Ages 7-9: Fiction
Shortlist
The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. by Jen Carney
A Dinosaur Ate My Sister by Pooja Puri and Allen Fatimaharan
Grimwood by Nadia Shireen
The Last Bear by Hannah Gold and Levi Pinfold
12 Books of Christmas longlist
Day 1: A Dinosaur Ate My Sister by Pooja Puri and Allen Fatimaharan
Day 2: The Long-Lost Secret Diary of the World's Worst Engineers by Tim Collins and Isobel Lundie
Day 3: Will Jakeman's Marvellous Mechanimals by Nick Ward
Day 4: Freddy vs School by Neill Cameron
Day 5: Horror Heights - The Slime by Bec Hill
Day 6: The Great (Food) Bank Heist by Onjali Q Rauf and Elisa Paganelli
Day 7: Anisha, Accidental Detective - Granny Trouble by Serena Patel and Emma McCann
Day 8: Sona Sharma - Looking After Planet Earth by Chitra Soundar and Jen Khatun
Day 9: Grimwood by Nadia Shireen
Day 10: The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. by Jen Carney
Day 11: The House at the Edge of Magic by Amy Sparkes
Day 12: The Last Bear by Hannah Gold and Levi Pinfold
Panel members
Scott Griffin, Barnes Primary School (panel chair)
Scott has taught at Barnes Primary School since 2007. At the moment, he leads Lower KS2 and has recently been appointed to the role of English Lead. Having worked there for quite a while, Scott regularly see the effect a well-chosen text can have on young minds. Children's literature inspires creativity, develops emotional intelligence and helps children to understand the world they live in. He is so excited to be part of this award and can't wait to immerse himself in lots more high quality children's literature.
Gavin McQueen, Richmond Library Service
Gavin is a Librarian on the Children and Communities Team in Richmond upon Thames Libraries, where he is responsible for buying the stock for children and teenagers. He has been a Children’s Librarian for over twenty years and was a Primary Teacher for 12 years prior to that. He is really looking forward to hearing more about what children really want when they are looking for a good book.
Iain Davis, Castle Hill Primary School
Iain is a deputy headteacher who has worked in London schools for 12 years. He loves reading aloud to classes with ‘Varjak Paw’ and ‘The Last Wild’ being two favourites.
Mary Villar, Grand Avenue Primary and Nursery School
Mary is a Year 3 teacher at Grand Avenue Primary School in Surbiton. She thoroughly enjoyed engaging with the Spark! Book Awards last year - the children at her school loved being able to read diverse texts and enjoyed interacting with some of the authors of the shortlisted texts. She is happy to be taking a more active role this year as part of the 7-9 Fiction panel!
Rachael Macklearn, Bishop Perrin Church of England Primary School
Rachael is the Deputy Headteacher at Bishop Perrin CoE Primary School in Whitton. She has always loved to read and discover new books, so she is delighted to be involved in this exciting project that opens up a world of new books to children who also love reading, while perhaps discovering and encouraging some new avid readers along the way.
Last year's winner and runners up
You can find the four books we shortlisted last year below. For all other categories try our past winners page.
2020-21: Winner
2020-21: Runner up
2020-21: Runner up
2020-21: Runner up