Nestlé Smarties Book Prize
The Nestlé Children's Book Prize, and Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for a time, was a set of annual awards for British children's books that ran from 1985 to 2007. It was administered by BookTrust, an independent charity that promotes books and reading in the United Kingdom, and sponsored by Nestlé, the manufacturer of Smarties candy. It was one of the most respected and prestigious prizes for children's literature.[1][2][3]
There were three award categories defined by audience ages 0 to 5 years, 6 to 8 years, and 9 to 11 years (introduced in 1987 after two years with no single prize).[1] Silver and bronze runners-up in each category were introduced in 1996 and designation of one overall winner was abandoned at the same time.
Eligible books were written by UK citizens and residents and published during the preceding year (not precisely the calendar year). The shortlists were selected by a panel of adult judges, finally chaired by Julia Eccleshare, children's books editor for The Guardian. First, second, and third places were determined by British schoolchildren—at least finally, by vote of "selected school classes"[2]
The prize was discontinued in 2008 by what was described as a "mutual" decision from BookTrust and Nestlé, with "no hostility".[2] Explaining their reasons for this decision, BookTrust stated it had "been reviewing the organisation's priorities and how prizes and awards fit in with its strategic objectives", while Nestlé was "increasingly moving its community support towards the company strategy of nutrition, health and wellness."[4] Additionally, they said that it was a "natural time to conclude"[2] and that they were "confident that increased importance has been placed on children's books."[4]
Winners
There were 65 winning books in 23 years[1] and 72 silver or bronze runners-up in the last twelve years.
1980s
Year | Category | Author | Title | Publisher | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Overall | Jill Paton Walsh | Gaffer Samson's Luck | Kestrel | [5] |
1986 | Overall | Jenny Nimmo | The Snow Spider | Methuen | |
1987 | Overall | James Berry | A Thief in the Village | Hamish Hamilton | |
9–11 years | James Berry | A Thief in the Village | Hamish Hamilton | ||
6–8 years | Benedict Blathwayt | Tangle and the Firesticks | Julia MacRae | ||
0–5 years | Peter Collington | The Angel and the Soldier Boy | Methuen | ||
1988 | Overall | Martin Waddell, illus. by Barbara Firth | Can't You Sleep Little Bear? | Walker Books | |
6–8 years | Susan Hill | Can it be True? | Hamish Hamilton | ||
0–5 years | Martin Waddell, illus. by Barbara Firth | Can't You Sleep Little Bear? | Walker Books | ||
1989 | Overall | Michael Rosen, illus. by Helen Oxenbury | We're Going on a Bear Hunt | Walker Books | |
9–11 years | Robert Westall | Blitzcat | Macmillan | [6] | |
6–8 years | Anne Fine, illus. by Philippe Dupasquier | Bill's New Frock | Methuen | ||
0–5 years | Michael Rosen, illus. by Helen Oxenbury | We're Going on a Bear Hunt | Walker Books |
1990s
Beginning in 1996, the awards included silver and bronze winners rather than a single overall winner.
