Big Book Award 2024 Longlist
“The project encourages children to read novels they would not normally venture into. It stretches the most able readers and the discussions that follow support those children who find reading more of a challenge….. If anyone wants to bring reading to life in their school then SIGN UP FOR BOOKFEST now!” Head Teacher at Castlefields Primary School
Over the summer months, publishers have submitted up to five of their best titles for 9 to 11 year olds, published between 1st August 2022 and 31st July 2023 to the longlist for the Big Book Award 2024
These books will be read and reviewed by Year 6 pupils from the following primary schools and their feedback will be carefully analysed to find the six ‘best’ books for 9 to 11 year olds, to form the shortlist for the Big Book Award 2024 :
- Castlefields Primary School Bridgnorth
- Cheswardine Primary School
- Hinstock Primary School
- Longden C/E Primary School
- Longnor C/E Primary School
- Packwood Haugh School
- Prestfelde School
- St John’s Catholic Primary School
- St Leonard’s C/E Primary School
- St Mary’s Catholic Primary School
- West Felton C/E Primary School
This is the complete list of titles submitted to the longlist, that was being careful consideration by the newest member of the Bookfest team, Geoffrey!
| Title | Author | Published by |
| Rosie Raja Mission to Cairo | Sufiya Ahmed | Bloomsbury |
| The Stickleback Catchers | Lisette Auton | Penguin Random House Children’s |
| The Magic of Endings | Tom Avery | Andersen Press |
| Adam B Wins the Internet | Adam B | Bloomsbury Children’s Books |
| A Tricky Kind of Magic | Nigel Baines | Hachette Children’s Books |
| Nightjar | Katya Balen | Barrington Stoke |
| My Family and Other Romans | Marie Basting | Chicken House |
| Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum | Alasdair Beckett-King | Walker Books |
| Calling the Whales | Jasbinder Bilan | Barrington Stoke |
| Xanthe and the Ruby Crown | Jasbinder Bilan | Chicken House |
| Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer | Jeffrey Boakye | Faber |
| Lost on Gibbon Island | Jess Butterworth | Hachette Children’s Books |
| Mega Robo Bros Melt Down | Neill Cameron | David Fickling Books |
| The Little Match Girl Strikes Back | Emma Carroll | Simon & Schuster |
| The Tale of Truthwater Lake | Emma Carroll & Lauren Child | Faber |
| The Wishkeeper’s Apprentice | Rachel Chivers Khoo | Walker Books |
| Wilder | Penny Chrimes | Orion Children’s Books |
| The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom | Emily-Jane Clark | Scholastic |
| My Brilliant Plan to Fix everything | Ben Davis | Scholastic |
| The Lost Girl King | Catherine Doyle | Bloomsbury Children’s Books |
| Until the Road Ends | Phil Earle | Andersen Press |
| The Rescue of Ravenwood | Natasha Farrant | Faber |
| The Boy in the Smoke | Rachel Faturoti | Hachette Children’s Books |
| Digging for Victory | Cathy Faulkner | Firefly Press |
| All the Way Down | Stewart Foster | Simon & Schuster |
| Dead Lock | Simon Fox | Nosy Crow |
| The Spectaculars: The Four Curses | Jodie Garnish | Usborne |
| The Thief of Farrowfell | Ravena Guron | Faber |
| Safe | Vanessa Harbour | Firefly Press |
| The Miraculous Sweetmakers and the Frost Fair | Natasha Hastings | HarperCollins |
| The Whisperling | Hayley Hoskins | Penguin Random House Children’s |
| My Life on Fire | Cath Howe | Nosy Crow |
| Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend | Lizzie Huxley-Jones | Knights of Media |
| Super Ghost | Greg James | Penguin Random House Children’s |
| The Shadow Order | Rebecca F John | Firefly Press |
| Bob vs The Selfie Zombies | Andy Jones | Bonnier/Piccadilly Press |
| The Night Animals | Sarah Ann Juckes | Simon & Schuster |
| Safiyyah’s War | Hiba Noor Khan | Andersen Press |
| The House With a Dragon in it | Nick Lake | Simon & Schuster |
