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Blue Peter Book Awards 2021


The winners of the 2021 Blue Peter Book Awards have been announced …


Congratulations to Elle McNicoll, A Kind of Spark (Knights Of) and Mike Barfield, illus. Jess Bradley, A Day in the Life of a Poo, a Gnu, and You (Buster Books)!


Ahead of the big day Armadillo reviewer Jackie Spink asked the shortlisted authors and illustrators a few questions, beginning with The Best Story Award books –

Elle McNicoll, A Kind of Spark (Knights Of) - - Simon James Green, illus. Aleksei Bitskoff, Life of Riley: Beginners Luck (Scholastic) - - Serena Patel, illus. Emma McCann, Anisha Accidental Detective: School’s Cancelled (Usborne)



How would you sum up your book in one or two sentences?


Elle Eleven-year-old Addie takes on her village council to campaign for a memorial to be made in honour of the many "witches" that were hunted in the community centuries ago. A funny, touching and quirky story of sisterhood, friendship and fighting for what's right.


Simon When 10-year-old Riley gets cursed at a funfair, his life becomes one disaster after another. Can he find a way to break the curse, before new kid Brad Chicago discovers the awful truth and doesn’t want to be his friend anymore?


Serena A story centred around family and friendship with a lot of mystery and mayhem thrown in for good measure.



All three books in the Best Story category have very vivid and engaging main characters. For readers who haven’t yet managed to read your book, what should we know about the main character?


Elle Addie is very in touch with her inner voice. She likes everyone. But she doesn't let anyone push her around or say anything about her family. She's loyal and compassionate and driven by a very fixed moral compass. She loves sharks and learning about history. And she's autistic.


Simon Riley’s a lovable underdog, and when we first meet him he’s having a pretty rough time. His best friend has just moved away, he’s been cursed, and he even messes up his part in the school show, which was really important to him. Riley is very dramatic, so he tends to make a tiny mishap into a total catastrophe, but he’s about to find out that having a good friend by your side can turn a bad day into a brilliant one… and that curses aren’t real. Are they?!


Serena Anisha is a very clever, observant, kind and determined person. She will always stand up for what is right and her family and friends are very important to her even if they do annoy her sometimes!



Could you tell us about the moment you realised your book had made the shortlist?


Elle I burst into tears. Knowing that the Blue Peter Book Award will be judged by lots of children is one of the best parts about being nominated. The intended readers will decide the winner and I think that's fantastic. I cried when I heard I was one of the three shortlisted, and I'm so thrilled to be alongside Serena and Simon.

(We should just mention that March is a particularly BIG month for Elle whose next book, Show Us Who You Are, is to be published.)


Simon I was busy writing a new book when an email from Harriet, my publicist, pinged through on my laptop. I read it, stared at it for about five minutes, and then I think I screamed and ran around the house - being as dramatic as Riley would be! Honestly though, I was so excited! It was really hard for authors launching books last year with lockdown and bookshops being closed, so being recognised for such a prestigious award made a big difference. And hey, maybe Riley isn’t so unlucky after all!


Serena I received an email from my editor with the news and I think I squealed out loud and then ran to the next room to tell my children and husband. I grew up watching Blue Peter so to have my book on the shortlist and featured on such an iconic show was a joyous exciting moment for our whole family.


Emma I got an email through from Usborne with the good news and I was like that Minion gif: WHHHAAAATTTTTT???? So there were lots of happy emails back and forth, but it didn't really hit me until I saw my illustrations animated on Blue P