February has been a busy month for book awards with the prestigious USA Caldecott and Newbery Medal winners announced as well as the highly anticipated longlists for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals and the Branford Boase Award and the shortlist for the Waterstones Children’s Books Prize. Combine that with the UKLA Book Award longlist and the Blue Peter shortlist which have already been revealed, and you have an instant collection of new titles which have already been picked out as excellent examples of children’s books. There are a few titles that have appeared on more than one list so might be worth watching out for. They include The Promise by Nicola Davies and Laura Carlin (ages 5+), The Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan (ages 7+), The Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen (ages 9+), Cowgirl by Giancarlo Gemin (ages 9+), Scarlet Ibis by Gill Lewis (ages 9+),  Smart by Kim Slater (ages 9+), Half Bad by Sally Green (ages 11+) and Trouble by Non Pratt (ages 14+).

Newbery Medal (USA fiction award)

Winner

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

2015 Honor Books

El Deafo by Cece Bell (Amulet Books)

Caldecott Medal (USA picture book award)

Winner

Branford Boase Award longlist

The Award is made annually to the most promising book for seven year-olds and upwards by a first time novelist.

2015 LONGLIST

Bone Jack by Sara Crowe, edited by Charlie Sheppard and Eloise Wilson (Andersen Press)

A Room full of Chocolate by Jane Elson, edited by Naomi Greenwood (Hodder Children’s Books)

Archie Greene and the Magician’s Secret by D. D. Everest edited by Alice Swan and Toni Markiet (Faber Children’s Books)

Broken Strings by Maria Farrer, edited by Helen Thomas (Scholastic)

The Year of the Rat by Clare Furniss, edited by Jane Griffiths (Simon & Schuster)

Cowgirl by Giancarlo Gemin, edited by Kirsty Stansfield (Nosy Crow)

Half Bad by Sally Green, edited by Ben Horslen (Puffin)

Shadow of the Wolf by Tim Hall, edited by David Fickling and Bella Pearson (David Fickling Books)

The Executioner’s Daughter by Jane Hardstaff, edited by Stella Paskins (Egmont)

Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen, edited by Carmen McCullough and Lauren Buckland (Random House)

City of Halves by Lucy Inglis, edited by Imogen Cooper (Chicken House)

Mars Evacuees by Sophia McDougall, edited by Sarah Hughes (Egmont)

True Fire by Gary Meehan edited by Sarah Lambert (Quercus)

Trouble by Non Pratt, edited by Annalie Grainger & Denise Johnstone-Burt (Walker Books)

Leopold Blue by Rosie Rowell, edited by Emily Thomas (Hot Key)

Valentine Joe by Rebecca Stevens, edited by Rachel Leyshon (Chicken House)

The Dark Inside by Rupert Wallis, edited by Jane Griffiths (Simon & Schuster)

Dandelion Clocks by Rebecca Westcott, edited by Alexandra Antscherl (Puffin)

The CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals are the UK’s oldest and most prestigious children’s book awards. The CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded by children’s librarians for an outstanding book for children and young people. The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal is awarded by children’s librarians for an outstanding book in terms of illustration for children and young people.

CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2015 longlist (illustrator award)

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown (Macmillan Children’s Books)

What If? by Anthony Browne (Doubleday Children’s Books)

The Promise by Laura Carlin (illustrator) and Nicola Davies (author) (Walker Books)

The Something by Rebecca Cobb (Macmillan Children’s Books)

On Sudden Hill by Benji Davies (illustrator) and Linda Sarah (author) (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)

Jim’s Lion by Alexis Deacon (illustrator) and Russell Hoban (author) (Walker Books)

Hermelin: the Detective Mouse by Mini Grey (Jonathan Cape)

Shackleton’s Journey by William Grill (Flying Eye Books)

Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton (Walker Books)

Dark Satanic Mills by John Higgins and Marc Olivent (illustrators) and Julian Sedgwick and Marcus Sedgwick (authors) (Walker Books)

The Great War: an Anthology of Stories Inspired by Objects from the First World War by Jim Kay (illustrator) and various (authors) (Walker Books)

Wayland by John Lawrence (illustrator) and Tony Mitton (author) (David Fickling Books, Penguin Random House)

Smelly Louie by Catherine Rayner (Macmillan Children’s Books)

Fortunately, the Milk… by Chris Riddell (illustrator) and Neil Gaiman (author) (Bloomsbury)

Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell (Macmillan Children’s Books)

Tinder by David Roberts (illustrator) and Sally Gardner (author) (Orion Children’s Books)

The Pilot and the Little Prince by Peter Sís (Pushkin Children’s Books)

Tiny: the Invisible World of Microbes by Emily Sutton (illustrator) and Nicola Davies (author) (Walker Books)

The Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan (Hodder Children’s Books)

Mr. Wuffles by David Wiesner (Andersen Press)

 

CILIP Carneige Medal 2015 longlist (fiction award)

My Brother’s Shadow by Tom Avery (Andersen Press)

Us Minus Mum by Heather Butler (Little Brown, Young Readers)

When Mr. Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan (Bloomsbury)

Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan (Bloomsbury)

The Company of Ghosts by Berlie Doherty (Andersen Press)

The Year of the Rat by Clare Furniss (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)

Tinder by Sally Gardner (author) and David Roberts (illustrator) (Orion Children’s Books)

Monkey and Me by David Gilman (Templar)

Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge (Macmillan Children’s Books)

The Fastest Boy in the World by Elizabeth Laird (Macmillan Children’s Books)

Buffalo Soldier by Tanya Landman (Walker Books)

Scarlet Ibis by Gill Lewis (Oxford University Press)

The Middle of Nowhere by Geraldine McCaughrean (Usborne Books)

Hello Darkness by Anthony McGowan (Walker Books)

More Than This by Patrick Ness (Walker Books)

Close Your Pretty Eyes by Sally Nicholls (Marion Lloyd Books)

Trouble by Non Pratt (Walker Books)

Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff (Penguin Books)

Smart by Kim Slater (Macmillan Children’s Books)

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith (Electric Monkey)