Winner of Oscar's Book Prize 2016 is revealed

The hunt for the best children’s book for the under 5s published last year is over.

The winner of Oscar’s Book Prize 2016 has been awarded to author-illustrator Gemma Merino for her book The Cow Who Climbed A Tree.

The power of the story of Tina the cow with its message of how you should follow your heart and your dreams, and the book's colourful illustrations won the judging panel over.

But the winning book faced stiff competition, with four very worthy runners up; The Fox and the Star by Coralie Bickford- Smith, Hector and Hummingbird by Nicholas John Frith, Sir Lilypad by Anna Kemp and Sara Ogilvie and The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright and Jim Field. 

The £5,000 prize was awarded to Ms Merino by HRH Princess Beatrice, a judge of the prize, during a ceremony at the Institute of Directors on London’s Pall Mall, where Culture Minister Ed Vaizey also spoke.

In addition to HRH Princess Beatrice, this year's judging panel included Rebecca Nicolson, publisher and  co-founder of Short Books, Nicky Dunne, chairman of Heywood Hill Books, Rupert Thomas, marketing director of Waitrose, and Oscar’s parents, Viveka Alvestrand and Evening Standard columnist James Ashton.

Oscar’s Book Prize was set up in 2013 in memory of Oscar Ashton who died from a heart condition at the age of three and a half.

The prize seeks to find the best under-5’s children’s book published in the UK that captures a child’s imagination. It is run in association with the Evening Standard and sponsored by Waitrose. 

The Cow Who Climbed A Tree: the 2016 winner of Oscar's Book Prize

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Four of this year's nominees for Oscar's Book Prize: Anna Kemp, winner Gemma Merino, Nicholas John Frith and Rachel Bright

Shortlist for Oscar's Book Prize 2016 is revealed

The five books shortlisted for Oscar’s Book Prize 2016 have been announced.

Princess Beatrice, one of our six judges, declared herself particularly smitten by the empowered princess in Sir Lilypad, a story about a frog who goes in search of rescuing a princess, only to find that she’s doing fine on her own, thank you very much.  “This story shows that all girls can be princesses and I loved the fact the princess was wearing Converses, had her own sword and red hair,” said Princess Beatrice.

Following our dreams, learning to speak up for ourselves and putting up with the daily annoyances of our nearest and dearest all turned out to be the major themes in this year’s entries.

Together with our other judges, Rebecca Nicolson , publisher and co-founder of Short Books, Nicky Dunne, chairman of Heywood Hill Books, Rupert Thomas, marketing director of Waitrose, and Oscar’s parents, Viveka Alvestrand and Evening Standard columnist James Ashton, Princess Beatrice spent a lively hour and a half in our boardroom choosing the final five.

The atmosphere grew heated as they argued over whether a fox who loses his guiding star should give way to a bear who gets bored by a hummingbird - even though they’re best friends, and whether cows who can climb trees stand a better chance than a mouse who can roar or an undersized but heroic frog known as Little Tad.

Of the 60 books originally submitted by publishers, a longlist of 12 were chosen with help from the Eveline Day Nursery in Wimbledon, where book-loving Oscar himself, who was three-and-a-half when he died of a heart condition in December 2012, was at school.

The most important considerations in the annual hunt for the best pre-school book of the were not just the power of the story and the illustrations, but whether Oscar himself, to whom this prize is a tribute, would have enjoyed them. The winner will be announced on 23 May at the Institute of Directors, where culture minister Ed Vaizey will make a speech and Princess Beatrice will award the £5,000 Waitrose-sponsored prize.  

 To celebrate shortlist announcement, the first fifty London nurseries or primary schools to send an email to oscarsbookprize@standard.co.uk will receive a complimentary set of the five books.

The shortlist of five: 

1. SIR LILYPAD by Anne Kemp and Sara Ogilvie (Simon & Schuster): “Hugely expressive illustrations and I wish the frog wouild defend me,” Viveka Alvestrand.

2. THE LION INSIDE by Rachel Bright and Jim Field (Orchard/Hachette): “This book teaches children to be brave, I loved the heart of it,” Rupert Thomas.

