Blue Peter Book Awards 2014

The Blue Peter Book Awards 2014 celebrated both established authors and newcomers, as Katherine Rundell won Best Story for Rooftoppers at the age of just 26 and Tony Robinson received his second Best Book with Facts prize for Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders: World War II.

A panel of judges including CBBC presenter Katie Thistleton and top author Marcus Sedgwick whittled down the shortlist, while the eventual winners were picked by over 400 children in ten schools across the UK.

Rundell and Robinson were named the Blue Peter Book Awards 2014 winners during a special World Book Day edition of Newsround before receiving their awards during Blue Peter.

Get updates on this year's Blue Peter Book Awards

For more information, you can also follow @BookTrust on Twitter and visit the official Blue Peter website.

Best Story

Winner: Rooftoppers

By Katherine Rundell (Faber & Faber)

The Blue Peter Book Awards Best Story 2014 winner was Rooftoppers, by Katherine Rundell - who was just 26 when she was awarded with the prize.

Rooftoppers follows the unconventional life of Sophie, who is found floating in a cello case in the middle of the English channel after a shipwreck on her first birthday.

Brought up by an eccentric young scholar called Charles, Sophie ends up on an astonishing adventure in Paris as she searches for her long-lost mother.

After winning the Blue Peter Book Award, Katherine said, 'I am so wildly delighted and grateful: to win a prize that is voted for by the people for whom you wrote the book is the most spectacular feeling.

'And I am thrilled to get a Blue Peter badge at last! I spent most of my childhood loitering hopefully near rivers, waiting for someone to fall in and need rescuing so that I could get a badge - and now I don't even have to get wet. Thank you!''

Find out more about Rooftoppers

Best Book with Facts

Winner: Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders: World War II

By Tony Robinson, illustrated by Del Thorpe (Macmillan Children's Books)

The Blue Peter Book Award 2014 Best Book with Facts winner was Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders: World War II - handing the Blackadder star his second Blue Peter Book Award.

This sideways look at history won children's votes by including the weirdest and wackiest facts about World War II - and, of course, the smelly and disgusting bits too.

From why mashed potato is very useful to just what it takes to be a successful spy, Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders is history - but not as you know it.

'If happiness is usually the size of a tennis ball, my feelings are the size of Australia!' Tony said after winning the prize. 'Blue Peter is a genuine stamp of approval and because children themselves do the voting, there's something very real about this win – it actually feels like a pat on the back from the readership themselves.'

Find out more about Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders: World War II

Judges

The winners for the Blue Peter Book Awards were picked by over 400 children in 12 schools across the UK, while the shortlist was selected by a panel of expert judges.

Ewan Vinnicombe

Editor, Blue Peter

Ewan Vinnicombe has been Blue Peter Editor since January 2013. Ewan is also the Head of Presentation for CBeebies and CBBC and in his 17 years at the BBC he has worked on shows including Record Breakers, The Saturday Show and Live & Kicking.

Marcus Sedgwick

Alongside a 16 year career in publishing, Marcus Sedgwick has established himself as a widely-admired writer of YA fiction; he is the winner of many prizes, including the Branford Boase Award, the BookTrust Teenage Prize and the Blue Peter Book Awards. He also teaches creative writing. 

Kirsten Grant

Kirsten Grant is an award-winning marketer who has worked in the children's publishing industry for 17 years, including as Director of World Book Day. She is also a marketing consultant for a wide range of children's publishers and charities and previously worked at Puffin Books, running marketing campaigns for Roald Dahl, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Katie Thistleton

Katie Thistleton is a CBBC presenter and has always been a keen reader; she has a degree in English and Creative Writing and went on to train as a journalist. She currently hosts the CBBC Book Club and is the face of Girl Talk magazine's book club.