Primary school children choose their favourite books for Lancashire School Library Service Book Awards 2022
A child cursed with bad luck, a 511-year-old with a dark secret and a group of friends who develop freaky powers are among the stories most loved by young readers in Lancashire.
Children across the county have cast their vote to crown the winners of The Fantastic Book Awards and the Brilliant Book Award.
The Fantastic Book Awards, organised by Lancashire County Council's School Library Service, encourages reading for pleasure among nine to 11-year-old pupils by introducing them to recently published fiction titles for primary aged children.
This year, thousands of children from 173 schools voted for their favourite stories to win the awards, with the winners announced at 10am today (Wednesday 25 May).
They are:
- The Danger Gang
by Tom Fletcher, illustrated by Shane Devries
- Life of Riley: Beginner's Luck
by Simon James Green, illustrated by Aleksei Bitskoff
- The Beast and the Bethany
by Jack Meggitt-Phillips, illustrated by Isabelle Follath
- Pests
by Emer Stamp
- Dragon Mountain
by Katie and Kevin Tsang
The winner of the Brilliant Book Award was also announced today at 2pm. The Brilliant Book Award, which is developed by Lancashire School Library Service, is designed to nurture the love of reading among six to seven-year-olds.
Schools participate in the awards and are encouraged to share recently-published titles with six to seven-year-old pupils, who vote for their favourite.
Nappy the Pirate Baby by Alan MacDonald, illustrated by Elissa Elwick, was voted the winner by hundreds of Year 2 pupils from 225 primary schools across the county.
County Councillor Peter Buckley, Lancashire County Council's Cabinet Member for Community and Cultural Services, said: "The Fantastic Book Awards and the Brilliant Book Award are a fun way to engage with our children to encourage them to read.
"Not only does it introduce our children to lots of exciting new worlds, but more importantly it will help us maintain the high levels of literacy in Lancashire.
"I'm pleased to see so many children participate in these awards this year and I hope they will continue to read lots more exciting stories before we meet again in 2023."
County Councillor Jayne Rear, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools, said: "These initiatives make reading fun and embeds reading for pleasure into formal education.
"Reading is a wonderful pastime and it's vital we do everything we can to encourage young children, as well as their families, to read for pleasure more regularly.
"Doing so will help us to maintain the high levels and standards of literacy in Lancashire, something we are fully committed to."