Child Friendly Warwickshire

The Chime Seekers by Ross Montgomery has won the Warwickshire Junior Book Award 2022 following a vote by Year 5 and 6 pupils in primary schools across the county. The annual Award is hosted by Warwickshire Schools Libraries Services (WSLS) with the objective of encouraging more students to enjoy reading for pleasure through school and library settings.

The Warwickshire Junior Book Award is a summer term initiative delivered in primary schools between April to July each year, with an exciting reading list carefully selected by the experienced WSLS team. The shortlist of books chosen for pupils to read this year included:

• Twitch by M. G. Leonard
• The Chime Seekers by Ross Montgomery
• The Valley of Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr
• Children of the Quicksands by Efua Traoré

To participate, Year 5 and 6 students were encouraged to read all four books from the shortlist and to vote for their favourite book as the winner, using the criteria that the book must simply be ‘a good read’.

The initiative culminated in a final award ceremony on the 12 July at Warwick School in Warwick, where students from 21 of the 26 participating primary schools attended to find out which author was pronounced the winner as voted for by their cohort. This was the first face-to-face WSLS Junior Book Award since the pandemic began, with shortlisted author Lesley Parr attending in person, three more shortlisted authors joining via video, as well as County Councillor John Holland and Warwickshire Libraries Service Manager Ayub Khan in attendance.

Cllr Andy Jenns, Portfolio Holder for Customer and Transformation, said:

“Warwickshire Schools Library Service is passionate about inspiring reading for pleasure and learning amongst students, especially after the pandemic which has impacted their lives and learning over the past few years.

“Reading for pleasure is associated with many benefits, such as increased well-being and empathy, and a reduction in symptoms of depression. It is associated with higher levels of attainment, and also encourages young people to better connect with each other by engaging in insightful discussions about the books they have read.

“Our book awards are very popular with schools and a great way to inspire continued reading for pleasure, and so the Schools Library Service staff are always on hand to support any schools that would like to discuss further enriching the education of their students.”

Warwickshire Schools Library Service organised and hosted the Junior Book Award 2022 and are grateful to have received support from Warwickshire Libraries Reading and Learning team, the shortlisted authors and publishers, and Warwick Books. They are also a friend of Child Friendly Warwickshire, which is bringing the county together in a collective effort to ensure all children and young people have a voice that is heard, that they are safe, happy and healthy and that they are equipped with skills to have the best lives they can.

WSLS services are available to support schools and education settings through a wide range of reading and curriculum resources, awards, initiatives, training and more that will engage children and young people and help foster a love for reading. To find out more about the WSLS, visit https://sls.warwickshire.gov.uk.  

If your school would like to take part in the Junior Book Award next year, please email WSLS at schoolslibraryservice@warwickshire.gov.uk or phone 01926 413461.

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