If you’re looking for some great new books to add to your primary classroom or library, check out the shortlists for this year’s Spark! School Book Awards.

The Spark! School Book Awards celebrate engaging books that capture children’s imagination and allow them to see reflections of themselves, their families, and communities.

There are four award categories, each with a shortlist of four titles chosen by a panel of teachers, educationalists and librarians.

Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors and illustrators!

Picture Fiction for 3-5 year-olds:

Tilda Tries Again by Tom Percival (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

A Mouse Called Julian by Joe Todd-Stanton (Flying Eye Books)

The Pirate Mums by Jodie Lancet-Grant and Lydia Corry (Oxford University Press)

The Tale of the Whale by Karen Swann and Padmacandra (Scallywag Press)

Picture Fiction for 6-11 year-olds:

The Plesiosaur’s Neck by Dr Adam S. Smith, Jonathan Emmett and Adam Larkum  (UCLan Publishing)

My Beautiful Voice by Joseph Coelho and Allison Colpoys (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books)

The Invisible by Tom Percival (Simon & Schuster Children’s UK)

Leo and the Gorgon’s Curse by Joe Todd-Stanton (Flying Eye Books)

Fiction for 7-9 year-olds:

Grimwood by Nadia Shireen (Simon & Schuster Children’s UK)

The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. by Jen Carney (Puffin)

A Dinosaur Ate My Sister by Pooja Puri and Allen Fatimaharan (Macmillan Children’s Books)

The Last Bear by Hannah Gold and Levi Pinfold (Harper Collins Children’s Books)

Fiction for 9-11 year-olds:

Uma and the Answer to Absolutely Everything by Sam Copeland and Sarah Horne (Puffin)

The Valley of Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

Wolfstongue by Sam Thompson and Anna Tromop (Little Island Books)

Adam-2 by Alastair Chisholm (Nosy Crow)

Pupils from participating schools in London and neighbouring regions will now read and discuss the shortlisted titles before voting for their favourites to decide on the winners of the Spark! School Book Awards 2021-2022.

The winning books will be announced at an award ceremony in July 2022. Watch out for our winner announcement blog!