Kate Wakeling, Adam Rutherford and Hiba Noor Khan were among the winners crowned at an event held to celebrate this year’s The Week Junior Book Awards at London’s County Hall on 30th September.

The Week Junior Book Awards were established last year by children’s news and current affairs magazine The Week Junior and The Bookseller to raise the profile of children’s books and their creators in the mainstream media and highlight the importance of reading for pleasure. With 14 award categories, the awards celebrate the wealth of talent and the range of titles available for readers aged 7-14.

This year’s winners were selected by judging panels that included authors and illustrators, teachers, booksellers, children’s book experts, representatives from The Week Junior and The Bookseller and children themselves.

Commenting on the awards, Anna Bassi, chair of judges and editorial director of The Week Junior, said: “We’re delighted to honour these incredible books and their power to bring pleasure to children through words, pictures, ideas and imagination. The line-up boasts extraordinary stories, compelling characters, fascinating facts, incredible illustrations and useful advice. With awards for both fiction and non-fiction and subjects spanning everything from dinosaurs to the digestive system, there is something here for every young reader – even those who say they don’t like reading.”

Congratulations to all the winning authors and illustrators!

The Week Junior Book Awards 2024 – Category Winners

Children’s Book of the Year – Breakthrough: My Name is Sunshine Simpson by G. M. Linton, illustrated by Fuuji Takashi (Usborne Publishing).

Children’s Book of the Year – Non-Fiction: Welcome to Our Table: A Celebration of What Children Eat Everywhere by Laura Mucha & Ed Smith, illustrated by Harriet Lynas (Nosy Crow).

Children’s Book of the Year – Younger fiction: Pizza Pete and the Perilous Potions by Carrie Sellon, illustrated by Sarah Horne (Guppy Books).

Children’s Book of the Year – Older fiction: Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan (Andersen Press).

Also Highly Commended: Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer by Jeffrey Boakye (Faber & Faber).

Children’s Book of the Year – Graphic novel: Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martin (Guppy Books).

Children’s Book of the Year – Hobbies and interests: Rhinoceros Can’t Draw… But You Can! by Luke Newell, illustrated by Luke Newell & Mr Griff (Noodle Juice).

Children’s Book of the Year – STEM: Where Are You Really From? by Adam Rutherford & E. L. Norry, illustrated by Adam Ming (Wren & Rook).

Also Highly Commended: Wonderfully Wired Brains – An Introduction to the World of Neurodiversity by Louise Gooding, illustrated by Ruth Burrows (DK Children).

Children’s Book of the Year – Animals and Nature: The Tyrannosaur’s Feathers by Jonathan Emmett & Dr Adam S. Smith and illustrated by Stieven Van der Poorten (UCLan).

Children’s Book of the Year – Wellbeing: Friendship Survival Guide by Caroline Young (Usborne).

Also Highly Commended: My Family, Your Family by Laura Henry-Allain MBE, illustrated by Giovana Medeiros (Ladybird).

Children’s Picture Book of the Year: Amy Gets Eaten by Adam Kay, illustrated by Henry Paker (Puffin).

Also Highly Commended: Gigantic by Rob Biddulph (HarperCollins Children’s Books).

Children’s Audiobook of the Year: Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Ruling the World by Louie Stowell, narrated by Ben Willbond (WF Howes).

Also Highly Commended: Animal Tales from India – Ten Stories from the Panchatantra written and narrated by Nikita Gill (Nosy Crow).

Children’s Book of the Year – Poetry: A Dinosaur at the Bus Stop: Poems to Have Fun With by Kate Wakeling, illustrated by Eilidh Muldoon (Otter-Barry Books).

Children’s Choice: Guinness World Records 2024 by Craig Glenday (Editor-in-chief), cover design by Rod Hunt (Guinness World Records Ltd).

Children’s Book Cover of the Year: The Kingdom Over the Sea by Zohra Nabi, cover designed and illustrated by Tom Clohosy Cole (Simon & Schuster).

You can look back at the shortlists for each category here.