The Waterstones Children’s book prize exists to reward and champion new and emerging talent in children’s books. Now in its twelfth year, it is widely regarded as one of the most important prizes in the world of children’s books. The full lists of shortlisted titles (in alphabetical order by author) for the 2016 Prize are:

Illustrated Books:

Have You Seen Elephant? by David Barrow (Gecko Press)

Cinderella’s Sister and the Big Bad Wolf by Lorraine Carey and Migy Blanco (Nosy Crow)

Hector and Hummingbird by Nicholas John Frith (Alison Green Books)

The Crow’s Tale by Naomi Howarth (Frances Lincoln)

The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield (Frances Lincoln)

Super Happy Magic Forest by Matty Long (Oxford University Press)

Younger Fiction:

Bird by Crystal Chan (Tamarind)

Darkmouth by Shane Hegarty (HarperCollins)

Witch Wars by Sibéal Pounder (Bloomsbury)

The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands (Puffin)

My Brother is a Superhero by David Solomons (Nosy Crow)

The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine (Egmont)

Older Fiction:

The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle (Corgi)

Seed by Lisa Heathfield (Electric Monkey)

13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt (Orchard)

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (Walker Books)

The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury (Scholastic)

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson (David Fickling Books)

The winners will be announced at an evening reception at Waterstones Piccadilly (London), Europe’s largest bookstore, on Thursday 17th March.

BookMachine are organising a Children’s Book event on March 9th – information here: https://bookmachine.org/event/publishing-for-kids-how-to-reach-book-buyers-online/