Blue Peter Book Awards 2020

Real life tales of extraordinary children and a fantastical world of captivating inventiveness took the top spots in 2020, with Rise Up and Wildspark voted for by over 500 children.

The judging panel was made up of writer Meryl Fernandes, Joseph Coelho and Jean Menzies

Although the judges chose the shortlist, the winning titles were selected by hundreds of children from 12 schools across the UK. They read the shortlisted books and voted for their favourite in each category...

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The Best Story: Wildspark by Vashti Hardy

Wildspark

Read our review

The Best Book with Facts: Rise Up: Ordinary Kids With Extraordinary Stories by Amanda Li and Amy Blackwell

Rise Up

Read our review

Blue Peter Book Awards 2020: Best Story

Shortlisted books

Owen and the Soldier

Author: Lisa Thompson Illustrator: Mike Lowery

A beautiful tale of a courageous young man who overcomes his fears when he finds an unlikely companion in a park statue. Complex ideas of young carers, social anxiety and remembrance are sensitively weaved into a light and accessible story.

Check out fun features on the books

Longlisted books in this category:

Bloom by Nicola Skinner, illustrated by Flavia Sorrentino (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Can You See Me? by Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott (Scholastic UK)
Charlie Changes Into a Chicken by Sam Copeland, illustrated by Sarah Horne (Puffin)
Lori and Max by Catherine O'Flynn (Firefly Press)
Malamander by Thomas Taylor (Walker Books)
Runaway Robot by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, illustrated by Steven Lenton (Macmillan Children's Books)
Where the River Runs Gold by Sita Brahmachari (Hachette Children's Group)

Blue Peter Book Awards 2020: Best Book with Facts

Shortlisted books

Fanatical About Frogs

Author: Owen Davey

The fifth in Owen Davey’s wonderful non-fiction series about animals adds frogs to the ranks of clear, fascinating reads, accompanied by truly amazing graphic illustration and just the right level of information to inspire all primary school kids.

Check out fun features on the books

Longlisted books in this category:

Everest: The Remarkable Story of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay by Alexandra Stewart, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton (Bloomsbury Children's Books)
Heroes by Jonny Marx, illustrated by Gerhard van Dyk (Stripes)
Humanimal: Incredible Ways Animals Are Just Like Us! by Christopher Lloyd, illustrated by Mark Ruffle (What on Earth Books)
Plastic Sucks! You Can Make A Difference by Dougie Pointer (Macmillan Children's Books)
The Ladybird Big Book of Dead Things by Ned Hartley, illustrated by Binny Talib (Ladybird)
The Lost Book of Adventure by Teddy Keen (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
When the Stars Come Out by Nicola Edwards, illustrated by Lucy Cartwright (Stripes)

Who judged the 2020 shortlist?

Meet our judges, who selected a shortlist from the longlist which was handed over for the difficult task of picking the two winners to schoolchildren around the country.

Meryl Fernandes
TV presenter and actress

Young entrepreneur Meryl Fernandes is a stage and screen actress, a business woman and most notably an exciting new presenter who narrowly escaped life as a microbiologist. Best known for playing Afia in Eastenders, she has also performed at The National Theatre in critically acclaimed plays, and her other television credits include Doctor Who, Demons and Minder.

Joseph Coelho
Poet, playwright and children’s author

Joseph Coelho is a poet and children’s author. His debut poetry collection Werewolf Club Rules was the winner of the 2015 CLiPPA Poetry Award and his next collection Overheard In A Tower Block was longlisted for the 2018 CILIP Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the 2018 CLiPPA Poetry Award. His debut non-fiction book How To Write Poems contains a host of tips and tricks to help engage children with poetry. As well as poetry, Joseph also writes picture books. As a playwright, Joseph has written plays for companies including Soho Theatre, Polka Theatre, Theatre Royal York, Oily Cart, The Spark Children's Festival, Islington Community Theatre, and Pied Piper Theatre Company.

Jean Menzies
Ancient historian, podcaster and video maker

While conducting her PhD research at the University of Roehampton, Jean Menzies is also passionate about promoting classical mythology and ancient history to a wider audience. She has a background in publishing and makes a wide variety of online content exploring education, history, and literature.