The inaugural Inclusive Books for Children Prize, worth £30,000, has announced Too Green!, You’re So Amazing! and Meet the Maliks, Twin Detectives as the winners.
Set up last year by new charity Inclusive Books for Children, the awards aim to showcase amazing, inclusive books that children and their families will love to read. There are three award categories with £10,000 going to the winner of each category:
- Books for babies and toddlers (ages 1-3)
- Picture books for ages 3-7
- Children’s fiction for ages 5-9
Too Green!, written by Sumana Seeboruth, illustrated by Maribel Castells and published by Barefoot Books, was named winner of the Baby and Toddler category. It features an ethnically diverse family and LGBTQIA+ representation, judges said.
You’re So Amazing! by James and Lucy Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George and published by Faber & Faber was awarded Best Picture Book. It offers disabled representation, written from an Own-Voice perspective, as well as a diverse cast.
Meet the Maliks, Twin Detectives: The Cookie Culprit by Zanib Mian, illustrated by Kyan Cheng and published by Hodder Children’s Books has been given the Children’s Fiction award for its Muslim South Asian representation.
Commenting on the awards, judge and author Jeffrey Boakye said: “Being on the judging panel for the Inclusive Books for Children Awards has reminded me just how vital it is for there to be a range of voices and experiences within children’s publishing. The shortlist alone provides a powerful example of how rich children’s publishing can be once it welcomes a diverse breadth of narratives and perspectives. These books are joyous and celebratory, whilst also countering the limited perspectives that can come from dominant narratives.”
Image Credit: Inclusive Books for Children (Twitter)
