Thursday 28 June 2012

Blue Peter Book Awards 2012

Blue Peter Book Awards

Blue Peter Book Awards 2012

Latest update 'The winners of the Blue Peter Book of the Year and the Best Children’s Book of the Last 10 Years have been announced'
The nation's children have voted Diary of a Wimpy Kid by American author Jeff Kinney as Blue Peter's Best Children's Book of the Last 10 Years, beating J K Rowling's boy wizard to the top spot in a special online vote. After three weeks of voting on a shortlist of 10 iconic children's titles at bbc.co.uk/bluepeter, the comic story of hapless Greg emerged as the winner.

South London author Gareth P Jones will also be howling with excitement to learn that his werewolf mystery The Considine Curse has triumphed to win the accolade of Blue Peter Book of the Year. Over 300 school pupils between age eight and 12 from across the UK read all four shortlisted books before voting Gareth's as their favourite. Find out more about the pupils who took part, including photos and video footage

Both winners were announced and awarded their trophies on Blue Peter on 1 March (5.45pm, CBBC) in a special World Book Day edition of the programme which was broadcast live from the John Rylands library in Manchester.


Blue Peter Editor Tim Levell comments on the winners:
 'I am delighted with our two winning books. They are very different in terms of subject matter: one about school life, one about a creepy family with a secret. But they're both funny, well-observed and well-written books that do exactly what Blue Peter tries to do: treat children as grown-ups. The awards even contained a bit of a shock, with Diary of a Wimpy Kid beating hot favourite and top-seller Harry Potter. The accident-prone American upstart has snatched a bit of the boy wizard's magic.
Read the press release.

Blue Peter’s Vote for the Best Children’s Book of the Last 10 Years

  • Winner

    Diary of a Wimpy Kid

    by Jeff Kinney
    Puffin
    This book and its sequels have a fast growing fan base, which has no doubt been boosted by the recent film adaptation. Greg Heffley is a normal American kid and his diary, complete with hilarious cartoons, records a year in his life, following his relationships with his nerdy best friend Rowley, annoying brothers Roderick and Manny and long-suffering parents. This book is easy to read and laugh-out- loud funny.

Jeff Kinney comments on his Best Children's Book of the Last 10 Years win:


I'm thrilled and honestly stunned that kids in the UK voted Diary of a Wimpy Kid as the best children's book of the past 10 years. When I saw the terrific books on the Blue Peter shortlist, I thought mine didn't stand a chance. I'm so grateful to all of the Wimpy Kid fans in the UK who have supported my books.

Read an interview with Jeff Kinney

About the shortlist

The shortlist is made up of the 10 bestselling fiction books (by volume) of the last 10 years for 5- to 11-year-olds with a first publication date between January 2002 and December 2011. Only the top-selling book per individual, named author is included. (Source: Nielsen BookScan TCM Top 5000 Children's Fiction (Y2) from 200101 to 201152 filtered by CMBC Interest Level 511 years.)

Tim Levell, Editor of Blue Peter and Chair of Judges for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2012 comments:

Children care as much about books as adults do if not more so. We wanted to capture that by creating a vote to find out which book from the last ten years they love the most. This is a fantastic list: every single book on the shortlist is a corker. Normally I'm all for playground harmony, but if on this occasion there is the odd playground argument about which book is better, then bring it on!
Read the press release

Test your knowledge of the shortlisted books with our quiz

Read winning reviews of the shortlisted books from our Blue Peter Book Awards competition

Shortlist

  • Theodore Boone

    by John Grisham
    Hodder & Stoughton
    A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth.
  • Young Bond: SilverFin ─ A James Bond Adventure

    by Charlie Higson
    Puffin
    Meet Bond. James Bond. But not as you will have seen him before... James is a recently orphaned boy starting his first term at Eton.
  • Alex Rider Mission 3: Skeleton Key

    by Anthony Horowitz
    Walker Books
    Alex Rider’s back, and he’s in trouble. Real trouble.
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid

    by Jeff Kinney
    Puffin
    This book and its sequels have a fast growing fan base, which has no doubt been boosted by the recent film adaptation. Greg Heffley is a normal American kid and his diary, complete with hilarious cartoons, records a year in his life, following his relationships with his nerdy best friend Rowley, annoying brothers Roderick and Manny and long-suffering parents. This book is easy to read and laugh-out- loud funny.
  • Private Peaceful

    by Michael Morpurgo
    HarperCollins Children's Books
    Passionate, beguiling and moving, the book is also an unflinching examination of the horrors of war and the injustice surrounding the execution of soldiers by firing squad, on the – often false – grounds of desertion or cowardice.
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

    by J K Rowling
    Bloomsbury
    A gripping and electrifying novel, full of suspense, secrets, and - of course - magic.
  • Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend

    by Francesca Simon
    Illustrated by Tony Ross
    Orion Children's Books
    Henry has a chance to get his hands on FA Cup tickets, if he can be declared man of the match in a class football game.
  • The Series of Unfortunate Events: Austere Academy

    by Lemony Snicket
    Illustrated by Brett Helquist
    Egmont Books
    The unfortunate Baudelaire children have been enrolled into Prufrock Preparatory School under the safe keeping of Vice Principal Nero and his advanced computer
  • Mr Stink

    by David Walliams
    Illustrated by Quentin Blake
    HarperCollins Children's Books
    Irreverant and charming, this is a hilarious and surprisingly touching story about secrets, love and life.
  • Candyfloss

    by Jacqueline Wilson
    Illustrated by Nick Sharratt
    Random House Children's Books
    Many youngsters will relate to the story of Floss, who loves both her parents dearly and desperately wants them to get back together.

Blue Peter Book of the Year

  • Winner

    The Considine Curse

    by Gareth P Jones
    Bloomsbury
    Ever woken up to an eerie howl in the night and wondered what it was? This creepy tale about the Considine family might just have the answer

Gareth P Jones comments on his Blue Peter Best Book of the Year 2012 win:
I am beyond thrilled to have won the Blue Peter Book of the Year for The Considine Curse. Blue Peter is a national institution which I have watched since I was a child and so this is a tremendous honour. Getting a positive response to a book from just one person feels like a pat on the back, so winning a national award like this is like being whacked between the shoulder blades by an entire army... in a good way.
Read an interview with Gareth P Jones

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