Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards 2019

The Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards in partnership with BookTrust aim to highlight the best children's books for families to share together.

Judged by a panel of experts, the awards aim to encourage parents and carers to spend more time reading with their children.

2019 was the third time that BookTrust partnered with Sainsbury's for the awards, which honour books in five categories.

There is a £1,000 prize for the winner of each category, and all of the shortlisted books are promoted in Sainsbury's stores.

This year's winners

The winners were announced at a special event on 28 August along with the Sainsbury's Children Classic award.

Discover the winning books below:

Baby and Toddler

Winner: Nibbles: Numbers

Nibbles Numbers by Emma Yarlett (Little Tiger Press): 'A charming board book following Nibbles the book monster as he chomps his way from one to ten.'

Shortlisted books

• Oi Frog! Mix & Match Book by Kes Gray and Jim Field (Hodder Children's Books)
  A hilarious mix and match book allowing you to make up your own combinations from the bestselling Oi Frog!
• Little World: To The Moon by Ladybird/Stuart Atkinson and Allison Black (Penguin Random House)
  A beautiful board book allowing curious toddlers to follow in the footsteps of the first lunar astronauts.

Picture Book

Winner: My Pet Star

My Pet Star by Corinne Averriss and Rosalind Beardshaw (Hachette Children's Books): 'A perfect bedtime story about a little girl who takes home and cares for a lost star, until it's time to let go...'

Shortlisted books

• Look Up! by Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola (Penguin Random House)
  A budding astronaut wants everyone else to join in her joy at the stars in the sky - including her phone-obsessed brother.
• The Same But Different Too by Karl Newson and Kate Hindley (Nosy Crow)
  A lovely picture book for children starting to figure out their place in the world, as a group of children and animals note their differences (and similarities).

Fiction

Winner: The Umbrella Mouse

The Umbrella Mouse by Anna Fargher and Sam Usher (Pan Macmillan): 'A tale of courage and friendship based on the true stories of animals caught in the conflict of World War II.'

Shortlisted books

• Boot: Small Robot Big Adventure by Shane Hegarty and Ben Mantle (Hachette Children's Books)
  A heartwarming and humorous story about a young, lost robot trying to find its way home.
• Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties by Humza Arshad, Henry White and Aleksei Bitskoff (Penguin Random House)
  A hilarious adventure following what happens when the teachers start disappearing from Humza's school... and the aunties start taking over!

Learning and Development

Winner: The Awesome Book of Space

The Awesome Book of Space by Adam Frost (Bloomsbury Publishing): 'A collection of funny, intriguing and astonishing facts about space and universe.'

Shortlisted books

• The You Are Awesome Journal by Matthew Syed, Lindsey Sagar and Toby Triumph (Hachette Children's Books)
  An interactive toolkit full of challenges and activities to encourage and inspire children to be the best they can be.
• The Everyday Journeys of Ordinary Things by Libby Deutsch and Valpuri Kerttula (Ivy Kids)
  An informative, highly illustrated and funny look behind the scenes of the world.

Favourite Characters

Winner: Where's Wally? Exciting Expeditions

Where's Wally? Exciting Expeditions by Martin Hanford (Walker Books Ltd): 'A travel-sized Where's Wally book filled with activities, crafts, challenges and a card game.'

Shortlisted books

• We're Going on a Bear Hunt: Let's Discover Baby Animals (Walker Books Ltd)
  A guide to baby animals full of activities, recipes, stickers and crafts along with fun facts.
• Star Wars Where's the Wookiee 2 by Lucasfilm (Egmont Publishing)
  A fun search-and-find adventure book featuring all of the popular characters from the Star Wars universe. 

Book of the Year

Winner: My Pet Star

Classic Award

Winner: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Download the full press release on the shortlist

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2018's winners

The 2018 Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards marked the fifth year that the ceremony had been held, and in celebration The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr was named Sainsbury's Children's Classic.

Other winners included Michael Whaite for his picture book 100 Dogs, Paul Linnet and Sue Hendra for their title Norman's New Shell and Steven Butler and Steven Lenton for The Nothing to See Here Hotel.

Elsewhere, Clive Gifford and Paul Boston's The Book of Comparisons triumphed in the Learning & Development category and Favourite Character was won by Peppa Pig for Peppa's Magical Unicorn.

Read the full news story