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Find out moreThere are lots of great book awards out there but we were really interested to know which books the Lovereading4Kids browsers thought were their very favourite reads of 2013. And the winner? Geek Girl by Holly Smale! Scroll down for a full list of all the nominated books....do you agree??
Gripping from its opening moment onwards, this award-winning book that doesn’t miss a beat from its thrilling beginning to its satisfying ending. Disturbed during the night of contemplation before he is made a knight, sixteen-year-old Turi is handed a letter which must be secretly delivered. Keeping his identity hidden and keeping the letter safe at all times, Turi travels through deadly danger in which survival depends on adhering to the chivalric codes of courage, friendship and honesty. A thrilling adventure which is full of heart. A Piece of Passion from Adam Freudenheim, Publisher, Pushkin Press and Pushkin Children's Books The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt is the classic Dutch children's book. Already translated into more than a dozen languages, made into a feature film and with over 1 million copies sold, The Letter for the King is one of the most gripping, page-turning novels I've ever read. My 8-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter both loved it and couldn't put it down either. I started reading it aloud to them, and then one morning when my son woke early he creeped into my bedroom and 'stole' the bound proof in order to finish it - later he sheepishly explained that he just couldn't wait for me to finish reading it aloud, he had to know what happened next! For anyone who likes a heart–thumping tale of good vs. evil, of lone young hero desperate to save a kingdom, this is the book for them. This beautiful edition, printed in Italy, includes a wonderful hand–drawn map of the kingdoms of Unuawen and Dagonaut on the endpapers, original illustrations by the author, and is a wonderful gift for any fan of classic fantasy in the Tolkien mould.
Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2014 - Shortlisted for the 2013 Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize & Shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2013 - Best Story Award-winning David Almond tells a deliciously funny and refreshingly original story of Stanley, a boy who takes off on a journey of enlightenment and discovery after his uncle, whom he lives with, goes distinctly barmy and turns his home upside down by turning it into a canning factory. Stanley’s travels take him to joining a fairground family and taking on some new and surprising challenges which test his courage and resolve. Fast-paced, sometimes magical and always unexpected, this is a brilliant story with stunning illustrations by Oliver Jeffers.
Shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2013 - September 2013 Book of the Month George is off on an adventure – to find the yeti and to feed it spaghetti! George travels along a little mountain path and meets all kinds of creatures on his way – there’s Betty, Hetty and Netty - before he even gets to see the yeti! George’s story is told in a jaunty text matched by vigorous illustrations.
Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach's father throws out all his toys, declaring he's too old for them. A chilling ghost story by the bestselling author of The Spiderwick Chronicles, Holly Black.
Shortlisted for the Waterstone's Children's Prize 2014 Fiction for teens category - May 2013 Debut of the Month Readers should be at least 14+ for this hard-hitting novel. With graphic content and some scenes of a sexual nature, Paper Aeroplanes is a gritty, poignant, often laugh-out-loud funny and powerful novel. It is an unforgettable snapshot of small-town adolescence and the heart-stopping power of female friendship. Click here to download a letter from the author on her inspiration behind the book. A Piece of Passion from the Publisher, Emily Thomas Dawn Porter (as she was known before her marriage to movie star Chris O'Dowd) used to make me laugh out loud of a morning on my journey to work. Dawn wasn't sitting next to me, but it sure felt like it. I was actually reading her weekly column in Stylist magazine - one in which she told of the everyday dilemmas and issues in her life (and all other young women's lives) in her trademark charming, disarming, unfiltered and utterly exhilarating way. To say Dawn tells it like it is, is like saying the Pope is a Catholic, or the British winter is mostly brutal. It's a fact. 'Dawn Porter needs to write a book,' I thought, 'and write it like she talks.' But I approached with caution, along with a few of my own ideas, about what she could maybe, possibly write, fully prepared to be dismissed. Turns out that Dawn had ideas of her own. Within minutes of our first phone conversation, after her delightful shrieks of pleasure at being approached to write a novel (or two), she had waved away my ideas and nailed hers. Dawn wanted to write about an experience close to her heart, and something she knew a thing or two about: female friendship. More specifically, that particular relationship between schoolgirls of a certain age. Intense, cloying, joyful, excruciating, hilarious, painful... and sometimes forever. Dawn went off to write her book. And when she came back, she handed me the beginnings of a masterpiece. All the things I loved about Dawn's column, about her documentaries, about her, were there - in what came to be entitled Paper Aeroplanes - the story of a friendship. Dawn doesn't flinch from describing the horrors of having your period round at someone's else house when you're fifteen; the freakish body hair that you're convinced is yours, and yours alone; your excruciating dysfunctional family; the strange and contradictory mass of feelings you have at all times; the curiosity, yet wariness of boys (and of sex in general); the hideous misery of falling out with your best friend; the knowledge that though your life stretches out, tantalisingly, before you, you have absolutely no clue what to do with it. Paper Aeroplanes is every teenage girl's experience. You will read it and weep, and then you will laugh, and then you might weep some more. I'm just off to read it again...
One of our Books of the Year 2013 & shortlisted for the National Book Tokens Children’s Book of the Year 2012 ‘Pants ahoy!’ in this hilarious new adventure by the best-selling author /illustrator duo of Aliens Love Underpants. Armed with a map, the pirate captain and his crew are off to search for the elusive Pants of Gold which are known to be buried on a far-away island. But someone has got there first! Will cutting the knicker elastic be enough to save the day? Yo ho ho, and it will! The Pants of Gold are a super- prize…..as is this delightful addition to the underpants series.
Shortlisted for the 2013 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2013 Award-winning Chris Haughton’s George is a dog with a terrible habit of getting into trouble! He wants to be good and he tries to be good but, somehow, he keeps on getting into trouble! When he sees a delicious cake in the kitchen, how can he stop himself eating it? Oh No, George! When there’s lovely soil in the garden, he must just dig it up. Oh No, George! All readers will love George and his great instincts and terrible behaviour. .....click here and here to download some George related activity sheets.
The poll was run through our social media sites on facebook and twitter over December and asked readers to vote for their favourite book of the year.
Sophie voted for Geek Girl and posted...'Adore this series! Harriet is one of my favourite fictional characters!' Why not visit the sites and add your opinion too?
Geek Girl was also selected by the editorial experts at Lovereading4kids as one of our Books of the Year. You will find them in a specially created category full of top reads for all age groups from toddlers to teens.
The Lovereading4kids Book Prize winner and runners-up for 2013 as chosen by you the readers, are:
The Winner
Geek Girl - Holly Smale
The Runners-Up
The Letter For The King - Tonke Dragt
Fortunately, The Milk - Neil Gaiman
Paper Aeroplanes - Dawn O'Porter
Wonder - RJ Palacio
Doll Bones - Holly Black
My Grandpa - Marta Altes
Oh No, George - Chris Haughton
Spaghetti with the Yeti - Charlotte and Adam Guillian
Pirates Love Underpants - Claire Freedman
The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas - David Almond
Check out the latest activities in our KidsZone.
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