Rex: Dinosaur in Disguise, written and illustrated by Elys Dolan (Walker Books) was crowned winner of this year’s Alligator’s Mouth Award at a special awards ceremony on Thursday 6th July.

Now in its fifth year, the Alligator’s Mouth Award celebrates the best highly-illustrated fiction titles for 6-8 year-olds, an important category of books that helps children build reading stamina and gain confidence at a crucial stage of their reading journey. The award is run by specialist children’s bookshop the Alligator’s Mouth and the Bright Agency, in association with Gardners Books.

This year’s winner was chosen from a shortlist of five titles by a panel of children’s authors, teachers and booksellers.

Commenting on her win, Elys Dolan said: “I never thought my mad book about a lost dinosaur would do anything other than give people a laugh. I’m absolutely delighted. Thank you to my fabulous team at Walker books. Thank you very much to Alligator’s Mouth, thank you Bright Agency, I’m just so happy.”

You can see the full shortlist for the Alligator’s Mouth Award 2023 here.