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WINNERS OF THE LAUGH OUT LOUD BOOK AWARDS ANNOUNCED
The winners of the Laugh Out Loud Awards (“The Lollies”), a set of awards created by Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, to celebrate the funniest children’s books, have been announced.
The award is now in its fourth successful year, reaching over 6.5m children, via Scholastic’s schools channels and remains one of the very few prizes where children’s votes alone decide the winners. The Lollies recognise and celebrate funny books, the importance of which was highlighted by the company’s Kids and Family Reading Report: UK Edition, which revealed that nearly two thirds of kids aged 6–17 chose “books that make me laugh” to read for pleasure.
The Lollies were awarded in three categories: Best Laugh Out Loud Picture Book, Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 6–8s and Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 9–13s.
The winners were selected from a shortlist drawn up by a panel of judges, which included head judge, Michael Rosen, children’s novelist, poet and former Children’s Laureate; Alison Leach, founder of Books For Topics and a primary teacher; Scott Evans, a primary school teacher and blogger; Andria Zafirakou, winner of the $1 million Global Teacher Prize 2018, as well as Kate Newport, Product Director for Scholastic Book Clubs and Book Fairs
Teachers and their classes, parents and children were then encouraged to get involved to read and discuss the books and cast their vote for their favourites in each category to determine the winning titles. Teachers were able to cast votes online on behalf of their class, and children were also able to vote via the PopJam app.
The winners were announced at an awards ceremony at the Bloomsbury Ballroom in London today, hosted by Radio 1 Chart Show host, Katie Thistleton. The audience were entertained by live performances from Julia Donaldson and friends, Michael Rosen and Capital Radio Breakfast Show hosts, Roman Kemp and Vick Hope.
The winners are:
Best Laugh Out Loud Picture Book
Ten Fat Sausages by Michelle Robinson and Tor Freeman
Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 6–8 year olds
The World’s Worst Children 3 by David Walliams and Tony Ross
Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 9–13 year olds
I Bet I Can Make You Laugh by Joshua Seigal and Tim Wesson
Head Lollies Judge, Michael Rosen, said: “Funny books are a fantastic springboard into reading for pleasure for all children that’s why the Lollies Book Awards are so important. The prize is unique in that winners are selected by children themselves, and as such holds up a mirror for what they are looking for in books and what they really want to read. The prize creates a real buzz and many talking points about humour, children and of course literacy.”
Rachel Partridge, Scholastic UK, said: “Once again we’ve been blown away by the excitement and engagement that the Lollies generate with children and teachers. We know that schools love to read and discuss the shortlisted books before casting their votes and it’s fantastic to be able to create a real moment where everyone comes together to celebrate funny books and reading for pleasure.”
