Debut authors celebrated at Waterstones Children’s Book Prize

27 March 2015 Books+Publishing

In the UK, Rob Biddulph’s picture-book Blown Away (HarperCollins) has won the overall and best illustrated book categories at this year’s Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, reports the Bookseller. Melissa Cox, head of children’s buying for Waterstones, said: ‘The test of a good picture book is not how good it is on first reading, but how enjoyable it is on its fiftieth. Blown Away more than delivers—its whimsical, madcap plot engages immediately and its rhythmic text drives the story along while the illustrations charm and thrill on every page.’ The story follows a young penguin’s journey from his Antarctic home to a tropical paradise and back again. The winner of the best book for teenagers was Half Bad (Sally Green, Penguin), while the best book for younger readers went to Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens (Random House). For the first time, all the categories were won by debut authors. The category winners each received £3000 (A$5691), with an extra £2000 (A$3794) presented to Biddulph as the overall winner.

Category: International news Junior