2010 Shortlist
Children have been reading and reviewing books all year long and these are their favourite ten!
Younger Children
- A Very Strange Creature
- Orchard Books
- 9781408301869
Monkey has found a very strange creature in the jungle. What could it be? It doesn’t have a tail for swinging, a trunk for washing, a long neck for reaching the high trees or even webbed feet for swimming. With the help of his animal friends he sets off to find out. Our young testers adored their time in the jungle amongst all the incredible animals and giggled when they discovered that the very strange creature is actually a baby. Layn Marlow’s stunning illustrations perfectly complement Ronda Armitage’s lively text.
- Crunch Munch Dinosaur Lunch!
- Little Tiger Press
- 9781845069865
Ty is the biggest and baddest of all the dinosaurs. He has a big, big mouth, big, big claws and a tiny little sister called Teri who loves him very much. When Ty goes hunting, his tiny little sister starts to become a big problem, but when Teri is in danger and needs saving her big brother comes to the rescue. This tale of the relationship between siblings was a huge success amongst our young readers who loved the fact that the ferocious dinosaur showed he had a warm heart by protecting his little sister. They were transfixed by the bold images of the dinosaur world.
- The Baby Dragon-Tamer
- Egmont Children's Books
- 9781405243360
Boom! Crash! Bang! A big, loud, snorting dragon has arrived and he’ll do anything to get the baby to hand over all his treasure. But no matter what the dragon does, the baby just giggles and smiles. In a charming twist at the end of the book the dragon discovers what the real treasure is. This fun-filled night-time tale was a definite hit with our testers who laughed when the dragon was left holding a dirty nappy. They relished the fact that despite the dragon’s bad mood the baby would only smile. An adorable picture book packed with bright, colourful pictures that quickly attracted attention.
- Bottoms Up!
- Puffin Books
- 9780141502137
The heroic toddler in this hilarious and imaginative picture book wants to protest – if animals don’t wear pants, then why should we? After all do piglets wear panties? Or puppies or bears? Do fox cubs wear boxers? No, nobody cares! The children could barely sit still they were laughing so much as they gazed at all the silly pictures of a range of different animals wearing colourful pants. With its fantastically funny illustrations and rollicking rhyme, Bottoms Up! met with a massive thumbs up from all of our little readers and their parents!
Younger Readers
- Angel Cake
- Puffin Books
- 9780141384788
Cathy Cassidy’s books are extremely popular among younger readers and this novel is no exception. Her tender story of a young girl, Anya, whose family moves from Poland to Britain in search of a better life definitely tugged at the heart- strings of our young testers. As Anya sits in a school where nobody understands her, she dreams of returning to Poland, the place she once belonged. But then Anya meets bad boy Dan and when things begin to fall apart for her, Anya realises that she’s no longer alone. Our readers were instantly engaged by this powerful story of love and friendship.
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
- Puffin Books
- 9780141324920
Greg’s dad is on a mission – to make his kid less wimpy. He’s planned lots of manly activities but Greg somehow manages to find a way out of all of them. That is, until military academy is mentioned and Greg realises that it will take something extra special to get out of that one! Jeff Kinney’s totally original and unbelievably hilarious Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is a huge hit in the USA and immediately captured the imagination of our panel through its clever comic book style and witty tales of family life. Even the most reluctant readers gave this unique book a chance – and they loved it!
- Mondays are Murder
- Walker Books
- 9781406314601
When Poppy Fields goes on an activity holiday with her friend Graham to a remote Scottish island she’s looking forward to a week of climbing, hill-walking and horse riding. But things take a turn for the worse when their instructor has a fatal abseiling accident. When Poppy finds that the rope was cut she suspects foul play, especially as more of the instructors start to have accidents. She realises that it’s up to her to investigate. Filled with action and suspense this murder mystery hooked our testers who were desperate to solve the case before the young detective.
Older Readers
- The Hunger Games
- Scholastic Children's Books
- 9781407109084
It’s the near future and a terrifying reality television show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to take part in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed. Sixteen-year-old Katniss has promised to take her sister’s place in the games but sees it as a death sentence. She has been close to death before and for her, survival is second nature, but will she manage to stay alive? Unsettling but totally gripping, our older readers were completely engrossed in this tense tale that takes readers into the creepy world of extreme reality television.
- Ausländer
- Bloomsbury Children's Books
- 9780747594192
When Peter’s parents are killed he is sent to an orphanage. During assessments by German soldiers Peter is found to be racially valuable. He has blond hair, blue eyes, an acceptably proportioned head and, most importantly, German blood. He is the perfect candidate for the Hitler Youth and the German soldiers know that someone important will want to adopt him. But Peter does not want to be a Nazi: he has begun to form his own ideas about what he is seeing and he is about to take a very dangerous risk. Powerful and provocative, this historical novel plunged readers straight into the heart of World War II.
- Love, Aubrey
- Puffin Books
- 9780141327044
Eleven-year-old Aubrey is determined to hide away and take care of herself after something terrible happens, because facing the truth is too much to bear. But with the love of her grandmother and the help of a new friend, Aubrey begins to see that even though she’s lost everything, all is not lost... This tear-jerking and uplifting novel definitely caused a stir with our older readers who immediately sympathised with the protagonist, Aubrey. Showing that in time people can start to move on after a tragedy, this fantastic book proved to be a huge success amongst our testers.
