Peters Children's Book of the Year returns

November 12th 2024

We're thrilled to announce the relaunch of our popular Children's Book of the Year Award for 2025, celebrating the best children's fiction and non-fiction titles published in the UK.

The Peters’ Children’s Book of the Year Award highlights books in four categories: Picture Books, Junior Fiction, Teen Fiction and Non-Fiction. With shortlists chosen by Peters’ expert team of qualified librarians, teachers and children’s book specialists, books are selected based on enjoyment and readability – the shortlisted books are those published in the last year that we feel will most inspire children and young people to read for pleasure, regardless of any specific ‘criteria’.

Each member of our reviewing team is given the opportunity to put forward their favourite book in each category – and this selection forms the category shortlists. Our team read and review more than 10,000 newly published children’s books every year, so have a huge reading repertoire to draw on and are ideally placed to select the highlights. There may be action-packed adventures, gripping graphic novels, books to make you laugh out loud or the latest inspirational and informative non-fiction and more.

The award then goes to public vote, with the winning titles in each category and an overall winner chosen by you! Voting is open to public librarians and primary and secondary school staff across the UK. 

The relaunch forms part of a wider year of celebration taking place to commemorate Peters' 90th anniversary in 2025. 

To help schools promote the award and encourage pupils to read the shortlisted books, discounted book packs for schools will be available for each category, with Book Talk discussion resources also available for all shortlisted books in the new year.

Diane Gill, Professional Services Manager, says: "Children's Book of the Year gives us the opportunity to champion the titles that spoke to us personally, whether in a favourite genre or just those unexpected gems that struck a chord, that sparked conversation in the office, that remind us of the importance of reading for pleasure – without any criteria or agenda, but just because we want to – and it allows us to share those with readers young and old."

Claire Bowles, Peters' Co-CEO says:"We're delighted to be relaunching Peters' Children's Book of the Year Award this year. We know that reading for pleasure is vital not only to children's academic attainment, but also to their wellbeing and future success. With research showing that even fewer children now say they enjoy reading for pleasure in their spare time, it's more important than ever to shine a spotlight on some of the brilliant books available to get them hooked."