Scottish kids' book prize shortlist released
06.05.09 The Bookseller

The shortlist for the 2009 Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children's Books has been announced by Scottish Book Trust. For the first time, all nine titles will be transcribed into Braille, audio and large print simultaneously.
The move, in association with the Royal National Institute of Blind People Scotland, will mean that blind and partially sighted children will be able to judge the prize alongside other Scottish children.
The prize recognises exellence in Scottish writing and illustration for children across age categories early years (0-seven); younger readers (eight-11) and older readers (12-16). The winner will receive £3,000 and the runners-up all receive £500 each.

The Royal Mail Awards also run a book review competition; this year running a creative writing competition to encourage children to write creatively in Gaelic and Scots. This project is jointly coordinated by publisher Itchy Coo and Learning and Teaching Scotland.

The shortlists:
Early Years (0-7 years)

Manfred the Baddie by John Fardell (Quercus)
Pink! by Lynne Rickards and Margaret Chamberlain (Chicken House)
Stick Man by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (Scholastic)

Younger Readers (8-11 years)

Dino Egg by Charlie James (Bloomsbury Children's Books)
The Eleventh Orphan by Joan Lingard (Catnip Publishing)
First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts by Lari Don (Floris Books)

Older Readers (12-16 years)

Crash by J A Henderson (OUP)
Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray (Random House)
The Reckoning by James Jauncey (MacMillan)