The shortlist for the 2017 Costa Children’s Book Award has been announced. The four nominated books are well worth a read, and the winner will be declared on 2 January 2018.
Last year’s winner was The Bombs That Brought Us Together, by Brian Conaghan.
Wed Wabbit, by Lissa Evans
“You’re called Fidge and you’re nearly 11. You’ve been hurled into a strange world. You have three companions: two are unbelievably weird and the third is your awful cousin Graham. You have to solve a series of nearly impossible clues. You need to deal with a cruel dictator and three thousand Wimbley Woos (yes, you read that sentence correctly). And the whole situation - the whole, entire thing - is your fault.”
Wed Wabbit is also available as an eBook on OverDrive and eAudiobook on BorrowBox.
The Explorer, by Katherine Rundell
“From his seat in the tiny aeroplane, Fred watches as the mysteries of the Amazon jungle pass by below him. He has always dreamed of becoming an explorer, of making history and of reading his name amongst the lists of great discoveries. If only he could land and look about him. As the plane crashes into the canopy, Fred is suddenly left without a choice. He and the three other children may be alive, but the jungle is a vast, untamed place. With no hope of rescue, the chance of getting home feels impossibly small. Except, it seems, someone has been there before them.”
The Island at the End of Everything, by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
“Ami lives on Culion, an island for people who have leprosy. Her mother is infected. She loves her home - but then islanders untouched by sickness are forced to leave. Ami’s desperate to return before her mother’s death. She finds a strange and fragile hope in a colony of butterflies. Can they lead her home before it’s too late?”
The Island at the End of Everything is also available as an eBook on OverDrive.
Moonrise, by Sarah Crossan
“Joe hasn’t seen his brother for ten years, and it’s for the most brutal of reasons. Ed is on death row. But now Ed’s execution date has been set, and Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with him, no matter what other people think. From one-time winner and two-time Carnegie Medal shortlisted author Sarah Crossan, this poignant, stirring, huge-hearted novel asks big questions. What value do you place on life? What can you forgive? And just how do you say goodbye?”