Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards 2020 Winners Announced

Published on: 16 October 2020

Rob Biddulph, Serena Patel and Kim Hillyard were among the authors to win the prestigious prizes awarded by Sainsbury's to some of the top children's books of the year, whilst Eric Hill's much-loved Where's Spot swept the Classics category.

Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards is now in its seventh year and Sainsbury’s Argos are pleased to be partnering with BookTrust for the fourth time for the 2020 Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards. The Sainsbury’s team are passionate about ensuring children are supported from the very beginning of their reading journey and The Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards aims to celebrate some of the most exciting and enjoyable books of the year. As the UK’s largest children’s reading charity, BookTrust’s initiatives reach millions of children each year, recognising the power of reading to transform a child’s life.

The selection process begins with 18 nominated titles across 6 categories: ‘Activity Book’, ‘Baby & Toddler’, ‘Picture Books’, ‘Fiction’, ‘Learning & Development’ & ‘Favourite Characters’. There is also the Sainsbury’s Children’s Classic award, which is an accolade celebrating a book which has brought joy to generations of children, that parents will have grown up reading and that will continue to delight many more children in years to come.

Draw With Rob by Rob Biddulph was awarded Best Activity Book

We are pleased to announce that this year's nominees and winners are: 

Activity Book

• Where's the Dinosaur by Dougal Dixon and Helen Brown, illustrated by James Cottell (Michael O'Mara Books)
• Draw With Rob by Rob Biddulph (HarperCollins Children's Books) - WINNER
• Football School: The Ultimate Puzzle Book - 100 Brilliant Brain-Teasers by Alex Bellos and Ben Lyttleton, illustrated by Spike Gerrell (Walker Books)

Baby & Toddler

• How Do You Feel? by Roger Priddy (Priddy Books)
• Peek-A-Boo Baby: Zoo by Pat-a-Cake, illustrated by Zoe Waring (Pat-a-Cake)
• Don't Tickle the Dinosaur! by Sam Taplin, illustrated by Ana Martin Larranaga (Usborne Publishing) - WINNER

Favourite Characters

• Hey Duggee: The Tooth Brushing Badge (Penguin Random House)
• The Official Pokémon Trainer's Journal (Orchard Books)
• Oi See It! Say It! by Kes Gray, illustrated by Jim Field (Hodder Children's Books) - WINNER

Fiction

• The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L. D. Lapinski (Orion Children's Books)
• Anisha, Accidental Detective by Serena Patel, illustrated by Emma McCann (Usborne Publishing) - WINNER
• The Impossible Boy by Ben Brooks (Quercus Children's Books)

Learning & Development

• Wise Before Five by Ladybird (Penguin Random House)
• The Big Human Activity Book by Ben Elcomb, illustrated by Marc Pattenden, Georgie Fearns and Rhys Jefferys (Michael O'Mara Books)
• Do You Love Bugs? by Matt Robertson (Bloomsbury) - WINNER

Picture Book

• The Diddle That Dummed by Kes Gray, illustrated by Fred Blunt (Hodder Children's Books)
• The Bad Day by Frann Preston-Gannon (Bonnier Books UK)
• Mabel and the Mountain by Kim Hillyard (Penguin Random House) - WINNER

Children's Classic

• Winner: Where's Spot by Eric Hill

 Nicola Miller, Books Buyer for Sainsbury’s says: 

“It is an honour to chair the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards 2020. Now in its seventh year, this year’s awards are bigger than ever with the introduction of the new Activity Book category which aims to encourage creativity in children. The awards cover all ages and reading abilities and in this year’s shortlist there really was something for everyone.

This year more than ever, with our children out of school for nearly six months, we need to keep a focus on child literacy but also encourage those reluctant readers to enjoy a good book and our winners really have these values at their core. Congratulations to you all.”

Jill Coleman, Director of Children’s Books, BookTrust says:

“We’re delighted to partner with Sainsbury’s on this year’s Children’s Book Awards. At BookTrust we know the power of reading and stories in supporting children of all ages with language development, confidence, communication skills and resilience – and this is now more important than ever.

This year’s winning books were selected for their inclusiveness and for their ability to engage and keep readers entertained time after time. I’d like to congratulate the winning authors and illustrators for all the pleasure that these books bring to children and families alike.”

Find out more about the 2020 awards

Download the press release