James Reckitt Hull Children’s Book Award 2024

The awards, now in their 17th year, are aimed at fostering a love of reading from an early age by introducing young people to new writers and titles they might not normally pick up.

Over the course of 2023, newly published titles, suitable for children and young people were read by Hull Libraries’ staff and an army of volunteers, who reviewed and scored each title. This information was then used to draw up the longlist.

Separated into three age categories, the longlists are as follows:

EYFS/KS1 Picture Book Award Longlist:

• Skunk! Skedaddle! - Peter Bently / Laurie Stansfield
• Gecko and the Echo - Rachel Bright / Jim Field
• Holey Moley - Bethan Clarke / Anders Frang
• Billy Brute Whose Teacher was a Werewolf - Issy Emeney / Chris Mould
• The Dodo Who Dreamed She Could Fly - Catherine Emmett / Claire Powell
• Mavis the Bravest - Lu Fraser / Sarah Warburton
• Let's Stick Together - Smriti Halls / Steve Small
• Victor the Wolf With Worries - Catherine Rayner
• When Cookie Crumbled - Michelle Robinson / Tom Knight
• Dick the Delightful Duck - Kaye Umansky / Ben Mantle

The KS2 Longlist:

• Lost on Gibbon Island - Jess Butterworth
• How To Be More Hedgehog - Anne-Marie Conway
• Glitter Boy - Ian Eagleton
• Finn Jones Was Here - Simon James Green
• Jamie - L.D. Lapinski
• Emba Oak and the Terrible Tomorrows - Jenny Moore
• Worrybot - Simon Packham
• The Boy Who Made Monsters - Jenny Pearson
• Son of the Sea - Richard Pickard
• The Lucky Bottle - Chris Wormell

The KS3 Longlist:

• The Song Walker - Zillah Bethell
• Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer - Jeffrey Boakye
• Until the Road Ends - Phil Earle
• Just Like Everyone Else - Sarah Hagger-Holt
• The Detention Detectives - Lis Jardine
• The Stories Grandma Forgot( and How I Found Them) - Nadine Aisha Jassat
• Moon Flight - Gill Lewis
• The House Trap - Emma Read
• Valentine Crow and Mr Death - Jenni Spangler
• Quiet Storm - Kimberley Whittam

The shortlist will be announced on Monday 8 January 2024.

Copies of the shortlisted titles are donated to all schools subscribing to the Hull Schools Library Service and the authors are invited to the city to work with the young people.

It will then be up to the pupils to vote for their favourite story. The Picture Book Award will take place during National Storytelling Week in February 2024.

The KS2 and KS3 award ceremonies will take place at The Big Malarkey Festival in June 2024 when children hear from the writers, share their opinions of the books and vote for their winning title. The votes are collated on the day and a specially commissioned trophy is presented to the winning writer.

All of the shortlisted books will be available to borrow for free at Hull’s libraries.

For further information contact [email protected]