A 12-title shortlist in three categories (illustrated, young readers, older readers) has been released for the 2025 Waterstones Children's Book Prize, chosen by Waterstones booksellers, the Bookseller reported. Category winners receive £2,000 (about $2,480), then vie for the overall title of Waterstones Children's Book of the Year and an extra £3,000 (about $3,720). Winners will be announced March 27. Check out the complete shortlist here.
Bea Carvalho, head of books, Waterstones said: "Sharing a love of books with young readers is the most important thing we do as booksellers, and we have been proud to celebrate the very best emerging talent in children's publishing for over 20 years with this special prize. Every year our booksellers are blown away by the ingenuity of children's writers and illustrators, and this year was no different..... Booksellers have prioritized reading for pleasure with this shortlist and we can't wait to share all 12 books with readers young and old, far and wide."