Meredith Hooper’s River Story with illustrations by Bee Willey (Walker Books) has washed away the competition in the English Association journal’s award for the top key stage 1 non-fiction picture book. “You could use it in the literacy hour, or it would be an inspirational start to a project on rivers,” said Margaret Mallett of the English 4-11 Awards panel.
The key stage 2 non-fiction award went to Barbara Taylor for Crocodiles (Lorenz Books. The winner for key stage 1 fiction was Marcus Pfister for Milo and the Mysterious Island (North-South), a tale with two endings on pages illuminated with “magical stones”. Ruth Brown and Melvin Burgess took the key stage 2 fiction award for The Birdman (Andersen Press). Becoming Me: a story of creation by Martin Boroson and Christopher Gilvan-Cartwright (Frances Lincoln) received a special award for appeal across the primary age range.
