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Curated entirely by independent bookshops, The Indie Book Awards showcase the best paperbacks to read over the summer. The awards include two categories for children’s books: Picture Book and Children’s Fiction.

Here at BooksForTopics we were delighted to see so many of our favourites among the shortlisted titles for both categories. Laugh-out-loud adventure Runaway Cone, nature-inspired Farah Loves Mangos and delightfully magical The Dinosaur Next Door are all selected in the Picture Book category, while the Children’s Fiction shortlist includes dystopian thriller Reek and atmospheric adventure Ghostlines – all five of these titles are featured in our Year Group Recommended Reads.

Congratulations to this year’s winners: Picture Book The Golden Hare and Children’s Fiction Ghostlines.

For more information about the Indie Book Awards click here, or check out the full shortlist below!

Now in their fifth year, the Spark! School Book Awards’ simple aim is to get children reading. There are five categories featured, including fact and fiction books for all ages – and children themselves vote for the winners in every category.

We are delighted to see so many of our favourites shortlisted across the categories. The Picture Fiction for Early Readers shortlist includes our EYFS Recommended Read The Camel Who Had the Hump, while former books of the month Grumpfort and Running My Own Race are featured in the 7+ Fiction and 9+ Fiction shortlists respectively.

The Information Books category includes Pets Tell Tales: Ancient Egypt and The Great Pollination Investigation, both of which are recommended in our curriculum topic booklists.

For more information about the Spark! School Book Awards click here, or check out the full shortlist below!

Awarded by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers, the Little Rebels Children’s Book Award recognises radical fiction published in the UK and aimed at children aged 0-12.

The impressive shortlist for this year’s award features titles that appear throughout our booklists, including Mayowa and the Sea of Words which is on our 2025 Summer Reads list, and Keedie, which is among our 50 Recommended Reads for Year 6. This year’s winning title is The Fights that Make Us by Sarah Hagger-Holt.

For more information about the Little Rebels Children’s Book Award click here, or check out the full 2025 shortlist below!

Awarded annually to a picturebook for young children, Oscar’s Book Prize aims to recognise the brilliant creativity of early years literature and to highlight the importance of reading with children.

Here at BooksForTopics we were delighted to see some of our favourites among this year’s six shortlisted picturebooks, including the return of a much-loved lead character in Gina Kaminski Rescues the Giant, a laugh-out-loud tale with a powerful message in Hank Goes Honk, and a recommended classroom read-aloud, There’s a Tiger on the Train. All three of these titles feature in our Books of the Year picks.

Congratulations to this year’s winner: Just the Two of Us by Polly Noakes.

For more information about Oscar’s Book Prize click here, or check out the full shortlist below!