| Jamie | L D Lapinksi | Orion Children’s Books |
| Tourmaline and the Island of Elsewhere | Ruth Lauren | Little Tiger |
| Blackbeard’s Treasure | Iszi Lawrence | Bloomsbury |
| Moon Flight | Gill Lewis | David Fickling Books |
| The Magician’s Daughter | Caryl Lewis | MacMillan Children’s Books |
| My Name is Sunshine Simpson | G. M. Linton | Usborne |
| Mia and the Lightcasters | Janelle McCurdy | Faber |
| Jodie | Hilary McKay | Barrington Stoke |
| Spellstone | Ross Montgomery | Walker Books |
| Old Gods New Tricks | Thiago de Moraes | David Fickling Books |
| Max Magic | Stephen Mulhern | Bonnier/Piccadilly Press |
| Children of the Stone City | Beverley Naidoo | HarperCollins |
| Cosma Unfortunate Steals a Star | Laura Noakes | HarperCollins |
| Fablehouse | E L Norry | Bloomsbury Children’s Books |
| Mountainfell | Katharine Orton | Walker Books |
| Alex Neptune, Dragon Thief | David Owen | Usborne |
| Wishyouwas | Alexandra Page | Bloomsbury Children’s Books |
| Resist | Tom Palmer | Barrington Stoke |
| Where the River Takes Us | Lesley Parr | Bloomsbury Children’s Books |
| City of Stolen Magic | Nazneen Ahmed Pathak | Penguin Random House Children’s |
| The Boy Who Made Monsters | Jenny Pearson | Usborne |
| Beyond the Frozen Horizon | Nicola Penfold | Little Tiger |
| Friends and Traitors | Helen Peters | Nosy Crow |
| An Alien Stole my Planet | Pooja Puri | MacMillan Children’s Books |
| Little Sure Shot | Matt Ralphs | Andersen Press |
| The Housetrap | Emma Read | Chicken House |
| The Nowhere Thief | Alice M Ross | Nosy Crow |
| The Piano at the Station | Helen Rutter | Barrington Stoke |
| Pizza Pete and the Perilous Potions | Carrie Sellon | Guppy Books |
| Bunny vs Monkey Multiverse Mixup | Jamie Smart | David Fickling Books |
| Clarity Jones and the Magical Detective Agency | Chris Smith | Penguin Random House Children’s |
| A Recipe for Trouble | Sarah Todd Taylor | Nosy Crow |
| I, Spy | Rhian Tracey | Bonnier/Piccadilly Press |
| The Boss of Everyone | Danny Wallace | Simon & Schuster |
| The Sleeping Stones | Beatrice Wallbank | Firefly Press |
| The Monkey Who Fell from the Future | Ross Welford | HarperCollins |
| The Wildstorm Curse | Eve Wersocki Morris | Hachette Children’s Books |
| Quiet Storm | Kimberly Whittam | Usborne |
| Honesty & Lies | Eloise Williams | Firefly Press |
| Jacko | Jeanne Willis | Andersen Press |
| The Lucky Bottle | Chris Wormell | David Fickling Books |
The Big Book Award:
A child-led reading development project delivered into Shropshire primary schools to find the book published in the previous two years that children aged 9 – 11 years old love the most.
The first Book Award project in 2010 was an immediate and overwhelming success, so we have run the project every two years since then. We have developed its scope and widened its reach each time.
If your school would like to take part in Book Award 2024, or find out more about how to get involved, please get in touch with the Bookfest team here.
The Picture Book Award:
This project was first delivered in 2018 in response to demand from the education sector in Shropshire, to follow the aims and ideals (i.e. to generate a love of reading for younger children) of the established Big Book Award, this time focusing on Years 1 and 2 (children aged 6 to 7 years old). The Picture Book Award followed the aim to generate a love of reading for younger children and to provide a platform to inspire and influence younger pupils. A ‘buddy reading system’ was be implemented where KS2 readers help KS1 readers throughout this project.
If your school would like to take part in Book Award 2022, or find out more about how to get involved, please get in touch with the Bookfest team here.
Bookfest Hall of Fame
Registered Charity Number: 1120177
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