The Awesome Book Awards are wonderful because it is the children themselves who are voting for their favourite books. Being a writer is a privilege but even better is knowing that people are reading and enjoying what you are writing.
The idea of The Awesome Book Awards came about in 2015 whilst discussing ways to inspire reading amongst Prep School aged children. Throughout this year, a team of fabulously creative and supportive colleagues from Cranleigh School and Cranleigh Prep School worked on the concept and the Awesome Book Awards was born.
The Awesome Book Awards aims to champion new authors and their debut novels. New authors are often combining their writing with a full-time job whilst others are embarking on life as a full-time author. All have a story to tell and this award helps to spread their profile and readership both in schools and in the world of children’s publishing.
The Awesome Book Awards is also about celebrating young readers. The wonder of watching a child absorbed in a book is a very heart-warming sight. Children who develop an early joy of reading will have the opportunity to travel to imaginary lands, experience imaginary adventures and share a whole host of imaginary friends.
As educators, whilst it is wonderful to see pupils curled up in a corner with a book, we also know the importance reading plays in children’s development and achievement in all school subjects. Research suggests that those who read for pleasure demonstrate an intrinsic desire to engage with stories, texts and learning. We therefore need to provide them with access to the sort of books which not only chime with their interests, but hook them to enjoy from cover-to cover.
We hope that our shortlisted Awesome Books resonate with today’s generation of young readers.
