Young Quills Award for Historical Fiction

This wonderful illustrated story by Martin Impey details the moving story of one family living in London during World War Two.

The story is told from the perspective of the two children in the family and explains what life was like before the war and then what happens once the war starts. There are specific details included in the book, for example, the exact time the war was announced, what rationing was and what happened during an air raid.

The atmospheric watercolour illustrations complement the story superbly, and put visual storytelling at the centre of the reading experience. The wartime mood set by the nostalgic colour palette combined with the snippets of archived material like letters and broadcasts begin to bring alive a historian’s sense of recreating details of the war from an ageing generation’s living memory and recorded material – an important aspect of historical understanding to grasp for today’s younger readers who are more familiar with the ease of video footage and livestream accounts of news events.

This beautiful and moving book is well researched and rich with detail, making it an excellent addition to any classroom.

Michael Morpurgo does it again with this heartwarming and sometimes teary tale inspired by the extraordinary true story of the French Drummer Boy of Waterloo.

A story of friendship, courage and battles. Cobweb is a puppy in 1815, the story journeys through his life and the adventures it takes him on.

King Alfred ruled over the West Saxons from his base in the city of Winchester. He travelled widely across his kingdom, taking his court with him. But despite his great responsibilities, he made time to learn another language – Latin. Why? So he could read the many books written (all of them in Latin) about far-flung places and add his own stories from England and Northern Europe to them.

One day, a traveller came to his court with a tale to tell. He told a tale of an epic journey to a distant land where the head of the community had just died. His body was stored in a coffin of ice whilst his people paid their respects and his money was shared, before being ceremoniously burned. The traveller then travelled back to England, taking his story with him.

This is a beautiful and vivid retelling of a real account recorded on behalf of King Alfred. Chris Riddell’s illustrations are stunningly atmospheric and bring to life an ancient tale. A great book to share with a class, especially when studying Saxon times.

Tom Palmer creates a compelling historical story set in the Fells of the Lake District during World War II.

Dealing with issues such as PTSD and desertion, this book could have been a very difficult read, and yet it never strays into that. Almost instantly, the reader cares about Tarn, the main character and what life was like in the North during the War. The story also captures the hardships of farming communities as well as the suspicions and fears of the time.

Palmer always researches his stories meticulously, and this shows. Barrington Stoke books might be an accessible read, but this is not less of a story or indeed less of anything. The simplicity of the text makes it all the more impressive that this story is a compelling and interesting read that is hard to put down.

It is a book full of kindness and shows village life in the past clearly for us city dwellers. Above all, it is a book about humanity and what it means to be part of a war and a village.

A moving and heartfelt story about the relationship between an orphan and a pit pony in 1950s Yorkshire.

Reminiscent of classics like Black Beauty and Goodnight Mr Tom, Birdie is both a heart-warming animal story and a powerful exploration of belonging and bravery. A must-read for young readers, teachers and anyone who cherishes stories about finding hope in the face of adversity. Timeless, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting, Birdie is destined to become a classic.

This book takes on a classic period and story from history and gives it a different point of view. The tale is told from the view point of child servants at the court of queen Mary. The story builds tension from the first page and doesn’t stop until it’s done. With, threats of plots and treason, religious and political divides, superstition and witchcraft, wealth and poverty explored throughout the book has enough to keep a history lover going.

This latest historical fiction from Tony Bradman has all the elements of a traditional historical adventure story, with a thoughtful and courageous hero who’s out to prove himself navigating the Roman world and who’s naturally skilled in a classic sword fight. The story is exciting, tightly plotted, and grounded in enough research for the setting to be thoroughly convincing.

Lucius is eager to be adopted by his new stepfather and to make his way in Rome, but instead finds himself packed off to Londinium, where he discovers a ruthless assassin on his tail. To escape, he joins the Roman army under a false name. His bravery and loyalty quickly earn him recognition from his commanders, but the more he gains success, the more he wishes he could reclaim his true identity. As danger looms on the northern border, Lucius’s position becomes more precarious and secrets from his past threaten to resurface and destroy everything he has fought for.

While not especially complex, the narrative is pacy and well-written, with great chapter headings that read like newspaper headlines. It would make an excellent page-turning read-aloud or ‘read for pleasure’ recommendation in any class studying Roman Britain at Key Stage 2.

A wonderful story of mystery and adventure, which also sheds light on the incredible achievements of the World War Two codebreakers based out of Bletchley Park – a historically important story, which is rarely told in children’s literature.

The story is based around 14-year-old Lizzie Novis, who is on a mission to discover what happened to her mother Willa, whom Lizzie has been told died during a Nazi attack on Poland. But Lizzie is suspicious, and she pledges to uncover the truth. Her journey begins with her successfully plotting an escape from her guardian, who is supposed to be taking her to America to stay with her Gran. Lizzie tries to enlist the help of her brother Jakob, but he is an unwilling accomplice preoccupied with his own secret mission – Jakob has been recruited to Bletchley Park, a world in which Lizzie suddenly finds herself.

The protagonist Lizzie is a high-spirited, passionate, stubborn character who speaks her mind – her antics are brave, endearing and often amusing. Going on this journey with quick-thinking, smart, and surprising Lizzie was an adventure from start to finish. A great adventure story, with historical importance for ages 10-14.

There is a wealth of WW2-inspired fiction for KS2 readers and it was refreshing to have a story that is set in a different country than those often written about – in this case Norway.

I really enjoyed the opening to the story, which sets the scene of young Georgy listening to his Grandmother and Grand-Aunt retelling the story of what happened: this makes the reader feel like they are part of the story, listening to Tove and Liva recall what life was like during that time.

The dual narrative throughout the main story offers a chance for children to gain more insight into the two main characters and their emotions, motives and thoughts. This is also what would potentially make it more challenging for LKS2 or less confident readers.

The story also spans the majority of WW2, allowing children to experience a narrative in which characters grow and change throughout.