Year | Category | Author | Title | Publisher | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | Overall | Pauline Fisk | Midnight Blue | Lion | Winner | [7] |
0–5 years | Inga Moore | Six-Dinner Sid | Simon & Schuster | Winner | ||
6–8 years | Roald Dahl, illus. by Quentin Blake | Esio Trot | Jonathan Cape | Winner | ||
9–11 years | Pauline Fisk | Midnight Blue | Lion | Winner | ||
1991 | Overall | Martin Waddell and Helen Oxenbury | Farmer Duck | Walker Books | Winner | |
0–5 years | Martin Waddell and Helen Oxenbury | Farmer Duck | Walker Books | Winner | ||
6–8 years | Magdalen Nabb | Josie Smith and Eileen | Collins | Winner | [8] | |
9–11 years | Philip Ridley | Krindlekrax | Jonathan Cape | Winner | ||
1992 | Overall | Gillian Cross | The Great Elephant Chase | Oxford University Press | Winner | |
0–5 years | Hilda Offen | Nice Work, Little Wolf | Hamish Hamilton | Winner | ||
6–8 years | Jane Ray | The Story of the Creation | Orchard Books | Winner | ||
9–11 years | Gillian Cross | The Great Elephant Chase | Oxford University Press | Winner | ||
1993 | Overall | Michael Foreman | War Game | Pavilion | Winner | |
0–5 years | Rita Phillips Mitchell | Hue Boy | Gollancz | Winner | ||
6–8 years | Michael Foreman | War Game | Pavilion | Winner | ||
9–11 years | Maeve Henry | Listen to the Dark | Heinemann | Winner | ||
1994 | Overall | Hilary McKay | The Exiles at Home | Gollancz | Winner | |
0–5 years | Trish Cooke, illus. by Helen Oxenbury | So Much | Walker Books | Winner | ||
6–8 years | Henrietta Branford, illus. by Lesley Harker | Dimanche Diller | Young Lions | Winner | ||
9–11 years | Hilary McKay | The Exiles at Home | Gollancz | Winner | ||
1995 | Overall | Jacqueline Wilson | Double Act | Doubleday | Winner | |
0–5 years | Jill Murphy | The Last Noo-Noo | Walker Books | Winner | ||
6–8 years | Jill Paton Walsh | Thomas and the Tinners | Macdonald Young Books | Winner | ||
9–11 years | Lesley Howarth | Weather Eye | Penguin | Winner | ||
Jacqueline Wilson | Double Act | Doubleday | Winner | |||
1996 | 0–5 years | Colin McNaughton | Oops! | Andersen Press | Gold | |
Mick Manning and Brita Granström | The World is Full of Babies | Watts Books | Silver | |||
Quentin Blake | Clown | Jonathan Cape | Bronze | |||
6–8 years | Michael Morpurgo, illus. by Christian Birmingham | The Butterfly Lion | Collins Children's Books | Gold | [9] | |
Lynne Reid Banks, illus. by Tony Ross | Harry the Poisonous Centipede | Collins Children's Books | Silver | |||
Dick King-Smith, illus. by John Eastwood | All Because of Jackson | Doubleday | Bronze | |||
9–11 years | Philip Pullman, illus. by Nick Harris | The Firework-Maker's Daughter | Corgi Yearling | Gold | ||
Terry Pratchett | Johnny and the Bomb | Doubleday | Silver | |||
Geraldine McCaughrean | Plundering Paradise | Oxford University Press | Bronze | |||
1997 | 0–5 years | Charlotte Voake | Ginger | Walker Books | Gold | |
Simon James | Leon and Bob | Walker Books | Silver | |||
Valerie Bloom, illus. by David Axtell | Fruits | Macmillan | Bronze | |||
6–8 years | Jenny Nimmo, illus. by Anthony Lewis | The Owl Tree | Walker Books | Gold | ||
Michael Foreman | The Little Reindeer | Andersen Press | Silver | |||
John Agard, illus. by Satoshi Kitamura | We Animals Would Like a Word With You | Bodley Head | Bronze | |||
9–11 years | J. K. Rowling | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Bloomsbury Publishing | Gold | [10][11] | |
Philip Pullman | Clockwork or All Wound Up | Corgi Yearling | Silver | |||
Henrietta Branford | Fire, Bed, and Bone | Walker Books | Bronze | |||
1998 | 0–5 years | Sue Heap | Cowboy Baby | Walker Books | Gold | |
Jane Simmons | Come On Daisy | Orchard Books | Silver | |||
Margaret Nash | Secret in the Mist | David & Charles | Bronze | |||
6–8 years | Harry Horse | Last of the Gold Diggers | Puffin Books | Gold | ||
Keith Gray | The Runner | Mammoth Books | Silver | |||
Quentin Blake | The Green Ship | Jonathan Cape | Bronze | |||
9–11 years | J. K. Rowling | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Bloomsbury Publishing | Gold | [10][11] | |
Andrew Norriss | Aquila | Puffin Books | Silver | |||
Dick King-Smith | The Crowstarver | Doubleday | Bronze | |||
1999 | 0–5 years | Julia Donaldson, illus. by Axel Scheffler | The Gruffalo | Macmillan | Gold | [11][12] |
