2020 Shortlist!

Have you seen our announcements on Twitter? It's time to take a look at the amazing books on the 2020 Surrey Libraries Children's Book Award shortlist!

So, let's dive straight in! In no particular order...

Picklewitch and Jack written by Claire Barker, illustrated by Teemu Juhani!
'Picklewitch lives in a tree at the bottom of the garden. She has a nose for naughtiness, a mind for mischief, and a weakness for cake. And unluckily for brainbox and all-round-goody-two-shoes Jack (who's just moved in) - she's about to choose him as her new best friend...'

Hotel Flamingo written and illustrated by Alex Milway!

'When young Anna inherits a dilapidated once-grand hotel from her Great Aunt Mathilde, she's determined to restore it to its former glory. But this is no ordinary hotel - all of her staff and guests are animals!'

The Night of the Living Ted written by Barry Hutchison, illustrated by Lee Cosgrove!

'The Create-a-Ted Laboratory is offering free Halloween Bears! What could possibly go wrong? Vernon and his step-sister Lisa Marie are about to find out…'

Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Curse! written and illustrated by Sam Hearn!

'Welcome to Baker Street Academy, where there's always a mystery to be solved! Luckily Sherlock Holmes is on the case, with his friends John Watson and Martha Hudson.'

The Boy Who Lived With Dragons written by Andy Shepherd, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie!

'Tomas has a secret - a big secret. He has his own tiny dragon, Flicker! A dragon which grew on a very special tree at the bottom of his grandad's garden. And not only that - his friends Ted, Kai and Kat have dragons too, all grown on the same dragonfruit tree...'

We're excited to get reading - which one will you be reading first? Let us know!

Happy reading, everyone!

Coming soon...

It's the 2020 Surrey Libraries' Children's Book Award!

We can't wait to share the new shortlist with you, so don't forget to check back here on Tuesday 19th November for the announcement!

You can also keep your eyes peeled for our announcements on our Twitter, @SurreyLibraries!

Happy reading, everyone - see you soon!

And the winner is...

'Ask Oscar' by Alan MacDonald!

Congratulations, Alan (and Oscar!)

It was wonderful to see everyone who joined us at the ceremony in Dorking Halls - we had a great day, and we hope you did too!

 Thank you all for taking part in the Surrey Libraries Children's Book Award 2019, it has been truly fabulous to hear about everyone's experiences, and we hope you'll join us again next year!

Spectacular Sweets from Ottershaw Primary School!

Have a look at some of the great sweet inventions that the students of Ottershaw Primary School came up with based on the chocolate factory in David O'Connell's book 'The Chocolate Factory Ghost'!

Chatterbooks at Haslemere Library have finished reading Song of the Dolphin Boy by Elizabeth Laird and Noah Scape Can't Stop Repeating Himself by Guy Bass. We have now read all five books and thoroughly enjoyed all of them.  Now to vote!

Dogs and Dirt with Alan MacDonald at Shawley and Nutfield Primary Schools!

Everyone at Shawley and Nutfield Primary Schools had a great time when Alan Macdonald came to visit! We heard all about the mischief of Dirty Bertie, as well as the amazing talking dog, Oscar! Alan even taught us how to draw Dirty Bertie! Check out the attempts by two of our working group!

Getting Punny with Guy Bass at The Hermitage and The Grove Primary Schools!

Guy Bass gave a hilarious talk to the students of The Hermitage and The Grove Primary Schools! Everyone enjoyed hearing about how Guy decided he wanted to write children's books, and we loved the reading from Guy's newest book - Laura Norder: Sheriff of Butts Canyon!

Drawing Dinos with Tony De Saulles at St Joseph's and Boxgrove Primary Schools!

Check out some of the amazing drawings by the students of St Joseph's and Boxgrove Primary Schools from their sessions with Tony De Saulles!

Reigate library Chatterbooks have just enjoyed reading Song of the Dolphin Boy by Elizabeth Laird, we talked about helping to look after our world and played a board game about having an environmentally friendly packed lunch

Reigate library Chatterbooks have just finished reading The Chocolate Factory Ghost by David O'Connell, we completed lots of work sheets and then played The Chocolate Game.....just throw a six and start eating !!!!

Chatterbooks at Haslemere Library have just enjoyed reading Bee Boy Clash of the Killer Queens by Tony De Saulles and Ask Oscar by Alan MacDonald. Below are our own guidelines on how to look after a dog, an illustration of a beehive and a poster of a demolition robot.

Chatterbooks at Haslemere Library has really enjoyed reading 'The Chocolate Factory Ghost ' by David O'Connell.  We are having fun designing our own treasure hunt.

Welcome to the 2019 Children's Book Award!

Happy new year everyone! Welcome to the 2019 Surrey Libraries Children's Book Award!

Introducing our wonderful team from left to right: Jenny Booth, Deborah Warwick, Jenny Gordon, Lorna Dicken, Owen Dixon, Carol Hales, Jayne Mairs, Isobel Blackley, and June Hughes!

We're so excited for you all to get stuck in with the books we've chosen this year, so let's hear a bit about what our team thinks of them!


Noah Scape Can't Stop Repeating Himself by Guy Bass

• "Made me laugh with all the trouble he caused at school!"
• "This story shows that you should be careful what you wish for - and helps with Maths as well!"
• "I love how she [the dinner lady] links her outlook on life with the availability of spaghetti and meatballs!"

Bee Boy: Clash of the Killer Queens by Tony De Saulles

• "A fascinating and quirky view of the life of bees from the inside!"
• "Really interesting as it had funny parts in it but was also quite informative about bees."
• "Melvin faces a lot of opposition to his bee-keeping, mostly due to people being misinformed or unaware of the facts!"

Song of the Dolphin Boy by Elizabeth Laird

• "Makes you reflect on how we value the animals in our world!"
• "A touching adventure story that skillfully combines Scottish folklore and current ecological concerns."
• "This book is full of things to think about, from the pollution of the oceans by plastic to ways of dealing with (not always positive) emotions."

Ask Oscar by Alan McDonald

• "I admire Dad's optimism about the possible success of his inventions - even when it is clear no one else shares his faith in them!"
• "A talking dog, a Poopomatic machine, a dastardly villain and a visit by the Queen - great fun!"
• "The tale of a talking dog! Well what's not to love about that!"

The Chocolate Factory Ghost by David O'Connell

• "Action packed quest adventure story with loads of twists and spooky turns!"
• "Reminded me of the mystery stories I used to read when I was a child!"
• "This is a great book if you like puzzles and following clues!"