Congratulations to author/illustrator Polly Noakes whose touching story of friendship and hope Just the Two of Us (Andersen Press) was declared the winner of the Oscar’s Book Prize 2025 at a ceremony in London in May.

Oscar’s Book Prize celebrates the best picture books for pre-schoolers and young children. The award was set up by the parents of Oscar Ashton to encourage parents to read and share books with their young children, in memory of their son who died in 2012.

Just the Two of Us, the story of what happens when a child’s imaginary friend is no longer needed, was selected from a shortlist of six titles by a panel of judges made up of award-winning author Smriti Halls; CBeebies and CBBC presenter Ben Cajee; author and Guardian children’s book critic Imogen Russell Williams; Amazon UK Country Manager Zac Watts; and co-founder of the award Viveka Alvestrand.

Commenting on this year’s winner, author Smitri Halls said: “It’s a tenderly, beautifully spun story which I just loved. We go on quite a journey in this book but we come out at the other end feeling uplifted.”

Award co-founder Viveka Alvestrand said: “You feel drawn into the world the characters live in and you want to turn every page to find out what happens. It’s a really sweet book and I think it will be a comfort to a lot of readers.”

For more children’s book awards, click here.