Behind the Scenes with the young judges of the 2013 Blue Peter Book Awards

Young judges at Roose Community Primary School

We caught up with some of the schools who took part in the judging of this year's Blue Peter Book Award, to find out what they thought about being judges - and what they made of the shortlisted books

Cavendish Close Junior School

‘The first book I read was Hero on a Bicycle, a very inspiring novel about a young boy and his sister who are stranded in the middle of the war. I am now on my last book, Tom Gates: Genius Ideas (Mostly) which is a diary based on a young boy called Tom and all the ideas he comes up with. We will all miss the Blue Peter books when we have eventually finished.’ – James Muslijaj

‘Wow! I am reading Fantastic Mr Dahl and I am really loving it. I have whizzed through my first book. I am learning lots of facts about Roald Dahl and his life’ – Tierney Thornley

‘I’m loving the book I’m reading. I’ve never really liked non-fiction but the Horrible Science book makes boring facts interesting.’ – Anthony Mooney

‘I have really enjoyed reading some of these amazing Blue Peter Books which are very interesting and also funny. I have been reading the non-fiction books which are amazing and fascinating.’ – Tyler

‘I am currently reading non-fiction. The last book I read was Walter Tull – it was brilliant. Our teacher (Mrs Tague) is currently reading us The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas. The story is fantastic. I am looking forward to finishing the story.’ – Lewis King.

‘The first book I read was Tom Gates: Genius Ideas (Mostly). I read it in two days because I was so hooked and enjoying it so much. When I had to go to bed or dinner, I would just look forward to waking up or finishing my dinner as soon as possible so I could go back to reading.’ – Joe Carr

‘We have enjoyed our experience of judging. We are attempting the fiction challenge. So far our favourite is Tom Gates: Genius Ideas (Mostly) but we haven’t got far with the other books so we can’t say for certain. We read the first book in record-breaking time!’ – Freya and Lydia

West Earlham Junior School

‘I think it is a thrilling experience being a book judge. The books I am reading are the non-fiction and I am learning so much. I have enjoyed all the books so far’ - Ben Hallett

‘I have been a judge for a few weeks and have read all of the six books for the competition. Some of them were harder to read but I made it to the end of all of them so I am proud. I don't normally read books so quickly. It has been really good fun’-  Haiden Norman

‘When I was chosen to be a judge, I thought it was a great opportunity to read loads of books. I have read books by authors I had never heard of before and wouldn't normally read- but now I will. I loved being in the newspaper and talking about the books with my friends who are also judges’ - Segovia Lucas

‘It's been a brilliant opportunity for us to expose our children to a wide range of books and authors. I wasn't sure at the start whether they would all have the commitment to read so many books in such a short time, but I was pleasantly surprised. It has raised the profile of reading so much in school. We now have children coming in at lunchtime 'just to read another chapter' who wouldn't have done so a few weeks ago. We have had requests for more books by the same authors and lots more children are visiting the local library across the road. We've also reviewed some of the books at our school book blog 

http://wejsbookblog.blogspot.com. Incredibly successful and very proud to have been part of it.’ – Teacher Mr Jon Biddle.

Waycroft Academy

‘It has been great to read the three fiction novels which have been so different, however all have had plots which have meant that I have found it hard to put the books down. The rapid speed I read them at demonstrated my love for them all and it is going to be very difficult to choose my favourite’ - Asa Schuman

‘The selection of factual books was very interesting. I love science so I read the Horrible Science first and expected the others to not be as interesting. I was so pleased when I was proved wrong.’ - Ryan Olmo

‘I'm so glad our school was chosen to be on the judging panel. We have had the opportunity to read a great selection of books. Everyone is enjoying swapping them in the playground so that we can all share in the experience.’- Grace Stavers

‘It has been a real privilege for our school to be selected to help make up the judging panel for one of the most prestigious and highly sought after book awards. The children involved have been gripped by the books throughout the last month as awards fever has struck our school. In both categories the range of titles is fantastic in that it has engaged children with a variety of different tastes as well as reading abilities. We all look forward to judging and finding out which author will be victorious in their quest for the Blue Peter Book Award 2013.’ – Teacher Mr. Richard Healey

Take a look at a gallery of some of our young judges - and some of the book reviews and artwork they have created inspired by this year’s shortlist:

Find out more about the Blue Peter Book Awards 2013 and the shortlisted books

Tell us which book is your favourite to be in with the chance of winning a full set of shortlisted books