London, UK, 8 May 2024: The winner of this year’s Oscar’s Book Prize was revealed at a star-studded awards ceremony in central London yesterday evening. The Prize, which is supported by Amazon and the Evening Standard, chose When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth by Sean Taylor (author) and Zehra Hicks (illustrator) as the winner. The beautifully illustrated book topped the shortlist of five magical stories to take home the £10,000 literary prize.
When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth (Frances Lincoln Children's Books) is a fun tale about the intrepid journey of a little dinosaur named Smallasaurus, who simply wants to enjoy her plant-based diet in peace, but goes on a big adventure along the way. This witty and vibrant children’s book brings the prehistoric period into the present day, complete with dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes. Upon winning, Sean Taylor said:“I am still in shock, but I am over the moon to be crowned this year’s winner, especially amongst such highly regarded children’s authors and illustrators. A huge thank you to Zehra for bringing the magic of storytelling to life with her stunning illustrations. I am incredibly proud and fond of the characters created in this book, and like Smallasaurus, I hope young audiences reading this will feel inspired to embark on their own journey to learn about the big, wide world…hopefully without any unexpected dinosaurs along the way!”
Illustrator Zehra Hicks said: “It was a delight to work with Sean on this captivating story and I had a lot of fun exploring the characters - it’s not every day you get to draw dinosaurs of all shapes, sizes and colours! I have always had a passion for illustrating and seeing the joy picture books bring to children and parents alike, it is an incredible feeling. I am thrilled for Sean on this win, and of course for Smallasaurus.”
This year’s shortlist for the Prize included Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf by Craig Barr-Green and Francis Martin (Little Tiger), Geoffrey Gets The Jitters by Nadia Shireen (Puffin), Gigantic by Bob Biddulph (HarperCollins Children's Books) and The Hare-Shaped Hole by John Dougherty and Thomas Docherty (Frances Lincoln Children's Books). The 2024 judging panel joined the award ceremony held at The Ivy, West Street in central London, including Zoey Dixon, Librarian of the Year 2020 and The Bookseller Rising Star 2020, children’s author, Oscar’s Book Prize alumnus Chris Haughton, who won the prize in 2022, Viveka Alvestrand, who co-founded the literary award in memory of her son Oscar, and Lisa de Meyer, the UK Books Country Manager at Amazon.co.uk. Prize Patron, HRH Princess Beatrice said: “INSERT IF WE CAN GET ONE”
The award, now in its eleventh year, was set up by James Ashton and Viveka Alvestrand - named in memory of their son Oscar, who was three-and-a-half when he died from an undiagnosed heart condition - and celebrates the joy and magic picture books can bring to young children. In a new development for the Prize, 2024 sees the launch of Oscar’s Book Club, which aims to reach children in areas with typically low engagement with the arts.
Throughout April and May, Oscar’s Book Prize and award supporter, Amazon, will donate this year’s shortlisted books to schools and nurseries across the country via the Amazon Reading Volunteer network, who will also support on the ground with group reading sessions to inspire young children through the magic of reading.
Lisa de Meyer, Amazon UK Books Country Manager, said: “It was an incredibly difficult task to choose a winner from such a fantastic shortlist, but Smallasaurus and his big adventure really captured my heart. Both humorous and full of surprises, When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth truly is a memorable and page-turning picture book. The rhythmic language and colourful illustrations will make it a wonderful addition to Oscar’s Book Club, alongside the other magnificent shortlisted titles. We hope the schools up and down the country receiving these books via the Amazon Reading Volunteers enjoy them as much as us judges did!”
For more information about Oscar’s Book Prize, please visit www.oscarsbookprize.co.uk and to view the full shortlisted books alongside a wide selection of children’s books on Amazon, please visit amazon.co.uk/oscarsbookprize.
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About Oscar’s Book Prize
Oscar’s Book Prize is an annual prize for the best illustrated book for young children. It champions magical storytelling by authors and illustrators, best shared between young children and their parents.
It is awarded in memory of book-loving Oscar Ashton, who died in 2012 of an undiagnosed heart condition aged three and a half. Founded by his parents and supported by Amazon and the Evening Standard, the prize has been running since 2014.
Previous winners of the prize include:
2023: The Boy with Flowers in His Hair (Walker Books) by Jarvis
2022: Maybe… (Walker Books) by Chris Haughton
2021: The Littlest Yak (Simon & Schuster) by Lu Fraser and Kate Hindley
2020: Tad (HarperCollins) by Benji Davies
2019: How To Be a Lion (Puffin) by Ed Vere
2018: There’s a Pig Up My Nose (Egmont) by John Dougherty and Laura Hughes
2017: The Koala Who Could (Orchard Books) by Rachel Bright and Jim Field
2016: The Cow Who Climbed A Tree (Macmillan Children’s Books) by Gemma Merino
2015: The Queen’s Hat (Hodder Children’s Books) by Steve Antony
2014: The Storm Whale (Simon & Schuster) by Benji Davies
For news and all other information please visit www.oscarsbookprize.co.uk, follow @oscarsbookprize on Instagram or Twitter, or find Oscar’s Book Prize on Facebook.
About Amazon.co.uk
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalised recommendations, Prime, Fulfilment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.co.uk/about and follow @AmazonNewsUK.
Amazon’s support of Oscar’s Book Prize forms part of Amazon in the Community, the company’s programme which supports communities across the UK, with a focus on the areas where Amazon operates. Community donations and employee volunteering are just two of the ways Amazon supports the communities in and around its operating locations across the UK. Amazon provides students, teachers and parents with free computer science and STEM education programmes through Amazon Future Engineer and has teamed up with charity partner Magic Breakfast to deliver more than seven million healthy breakfasts to children at risk of hunger in disadvantaged areas of the country. In 2023, Amazon partnered with Comic Relief to become the official home of the Red Nose. Amazon employees across the UK hosted fundraising activities and together with their customers and partners, raised £2.7 million to support those going through the toughest time of their lives. Learn more about the ways Amazon supports its communities.
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About the Evening Standard
The Evening Standard is the only quality free daily newspaper in the UK. An iconic London brand, the Standard’s paper, website and apps keep the capital up-to-date on the latest news, business, sport, features and entertainment. The Evening Standard is famous for its campaigning to improve life in the capital. Campaigns have included the Dispossessed Campaign, which raised over £14 million to tackle poverty and inequality and Get London Reading, a campaign to raise literacy levels for children in the capital.