As it's World Book Day, I thought I'd share this breaking news with you. I have to say, assumed Harry Potter would win !
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Relashio! Wimpy Kid prises the top spot from Harry Potter to be crowned the Best Children’s Book of the Last 10 Years
Werewolf thriller also claws its way to victory to be revealed as the Blue Peter Book of the Year 2012
The nation’s children have voted
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
by American author Jeff Kinney as Blue Peter’s
Best Children’s Book of the Last 10 Years, beating J K Rowling’s boy wizard to the top
spot in a special online vote.
The
comic story of hapless Greg and his quest to survive Middle School,
published in an illustrated diary format, started life online on
FunBrain.com
in 2004. The book has gone on to enjoy
phenomenal
success, both stateside and in the UK, with five additional titles now
in the series and two feature films based on the books also released.
Young
voters were asked to log on to bbc.co.uk/bluepeter to choose their
favourite book from a shortlist of ten iconic titles that included
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
and books by
former Children’s Laureates Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Morpurgo and Quentin Blake as well as comedian David Walliams.
South London author Gareth P Jones will also be howling with excitement to learn that his werewolf mystery
The Considine Curse
has triumphed to win the accolade of
Blue Peter Book of the Year.
His spooky novel, which features a shocking twist near the end, was up
against
a tale of time travel, a guide to the 2012 Olympics and a book packed
full of extreme facts. Over 300 school pupils between age eight and 12
from across the UK read the four books and voted for Gareth’s as their
favourite.
The
winners will be announced this evening (Thursday 1 March, 5.45pm, CBBC)
and receive their trophies on a special World Book Day edition of the
programme which will be broadcast live from
the John Rylands library in Manchester.
Jeff Kinney comments on his Best Children’s Book of the Last 10 Years win:
‘I'm thrilled and honestly stunned that kids in the UK voted
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
as the best children's book
of the past ten years. When I saw the terrific books on the Blue Peter
shortlist, I thought mine didn't stand a chance. I'm so grateful to all
of the Wimpy
Kid fans in the UK who have supported my books right from the
beginning. I've had the pleasure of meeting a lot of them over the past
year and I can't wait to come back to say 'thank you' for this great
honour in person!’
Gareth P Jones comments on his Blue Peter Best Book of the Year 2012 win:
‘I am beyond thrilled to have won the Blue Peter Book of the Year for
The Considine Curse. Blue Peter is a national institution which I have watched since I was a child
and so this is a tremendous
honour.
Getting a positive response to a book from just one person feels like a
pat on the back, so winning a national award like this is like being
whacked between the shoulder blades by an entire
army... in a good way.’
Blue Peter Editor Tim Levell comments on the winners:
‘I
am delighted with our two winning books. They are very different in
terms of subject matter: one about school life, one about a creepy
family
with a secret. But they're both funny, well-observed and well-written
books that do exactly what Blue Peter tries to do: treat children as
grown-ups. The awards even contained a bit of a shock, with
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
beating hot favourite and
top-seller Harry Potter. The accident-prone American upstart has
snatched a bit of the boy wizard's magic.’
The shortlist for the Best Children’s Book of the Last 10 years (in title order) was:
· Alex Rider Mission 3: Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz (Walker Books, 2002)
· Candyfloss by Jacqueline Wilson, illustrated by Nick Sharratt (Random House Children’s
Books, 2006)
· Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (Puffin, 2008)
· Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling (Bloomsbury, 2003)
· Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend by Francesca Simon, illustrated by Tony Ross (Orion
Children’s Books, 2006)
· Mr Stink by David Walliams, illustrated by Quentin Blake (HarperCollins Children’s Books,
2009)
· Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo (HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2003)
· The Series of Unfortunate Events: Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket (Egmont Books,
2002)
· Theodore Boone by John Grisham (Hodder & Stoughton, 2010)
· Young Bond: SilverFin ─ A James Bond Adventure by Charlie Higson (Puffin, 2005)
The shortlist for the Blue Peter Book of the Year 2012 was:
· Discover the Extreme World by Camilla de la Bedoyere, Clive Gifford, John Farndon,
Steve Parker, Stewart Ross and Philip Steele (Miles Kelly)
· The Official Countdown to the London 2012 Games by Simon Hart (Carlton Books)
· The Considine Curse by Gareth P Jones (Bloomsbury)
· A Year without Autumn by Liz Kessler (Orion Children’s Books)
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