Now in its sixth year, the shortlist for the Alligator’s Mouth Award 2024 has been announced.  The award was set up by independent children’s bookshop The Alligator’s Mouth and The Bright Agency to celebrate the best highly illustrated children’s fiction titles for 6-8-year-olds.

The five shortlisted titles were chosen by a panel of children’s authors, librarians and booksellers, including author/illustrator Elys Dolan, winner of last year’s award with Dinosaur in Disguise, and Alison Leach, founder of Books for Topics, who commented: “Illustrated fiction for younger readers deserves the spotlight and this year’s strong shortlist for the Alligator’s Mouth Award is a testament to the remarkable quality of publishing in this genre over the past year. On the shortlist readers will be met with animal adventures, mythical creatures, journeys across the sea, science experiments, and fairy tale quests. These stories have been imaginatively brought to life through a vibrant balance of text and illustration – a hallmark of this important genre for newly independent readers. I’m sure that both children and adults will discover exciting new favourites among the gems on this year’s shortlist, just as the judges have.”

Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors and illustrators!