10% off all books and free delivery over £40
Buy from our bookstore and 25% of the cover price will be given to a school of your choice to buy more books. *15% of eBooks.

Children's Book Award 2020

D-Day Dog, The Runaway Pea, Mutant Zombies Cursed My School Trip and On the Come Up have been announced as the category  winners for the Children's Book Award 2020 - with Tom Palmer scooping the overall prize. Chosen entirely by children, the Children's Book Award 2020 are celebrating their 40 anniversary this year.

Jump to:
Books for Younger Children
Books for Younger Readers
Books for Confident Readers
Books for Older Readers

Winner: D-Day Dog

Though the title refers directly to D-Day, and much of the action takes place on or near the D-Day beaches, Tom Palmer skilfully and thoughtfully enables readers to consider war in general, what it means to those involved – soldier and civilian – and even why it still goes on. Jack is excited about his school trip to the ...

View Book Page

Children's Book Award 2020: Books for Younger Children

Winner: The Runaway Pea

This quirky caper from debut duo Kjartan Poskitt and Alex Willmore will show you just what can happen when you take your eye off your dinner for a second!

View Book Page

Shortlisted Books

Jazz Dog

Marie Voigt

Hardback

Not Available

Matisse's Magical Trail

Tim Hopgood

Paperback

In Stock

£7.19 £7.99

Children's Book Award 2020: Books for Younger Readers

Winner: Mutant Zombies Cursed My School Trip

Ian Iansson is a little bit worried about his school trip. Firstly, Ian doesn't have any friends, plus, his mum has packed him ten pairs of pants for the two-day trip. But as it turns out, these are the least of Ian's problems... Because when Ian's class arrives at the spooky old house, there's something very weird going on. Something ...

View Book Page

Shortlisted Books

Owen and the Soldier

Lisa Thompson

Paperback

In Stock

£7.19 £7.99

The Maker of Monsters

Lorraine Gregory

Paperback

In Stock

£7.19 £7.99

Children's Book Award 2020: Books for Confident Readers

Winner: D-Day Dog

Though the title refers directly to D-Day, and much of the action takes place on or near the D-Day beaches, Tom Palmer skilfully and thoughtfully enables readers to consider war in general, what it means to those involved – soldier and civilian – and even why it still goes on. Jack is excited about his school trip to the ...

View Book Page

Shortlisted Books

Wildspark

Vashti Hardy

Paperback

In Stock

£7.19 £7.99

A Pocketful of Stars

Aisha Bushby

Paperback

In Stock

£7.19 £7.99

Children's Book Award 2020: Books for Older Readers

Winner: On the Come Up

View Book Page

Shortlisted Books

Becoming Dinah

Kit de Waal

Paperback

In Stock

£7.19 £7.99

Two Can Keep a Secret

Karen M. McManus

Paperback

In Stock

£8.09 £8.99

The Children's Book Award Winning Books

Books for Younger Children Category

The Runaway Pea written by Kjartan Poskitt and illustrated by Alex Willmore

Books for Younger Readers category

Mutant Zombies Cursed My School Trip written by Matt Brown and illustrated by Paco Sord

Books for Confident Readers

D-Day Dog by Tom Palmer

Books for Older Reader’s category

On The Come Up by Angie Thomas

Tom Palmer's D-Day Dog also won the overall prize of The Children's Book Award 2020.

Tom Palmer said  ‘I am thrilled to win the Children's Book Award 2020! A massive thank you to the thousands of children who voted and to the Federation organisers. This prize celebrates writers writing and readers reading, and I am beyond delighted to receive it. Thank you. It is really important to me, when writing about history, to base my stories on real people and real events. I have learned that children are far more engaged with a book if the soldier (or dog) character really existed. I think the celebration and interest in Captain Tom Moore and other veterans we’ve seen in the D-Day 75th and other anniversaries bears this out. There is no need to make up inspiring figures like Glen the Paradog and Captain Tom - we have them in our midst and in our history, and we owe it to them to celebrate the strength and values that they represent, in turn to help us deal with our own challenges in 2020.’   

The full shortlist for the Children’s Book Award 2020 was as follows:

Books for Younger Children

Jazz Dog, written and illustrated by Marie Voigt, published by OUP

Matisse’s Magical Trail, written by Tim Hopgood and illustrated by Sam Boughton, published by OUP

The Runaway Pea, written by Kjartan Poskitt and illustrated by Alex Willmore, published by Simon & Schuster Children’s Books

Books for Younger Readers

Mutant Zombies Cursed My School Trip, written by Matt Brown and illustrated by Paco Sordo, published by Usborne

Owen and The Soldier, written by Lisa Thompson, published by Barrington Stoke

The Maker of Monsters, written by Lorraine Gregory, published by OUP

Books for Confident Readers

Wildspark, written by Vashti Hardy, published by Scholastic

A Pocketful of Stars, written by Aisha Busby, published by Egmont

D-Day Dog, written by Tom Palmer, published by Barrington Stoke

Books for Older Readers

Becoming Dinah, written by Kit de Waal, published by Hachette Children’s Group

On The Come Up, written by Angie Thomas, published by Walker Books

Two Can Keep a Secret, written by Karen M McManus, published by Penguin

Sarah Stuffins, Children’s Book Award Coordinator says  says ‘2020 didn’t quite deliver the 40th Anniversary that we expected, but we’re thrilled to have been able to take the ceremony online and Tom is a truly worthy winner. Being online also allows us to reach well beyond our own book groups and home-schooling has brought many parents into contact with their children’s reading in a unique way. We hope the filmed reports on each of the shortlisted title are a real resource to many and will encourage even more engagement in today’s superb and vibrant children’s literature scene.’

You can read more about the winning and shortlisted books and watch a video of the award ceremony, which due to the Covid-19 crisis was held online on 10th October 2020 - fcbg.org.uk/childrens-book-award

And on twitter @CBACoordinator  or visit the Children's Book Award facebook page where you can find the blog tours for each book on the shortlist.