The winners of the 2023 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize are:
Illustrated Books winner
Gretel the Wonder Mammoth by Kim Hillyard. (Ladybird. ISBN: 978-0241488560)
The delightful, warm and funny story about the last mammoth on earth, released from the ice and not quite sure how to cope with all the attention. Gretel is a very endearing and relatable character in a story with a subtle but positive message about overcoming anxiety and how the best way of coping is to tell someone and ask for help.
Younger Fiction winner
Nura and the Immortal Palace by M.T.Khan. (Walker. ISBN: 978-1529503494)
Steeped in the magic of Muslim folklore, Khan’s enchanting children’s debut has strong themes about child exploitation, greed and inequality wrapped up in a tense and exciting adventure where Nura falls into a stunningly imagined underground world where the trickster jinns hold sway and she must battle to free her best friend and find her way back to her family. The emphasis on education for girl’s is an added bonus to this enthralling story.
Older Fiction winner and Overall winner
The Cats We Meet Along the Way by Nadia Mikhail (Guppy Books. ISBN: 978-1913101596)
A stunning debut young adult novel that won the inaugural Guppy YA Open Submission Competition. Set in Malaysia it tells the enthralling tale of Aisha and her family on a road trip through the country in search of estranged sister, June. With the terrifying backdrop of an apocalyptic world catastrophe, this beautifully written novel is surprisingly tender and full of love, healing and hope. A beautiful tribute to discovering what truly matters when life as you know it threatens to vanish forever.
The Waterstones Children’s Book Prize is an annual award given to a work of children’s literature published during the previous year. First awarded in 2005, the purpose of the prize is “to uncover hidden talent in children’s writing” and is therefore open only to authors who have published no more than three books. Since 2012 it has been divided into three categories, Illustrated books, Younger Fiction and Older Fiction with an Overall Winner. The prize is voted for by the booksellers from all around the country. Congratulations to all this year’s winners, and nominees.
