Preston pupils speak of their love of reading thanks to popular book awards
"I like it when you read and think of magical things."
That's the verdict of just one of the thousands of Lancashire children taking part in this year's Fantastic Book Awards 2025.
The popular children’s book awards give Lancashire pupils the chance to pick their top five favourite books.
The acclaimed competition, run by Lancashire School Library Service, has involved more than 105,000 children since it first began almost two decades ago.
It sees children from years five and six from 140 Lancashire primary schools reading 25 books before voting for their favourites.
The children's top five favourite books will then be unveiled as winners next May at a glittering event at the University of Central Lancashire.
Pupils at Deepdale Community Primary School are enjoying taking part by reading books from the shortlist before voting for their favourite one.
They told Lancashire County Council's cabinet member for Education and Skills, County Councillor Jayne Rear all about it.
Pupil Mohammed said:
"I like when you can read and you can just think and create magical things in your head. It's really fun to draw on a piece of paper what the character can look like, and if there is no illustration, you can be even more imaginative with it."
Similarly, pupil Yusuf said:
"I actually enjoy all of the books – they are very good."
Another pupil, Binte, said:
"I used to not like reading, but when I had the opportunity of taking part in the Fantastic Book Awards, I thought, let's give it a go! Now I enjoy reading very much!"
Their teacher, Hannah Woodward, Senior Teacher for Key Stage 2, said:
"I absolutely love the Fantastic Book Awards - it really gives us the opportunity to bring new authors and get our children hooked on reading. Normally the fantastic book awards has the first in a series which means that our children carry on with the rest of the series after they have read the first book. so it's really tempting our children to read
"The children get an awful lot out of it every single year; they read at home, in class, and they converse with other children about the books. If two groups meet together, they will tell each other about the new books that they are reading, and they've really grown in confidence as readers."
CC Jayne Rear chats to Deepdale Community Primary School pupil Hafsa
County Councillor Jayne Rear said:
"It's been great to be at Deepdale School to chat with the young people taking part in the Fantastic Book Awards. The children's enthusiasm for reading really shone through - it's made me keen to read the some of the books they're reading too.
"The FBA is a brilliant way of bringing children and schools together to share ideas about books. I'm looking forward to the final event at the end of the year when the children will come together at the University of Central Lancashire to discuss the books with some of the authors and vote for a winner.
"Reading is a marvellous way for children to open up new worlds, building their imagination and making them think about things in a different way, by exposing them to different cultures and scenarios. Above all It brings new worlds to life, giving children somewhere to escape to."
Launched at Preston North End Football Club, this year's competition has involved an inspirational visit from prolific children’s author M G Leonard.
Crowned Fantastic Book Awards winner 2021 with her book, "The Highland Falcon Thief," M.G. Leonard has been writing stories since she was a little girl.
A native of Brighton, she has two sons, a dog called Nell, and a variety of exotic beetles, and she loves to write about beetles, birds and trains.
With books been translated into no less than forty languages, she’s the vice president of the insect charity Buglife and a founding author of environmental writers’ campaign group Authors4Oceans.
Aimed at fostering a love of reading for pleasure and providing opportunities for pupils aged 9 – 11 years, the Fantastic Book Awards help widen children’s reading and help them to discuss books and share their views on reading.
Deepdale Community Primary School pupil Binte describes her enjoyment of reading
County Councillor Peter Buckley, Lancashire County Council's cabinet member for Community and Cultural Services, said:
"This fantastic initiative to encourage young readers is now up and running in its 20th year. It's a wonderful way of bringing the joy of reading to life for many children in our county.
"During this time, hundreds of thousands of children and young people have been inspired and learned to enjoy reading, and these awards are an important cultural and educational experience for them.”
You can watch a video about it here: Fantastic Book Awards 📚 | Lancashire County Council (youtube.com)