3. HECTOR AND HUMMINGBIRD by Nicholas John Frith (Scholastic): “This explains that it’s OK to be annoyed by someone you love. Good for both adults and children,” Rebecca Nicolson.

4. THE COW WHO CLIMBED A TREE by Gemma Merino (MacMillan): “I loved the great splodges of colour and how Tina struck out from her snarky sisters. Great for anyone with older siblings,” James Ashton.

5. THE FOX AND THE STAR by Coralie Bickford- Smith(Particular/Penguin):”The publisher should be applauded for producing such a beautiful object with an extremely moving story,” Nicky Dunne.

Discover story-telling centre hosts a special event for Oscar's Book Prize and young readers

Tales of the Queen chasing her hat across London and a little boy rescuing a beached whale were the order of the day at Discover in Stratford, London, as the storytelling centre hosted a special event for Oscar’s Book Prize.

Benji Davies and Steve Antony, the winners of Oscar’s Book Prize to date, read from their prize-winning books The Storm Whale and The Queen’s Hat, respectively, and told the enraptured audience (and their parents) about the inspiration behind their work.

The author-illustrators also worked side-by-side in a live painting session. With the help of Discover’s story-building staff, young visitors were encouraged to provide inspiration for a wall mural. Thanks to the children’s limitless imagination, it included everything from flying corgis and an ice-cream eating octopus to a water-skiing Roman and a bag-snatching crab.

Other activities included a marathon story-telling session where the books on the longlist for this year’s Oscar’s Book Prize were read. The shortlist will be revealed later this month in anticipation of the prize winning ceremony on 23 May. 

Princess Beatrice joins the judging panel!

Princess Beatrice is joining the panel of judges for Oscar’s Book Prize 2016.

"I’m really excited to be involved as a judge for Oscar's Book Prize,” the princess said as the call for entries was announced. “I’ve always loved picture books, so I’m looking forward to having a chance to review all the brilliant entries."

The prize has also won support from culture minister Ed Vaizey, who will speak at the prize-giving ceremony in London on May 23.

“Reading is such an important part of childhood and it is crucial that we encourage youngsters to love books from an early age,” Vaizey said. “I’m very proud to support Oscar’s Book Prize, which celebrates the magical works that help introduce our children to the joy of reading.” 

The £5,000 award has two more new judges. Rebecca Nicolson, publisher and co-founder of Short Books and Nicky Dunne, chairman of Heywood Hill Books, will help choose the best book published in 2015 for children aged five and under. As in previous years, Rupert Thomas, marketing director of prize sponsor Waitrose, and Oscar’s parents, James Ashton and Viveka Alvestrand, will also sit on the panel.

Evening Standard editor Sarah Sands said: “This is our third year of running Oscar’s Book Prize and the award has become loved and valued in the book publishing trade. First reading books are the gateway to a life of possibilities and delight and I like to think of Oscar standing at that gate, waving thousands of children through.” 

UK publishers may submit up to three books per imprint by 5pm on March 18. A shortlist will be announced in April. Princess Beatrice will announce the winner at May’s prize-giving ceremony.

Children's books spread joy on cardiac ward

Entries to Oscar’s Book Prize have been donated to a London hospital that helps children with heart complaints.

Some of the books that were submitted over the last two years have been given to the Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea.

They will be enjoyed by children and parents visiting the inherited cardiovascular conditions outpatient clinic. Another batch has gone to the hospital’s Rose Ward which cares for babies and children up to the age of 16 with heart and lung problems.

Dr Sanjay Prasad, consultant in cardiology and cardiovascular magnetic resonance, said: “Coming into hospital can be a daunting experience for young children. The books are an amazing support to help our younger patients when they are seen in clinic. We are enormously grateful.”

Bethan Cowley, clinical nurse specialist in inherited cardiac conditions, added: “We are really pleased that James and Viveka chose to donate these lovely books to our clinics and wards. It is wonderful to see them being enjoyed by our patients.”

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Young patient Luis Fafian and his mother Samorn Chimkeaw read one of the books donated to the Royal Brompton Hospital during an out-patient appointment in the inherited cardiac conditions clinic