The UKLA Book Awards are the only national book award judged by teachers. The books selected for the award will be titles that teachers can share with pupils as part of regular classroom experience and can be used as part of a read aloud programme and in creative discussions. This years shortlist reflects teachers’ preference for diversity and books from independent publishers. It includes books in translation, beautiful illustrations and information books.

Following on from last year’s successful event, CCB will once again be shadowing the The UKLA Book Awards, in conjunction with the University of Exeter.  Teachers from our network of schools will meet in CCB on May 11^th to discuss this year’s shortlist along with PGCE Primary English trainee teachers and members of our schools team. The session will be led by staff from the university.  Our aim is to encourage teachers to increase their knowledge of recently published high quality children’s books.

Last year we focused on the shortlist for the 7-11 age range and many of these made it onto CCB’s Top 20 and were central to our World Book Day programme. This year’s shortlist looks equally exciting  and volunteers from our schools team have started reading and reviewing shortlisted titles, you can read the reviews below…

The White Fox | Jackie Morris | CCB Review

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Sol, a lonely twelve year old boy, forms a connection with an arctic fox with eyes like flames. But artic foxes cannot survive in cities and danger lies ahead. Can Sol save the fox? Can his father help? As the story unfolds Sol learns more about himself and his family as his life dramatically changes. A gentle book with a good story line about family bonds, wilderness and love.

Yours Sincerely, Giraffe | Megumi Iwasa and Jan Takabatake | CCB Review

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An unusual book with lovely illustrations. Giraffe and Penguin make friends through letter writing, with the help of Penguin, Seal and Whale.  They try to guess what each other looks like with amusing and quirky results. There are myriad questions on the way. What is a neck? How far is the horizon? What colour is the sea? All leading to finding and accepting a new friend…

Welcome to Nowhere | Elizabeth Laird | CCB Review

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An eye-opening book about a boy and his family living through the devastating war in Syria. Omar isn’t interested in politics, he just wants to be a successful business man, but when the bombs start falling he and his family have no choice but to flee. Through his eyes we experience how his family cope with their journey. He and his siblings leave their schools, their friends and their country and have to learn new skills just to find enough to eat and to survive. A powerful and dramatic story.

UKLA Book Award 2018 Shortlist

Ages 3-6

• The Night Gardener written and illustrated by Eric and Terry Fan
• Odd Dog Out written and illustrated by Rob Biddulph
• Oi Dog written by Kes and Claire Gray and illustrated by Jim Field
• The Darkest Dark written by Chris Hadfield and Kate Fillion and illustrated by The Fan Brothers
• Colin and Lee, Carrot and Pea written and illustrated by Morag Hood
• It Starts with a Seed written by Laura Knowles and illustrated by Jennie Webber

Ages 7-11

• The White Fox written and illustrated by Jackie Morris
• Lesser Spotted Animals written and illustrated by Martin Brown
• Yours Sincerely, Giraffe written by Megumi Iwasa, translated by Cathy Hirano and illustrated by Jun Takabatake
• Welcome to Nowhere written by Elizabeth Laird and illustrated by Lucy Eldridge
• Me and Mister P written by Maria Farrer and illustrated by Daniel Rieley
• The Street Beneath My Feet written by Charlotte Gullian and illustrated by Yuval Zommer

Ages 12-16

• Encounters written by Jason Wallace
• Come Apart written by Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan
• Alpha: Abidjan to Gare du Nord written Bessora, translated by sarah Ardizzone and illustrated by Barroux
• Saint Death written by Marcus Sedgwick
• Frogkisser! written by Garth Nix
• Where the World Ends written by Geraldine McCaughrean

If you’d like a copy of any of the shortlisted titles, click here. Free collection from the shop or we can post anywhere!
For more information about our schools programme, visit our schools page and read about our 2018 World Book Day Tour!