Bob Graham | Buffy - An Adventure Story | Walker Books | Silver | [11] | ||
Lydia Monks | I Wish I Were a Dog | Methuen | Bronze | [11] | ||
6–8 years | Laurence Anholt, illus. by Arthur Robins | Snow White and the Seven Aliens | Orchard Books | Gold | [11] | |
Emily Smith, illus. by Tim Archbold | Astrid, the Au Pair from Outer Space | Corgi | Silver | [11] | ||
Lauren Child | Clarice Bean That's Me | Orchard Books | Bronze | [11][13][14] | ||
9–11 years | J. K. Rowling | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Bloomsbury Publishing | Gold | [11] | |
David Almond | Kit's Wilderness | Hodder Children's Books | Silver | [11] | ||
Louise Rennison | Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging | Piccadilly Press | Bronze | [11] |
2000s
See also
Notes
- The Children Special Award winners were selected by after school clubs.
References
- "Nestlé Children's Book Prize 2007". BookTrust. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2018. Display of the ultimate 2007 winners with contemporary links; general information; complete list of winners (gold and overall).
- Pauli, Michelle (23 January 2008). "Nestlé book prize put to bed for last time". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 27 January 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
- "Fantasy novel wins children's votes". BBC News. 5 December 2002. Archived from the original on 25 April 2003. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
-
"Nestlé and Booktrust have agreed to end the Nestlé Children's Book Prize after 23 years of partnership". BookTrust. Archived from the original on 28 February 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
Version archived 2008-02-01. BookTrust Children's Books . Retrieved 2014-07-03. - "Nestlé Children's Book Prize 2007". Book Trust. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- Agnew, Kate; Fox, Geoff (2004). Children at war from the First World War to the Gulf. New York: Continuum. pp. 105–106. ISBN 0-8264-7759-3.
- Eccleshare, Julia (26 February 2015). "Pauline Fisk obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- Stones, Rosemary (27 August 2007). "Magdalen Nabb". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- "Michael Morpurgo". The Guardian. 22 July 2008. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- Eccleshare, Julia (11 January 1999). "Letter from London". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- Eccleshare, Julia (3 January 2000). "PW: Letter From London". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- Sharp, Rob (26 November 2006). "Gruffalo, the monster we all love". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- Armitstead, Claire (9 June 2017). "Children's laureate Lauren Child on her new role, motherhood and creativity". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- Eccleshare, Julia (8 June 2017). "Lauren Child Named U.K. Children's Laureate". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- Roberts, Neil (2 October 2022). "Tony Mitton obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- Eccleshare, Julia (7 January 2002). "In the Winners' Circle". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- "Fantasy novel wins children's votes". BBC News. 5 December 2002. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- Pauli, Michelle (3 December 2003). "Debut wins Smarties gold medal". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- Pauli, Michelle (8 December 2004). "Magic triumphs at Smarties prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- Pichon, Liz (9 November 2011). "Liz Pichon's top 10 funny books with pictures". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- Pauli, Michelle (14 December 2005). "Dyslexic writer savours Nestle victory". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- Ferguson, Donna (9 October 2022). "Oliver Jeffers grew up in Belfast hating violence. Now he wants children to see how futile it is". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- Tanner, Nick (13 December 2006). "Former diplomat's sparkling debut wins Nestle prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- Pauli, Michelle (10 February 2010). "Great Hamster Massacre wins Waterstone's children's books prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2023.