Longlist announced for Derby Children's Picture Book Award 2021

Congratulations to the wonderful authors, illustrators and publishers of the ten longlisted books for this year’s Derby Children’s Picture Book Award. The Award, which aims to celebrate picture books that children can relate to and in which the diversity and challenges of modern life are represented, is now in its third year.

This year we received 29 submissions from 13 publishers.

This year’s longlist comprises:

• ‘All Sorts’ by Pippa Goodhart and Emily Rand (Flying Eye Books)
• ‘New in Town’ by Marta Altes (Macmillan)
• ‘I am Brown’ by Ashok Banker and Sandhya Prabhat (Lantana)
• ‘I Believe you When’ by Susan Schubert and Raquel Bonita (Lantana)
• ‘Meesha Makes Friends’ by Tom Percival (Bloomsbury)
• ‘All Kinds of Families’ by Sophie Henn (Egmont)
• ‘Super Milly and the Super School Day’ by Stephanie Clarkson and Gwen Millward (Nosy Crow)
• ‘Octopus Shocktopus’ by Peter Bently and Steven Lenton (Nosy Crow)
• ‘The Boy Who Loved Everyone’ by Jane Porter and Maisie Paradise Shearring (Walker Books)
• ‘Julian at the Wedding’ by Jessica Love (Walker Books)

Teachers from schools involved in the 2020 Award are currently shortlisting the books and will make their decision about the three shortlisted books on Thurs 4 February.

We will then buy copies of all the shortlisted books and distribute them to children in Years 2 and 3 from six Derby schools. They will read them in class over the coming months and will then vote for the winner on 26 May, with the winner announced on 28 May 2021.

Good luck to all the longlisted authors and illustrators!