Oscar's Book Prize 2024: we have a winner!
Sean Taylor and Zehra Hicks are revealed as the 2024 winning author and illustrator of Oscar’s Book Prize for When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth!
We’re delighted to reveal that the winner of this year’s Oscar’s Book Prize is When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth by Sean Taylor and Zehra Hicks! This beautifully illustrated, wonderfully funny book topped the shortlist of five magical stories to take home the £10,000 literary prize.
The announcement was made tonight (7th May) at a star-studded awards ceremony in central London.
When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth (Frances Lincoln Children's Books) is a fun (and funny) tale about the intrepid journey of a little dinosaur named Smallasaurus, who simply wants to enjoy her plant-based diet in peace, but goes on a big adventure along the way.
Witty and vibrant, this gorgeous children’s book brings the prehistoric period into the present day, complete with dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes.
We caught up with Sean (who kindly digitally beamed in all the way from Brazil) and Zehra at the ceremony, and they had this to say:
Sean Taylor said: “I’m so sorry not to be here today, but I’m living in Brazil at the moment.
The journey back costs a lot of money and it emits a lot of carbon (and the hot air generated by acceptance speeches today is already going to give this event a high-enough carbon footprint).
But I’m honoured to receive this award. Hat raised to all on the shortlist.
Many thanks to Zehra Hicks for her zingy and zany illustrations…to all at Frances Lincoln Children’s Books…to my special agent James Catchpole….and to those who set up, organised and judged Oscar’s Book Prize. What a great way to honour a boy who loved books.
These are times of much talk about creating artificial intelligence. But we know reading books creates REAL intelligence.
So here’s to the memory of Oscar Ashton - and here’s to giving children lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of HAPPY READING!’’
Illustrator Zehra Hicks said: “It was an absolute delight to work with Sean on this story. It just jumped out at me and I knew immediately I had to work on it. The humorous storyline had me laughing through the illustration process, plus, it’s not every day you get to draw dinosaurs of all shapes, sizes and colours! I literally think I have the best job in the world! I am thrilled to have collaborated on this book, and thank you to Sean for inspiring me to bring Smallasaurus to life.’’
We would like to extend a HUGE congratulations to Sean and Zehra on this fantastic achievement! Not to mention one more look at this delightful little dinosaur…
Of course, our congratulations must also go to the other amazingly talented authors and illustrators on this year’s shortlist. Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf by Craig Barr-Green and Francis Martin (Little Tiger), Geoffrey Gets The Jitters by Nadia Shireen (Puffin), Gigantic by Bob Biddulph (HarperCollins Children's Books) and The Hare-Shaped Hole by John Dougherty and Thomas Docherty (Frances Lincoln Children's Books).
The 2024 judging panel joined the award ceremony held at The Ivy, West Street in central London. Our superstar judges were Zoey Dixon, Librarian of the Year 2020 and The Bookseller Rising Star 2020, children’s author, Oscar’s Book Prize alumnus Chris Haughton, who won the prize in 2022, Viveka Alvestrand, who co-founded the literary award in memory of her son Oscar, and Lisa de Meyer, the UK Books Country Manager at Amazon.co.uk.
Meet the Shortlist 2024: Geoffrey Gets the Jitters by Nadia Shireen (Puffin)
We can’t believe it, but it’s already time to explore our fifth and final book! And if that makes you anxious, don’t worry, because Geoffrey Gets the Jitters is a book which understands!
Written and illustrated by the incredible Nadia Shireen, and published by Puffin, Geoffrey Gets the Jitters is all about a little dog with a big problem with his worries. Please read on to find out more!
What is the book about?
Geoffrey's got the jitters! It started last night when he was thinking about school - a funny, wiggly feeling in his tummy that grew and grew. But when Geoffrey's tummy jitters started talking to him - that's when he knew they were out of control. Geoffrey had to do something...
Through a laugh-out-loud story and loveable character, Nadia Shireen shows how to understand and dispel anxieties, one jitter at a time.
What Our Judges Said:
'I really liked the practicality of this book – and it definitely puts the fun in feeling nervous’.
‘This is such a nice way of tackling this topic, and a very good way of explaining anxiety, with great humour and a really good use of absurdity.’
‘The animal characters lift the story outside of reality making this safe and accessible.'
'Loved the illustrations, and the random things, too!'
We were lucky enough that author & illustrator Nadia kindly answered some of our questions about Geoffrey - please read on to find out more about Nadia, and what she said! Thank you, Nadia!
About Nadia Shireen:
Nadia Shireen enjoyed making homemade magazines and comics as a child. She studied law at university and then worked in magazine journalism; it was during this time that she started to draw again. After a lifetime of doodling in the sidelines, Nadia decided to pay some attention to drawing and in 2007 was accepted onto an MA course in Children's Book Illustration at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. Her debut book Good Little Wolf received a mention in the Bologna Ragazzi Opera Prima Award and won the UKLA Book Award. Nadia has been shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. She lives in London.
Nadia’s Q&A:
What is the picture book that have you enjoyed reading with someone else most, and why?
I have wonderful memories of reading “Oh No, George!” by Chris Haughton to my now not-so-little-boy. It’s so simple and funny and I love how Chris packs is SO much tension and humour in such a stylish, elegant way. It’s genius!
What's your favourite thing about the character in your shortlisted book?
All my characters reflect a different part of me, and Geoffrey is no exception. I’ve always been a worrier, and as a child would get frequent “tummy aches” which were borne of anxiety. And like Geoffrey, I do enjoy wearing woolly hats.
Which picture book would you give as a gift to your main character, and why?
I think Geoffrey could do with having a laugh, so I’d give him a copy of A Duck Called Brian by Al Murphy, which is a very funny and weird little picture book.
Thank you so much, Nadia! Good luck to you, and all of our shortlist for next week’s big reveal!