missing Piece by Jordan Stephens (author), Beth Suzanna (illustrator) (Bloomsbury Children's Books)

Books for Younger Readers

The Book of Stolen Dreams by David Farr (Usborne Publishing)

Nura and the Immortal Palace by M.T. Khan (Walker Books Ltd)

Small! by Hannah Moffatt (Everything with Words)

The Last Firefox by Lee Newbery (Penguin Random House Children's)

Ajay and the Mumbai Sun by Varsha Shah (Chicken House)

The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Drama and Danger by J.T. Williams (author), Simone Douglas (illustrator) (Farshore)

Books for Older Readers

All That's Left in the World by Erik J. Brown (Hachette Children's Group)

Welcome to St Hell by Lewis Hancox (Scholastic)

The Cats We Meet Along The Way by Nadia Mikail (Guppy Publishing Ltd)

Ellie Pillai is Brown by Christine Pillainayagam (Faber & Faber)

If You Still Recognise Me by Cynthia So (Stripes Publishing)

Once Upon a Fever by Angharad Walker (Chicken House)