Waterstones announces its 2024 Children's Book Prize shortlists

Posted on Thursday, February 8, 2024
Category: Book Awards

Every year Waterstones' expert booksellers vote for the books they believe are the very best in new children's writing and illustration. Their 2024 Children's Book Prize shortlists have just been announced.

Now in its 20th year, the Waterstones Children's Book Prize has selected authors and illustrators including Katherine Rundell, Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Rob Biddulph, and supported their writing and illustrating careers. Last year's winner, The Cats We Meet Along The Way by Nadia Mikail, went on to become Waterstones April Children's Book of the Month.

The winners of the 2024 prize will be announced on 21st March 2024. The winner of each category will receive £2000, with the overall winner receiving an extra £3000.

Bea Carvalho, head of books at Waterstones, said: "Our booksellers have chosen a stunning shortlist which is truly reflective of the vibrancy, creativity, and genius to be found in children's storytelling today. Whether holding up a mirror to the real world or conjuring fantastical realms, delving into history or mining our own times, these books are united by enormous heart and imagination, and show Children's publishing to be as inspiring as ever."

Category Trends

The shortlists includes 18 books across three categories; Illustrated Books, Younger Readers and Older Readers. 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 2024.

Illustrated Books Shortlist

The Illustrated Books category reflects popular themes of friendship and connection, says Waterstones, as well as a trend to more non-fiction writing for younger children. Incredible Jobs You've (Probably) Never Heard Of by Natalie Labarre, introduces weird and wonderful jobs. Ellan Rankin's The Secret Elephant is an engaging true story of an extraordinary wartime friendship between a zookeeper and a baby elephant, whilst The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish, written and illustrated by Chloe Savage, is a playful take on the non-fiction picture book trend, taking readers on an unforgettable expedition.

In picture book fiction, Marcela Ferreira's and Sally Agar's contemporary fairy tale The Queen Next Door is described as 'warm, funny and sweet' with an important message about what is truly important in our human connections. Wolf and Bear by Kate Rolfe tells a story about what happens when a strong friendship is tested by powerful emotion, whilst Andrew Sanders and Aysha Awwad's Whose Dog is This? 'celebrates the spirit of creative genius that is unleashed' when a parent asks their child a difficult question.

The Queen Next Door by Marcela Ferreira (author), Sally Agar (illustrator), Hachette Children's Group
Incredible Jobs You've (Probably) Never Heard Of by Natalie Labarre (author/illustrator), Nosy Crow
The Secret Elephant: The true story of an extraordinary wartime friendship by Ellan Rankin (author), Hachette Children's Group
Wolf and Bear: A heartwarming story of friendship and big feelings by Kate Rolfe (author), Two Hoots
Whose Dog is This? by Andrew Sanders (author) and Aysha Awwad (illustrator), Macmillan Children's Books
The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish by Chloe Savage (author/illustrator), Walker Books

Younger Readers Shortlist

The category for Younger Readers features thrilling adventures and belly-laughs, whilst catering to various reading abilities. The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom: Attack of the Vampire Sheep! by Emily-Jane Clark is described as an accessible, hilariously funny adventure where two young heroes must save the world from vampire sheep, while Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend, the gripping first book in a new adventure series by Lizzie Huxley-Jones, is a contemporary magical adventure steeped in Welsh mythology.

Reading My Name is Sunshine Simpson by G.M. Linton is a gently funny, uplifting story about friendship, family and finding your voice, whilst Pari Thomson's beautifully illustrated Greenwild is a classic magical door adventure that will have young readers spellbound. The Swifts by Beth Lincoln is described as 'a brilliantly funny murder mystery', whose young heroine is determined to define herself whilst reluctantly having to turn detective, whereas in J..J. Arcanjo's 'fun-filled action mystery' Crookhaven, Gabriel is sent to a school for thieves to become a modern-day Robin Hood, but can you ever trust a thief?

Crookhaven: The School for Thieves by J.J. Arcanjo, Hachette Children's Books
The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom: Attack of the Vampire Sheep! by Emily-Jane Clark, Scholastic
Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend by Lizzie Huxley-Jones, Knights Of Media
The Swifts by Beth Lincoln, Penguin Random House Children's
My Name is Sunshine Simpson by G.M. Linton, Usborne
Greenwild: The World Behind The Door by Pari Thomson, Macmillan Children's Books

Older Readers Shortlist

Real-world settings dominate this year's Older Readers category, with one title representing the ongoing appetite for mythology retellings. Friendship Never Ends by Alexandra Sheppard follows a group of four girls over one summer; an uplifting and joyous, say the Waterstones judges, whereas Promise Boys by Nick Brooks is a 'captivating pacey YA crime thriller' told in interview format, about three teen boys who must investigate their headmaster's murder to clear their own names.

Mel Darbon's What the World Doesn't See, is a fast-paced, powerful novel about grief and disability infused with love and warmth, whilst You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud is a powerful story about finding the strength to speak up against hate and fear, say the Waterstones judges. Thieves' Gambit by Kayvion Lewis is described as a 'riotously fun action-adventure', full of unexpected twists and turns, and finally, in an era of Greek mythology titles dominating the charts, Bea Fitzgerald's Girl, Goddess, Queen adds something new by retelling the story of Persephone in a mix of coming-of age story and rom-com.

Promise Boys by Nick Brooks, Macmillan
What the World Doesn't See by Mel Darbon, Usborne
Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald, Penguin
Thieves' Gambit by Kayvion Lewis, Simon & Schuster
You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud, Usborne
Friendship Never Ends by Alexandra Sheppard, Knights of Media

The full shortlist by category (in alphabetical order by author) for the 2024 Prize:

Illustrated Books

Books for Younger Readers

Books for Older Readers