UKLA Book Award Aged 7-10

The UKLA Book Awards seek to celebrate children’s books in order to encourage teachers to increase their professional and personal knowledge of recently published high quality children’s books and promote the place of books for young people in all educational settings from nursery to key stage 4.

WINNER 2023

The light in everything

Balen, Katya ISBN: 9781526622983
Paperback / softback

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From the author of October, October, winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal 2022, comes a life-affirming story about blended families and learning to find room in your heart for new life and new love. Tom is still quiet and timid, even though his dad has been gone for nearly two years now. Zofia has a raging storm that makes her want to fight the whole world until she gets what she wants. And what she wants is for scaredy-cat Tom to get out of her life. Tom hates loud, unpredictable Zofia just as much, but he's moving into Zofia's house. Because his mum and Zofia's dad are in love... and they're having a baby. Tom and Zofia both wish the stupid baby had never happened. But then Tom's mum gets ill, and it begins to look horribly like their wish might come true... A story of learning to trust, trying to let go and diving into the unknown with hope in your heart, with a stunning cover illustrated by CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal winner Sydney Smith.

- Browns Books Synopsis

The books selected for the award will be titles that teachers can share with pupils as part of regular classroom experience, to read for pleasure in the teacher’s read aloud programme to the whole class, inspire extended response from learners (through discussion, creative interaction or understanding the wider curriculum), be the focus of study (set books, shared and guided reading) and enhance all aspects of literacy learning and literary study Selection committees and teacher judges are asked to look, first and foremost, for well-written, engaging ‘reads’ and, where appropriate, outstanding illustration and design.