Nominations have been announced for the 2025 Carnegies, the UK’s longest-running children’s book awards.

A grand total of 119 books have been nominated for the 2025 Medals. 64 books are in contention for the Carnegie Medal for Writing, which is awarded to a book written in English for children and young people that sparks an outstanding reading experience, and 55 books for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration, which celebrates an outstanding reading experience through illustration. This includes 3 titles that have received nominations in both Medal categories.

Uniquely judged by librarians, CILIP accepted nominations that met the criteria for the Medals and reflected the spirit of the Awards mission: To champion librarians to inspire and empower the next generation to create a better world through books and reading.

Each nominated book is read by every member of the 2025 judging panel – which this year includes 14 experienced librarians from CILIP's Youth Libraries Group (YLG) − who volunteer their time as judges.

From these nominations, the judging panel will decide the long and shortlists and finally, the 2025 Medal winners, based on the official criteria for the Medals for Writing and Illustration. The long and shortlists identify a range of outstanding books for children and young people of all ages and interests, celebrating world-class writing and illustration from new and established authors and illustrators.

2025 will also see the continuation of the Shadowers’ Choice Awards voted for by children and young people who take part in the Awards shadowing scheme – a reading for pleasure initiative that engages thousands of children and young people in schools and libraries in the UK and overseas through 'shadowing' reading groups. Young people read and engage with the shortlists critically and creatively, through group participation and digitally: posting online reviews, artworks, videos, and taking part in creative activities and online events. Taking on the role of judges, the groups will vote for their favourite books to receive the Shadowers’ Choice Award at the winners’ ceremony in June 2025.

Carnegie Medal for Illustration 2025

Rainbowsaurus by Steve Antony

The Magic Callaloo by Trish Cooke, illustrated by Sophie Bass

The Last Zookeeper by Aaron Becker

The Invisible Story by Jaime Gamboa, illustrated by Wen Hsu Chen, translated by Daniel Hahn

Grey by Laura Dockrill, illustrated by Lauren Child

Albert and the Flood by Ian Brown, illustrated by Eoin Clarke

There's a Tiger on the Train by Mariesa Dulak, illustrated by Rebecca Cobb

Night Flight by Katie Cottle

The Panda's Child by Jackie Morris, illustrated by Cathy Fisher

Amazing Octopus: Creature From an Unknown World by Michael Stavaric, illustrated by Michèle Ganser, translated by Oliver Latsch

Island of Whispers by Frances Hardinge, illustrated by Emily Gravett

Cloudspotting For Beginners by Gavin Pretor-Pinney, illustrated by William Grill

Wilding: How to Bring Wildlife Back - an Illustrated Guide by Isabella Tree, illustrated by Angela Harding

Who Ate Steve? by Susannah Lloyd, illustrated by Kate Hindley

Flower Block by Lanisha Butterfield, illustrated by Giang Hoang

Martha Maps It Out In Time by Leigh Hodgkinson

The Star Whale by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Petr Horáček

Up High by Matt Hunt

I Love Books by Mariajo Ilustrajo

The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston

Begin Again by Oliver Jeffers

Quiet by Tom Percival, illustrated by Richard Jones

School for Puppies by Satoshi Kitamura

How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

100 Tales from the Tokyo Ghost Cafe by Julian Sedgwick, illustrated by Chie Kutsuwada

The Boy, the Troll and the Chalk by Anne Booth, illustrated by David Litchfield

Clever Crow by Chris Butterworth, illustrated by Olivia Lomenech Gill

Dive, Dive into the Night Sea by Thea Lu

Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martin

Changing Tides by Júlia Moscardó

The Shy Book by Howard Pearlstein, illustrated by James Munro

Madame Badobedah and the Old Bones by Sophie Dahl, illustrated by Lauren O'Hara

Letters in Charcoal by Irene Vasco, illustrated by Juan Palomino, translated by Lawrence Schimel

Homebody by Theo Parish

The Bridges by Tom Percival

It's Time to Hush and Say Good Night by Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat

Welcome to the Arts: Dance by Sir Alistair Spalding, illustrated by Jason Raish

Wild Planet: The Inspiring Life and Wisdom of Sir David Attenborough by Hayley Rocco, illustrated by John Rocco

Wolf and Bear by Kate Rolfe

Godfather Death by Sally Nicholls, illustrated by Júlia Sardà

One-Button and the Sea by Sara Stanley, illustrated by Viviane Schwarz

The Little Books of the Little Brontes by Sara O'Leary, illustrated by Briony May Smith

Do You Remember? by Sydney Smith

Grandad's Star by Frances Tosdevin, illustrated by Rhian Stone

The Dandelion's Tale by Margaret Anne Suggs

Colin's Castle by Holly Swain

A Happy Place by Britta Teckentrup

The Fun We Had by Charissa Coulthard, illustrated by Sam Usher

Elki is Not My Dog by Elena Arevalo Melville, illustrated by Tonka Uzu

The Elephant and the Sea by Ed Vere

Aqua Boy by Ken Wilson-Max

The Egg Incident by Ziggy Hanaor, illustrated by Daisy Wynter

The Boy Who Loves to Lick the Wind by Fiona Carswell, illustrated by Yu Rong

Flying High by Cao Wenxuan, illustrated by Yu Rong, translated by Simone-Davina Monnelly and Jake Hope

The Wild by Yuval Zommer

Carnegie Medal for Writing 2025

Puppet by David Almond, illustrated by Lizzy Stewart

Man-Man and The Tree of Memories by Yaba Badoe

Little House by Katya Balen, illustrated by Richard Johnson

Foxlight by Katya Balen

Alebrijes - Flight to a New Haven by Donna Barba Higuera

Oscar's Lion by Adam Baron, illustrated by Benji Davies

On Silver Tides by Sylvia Bishop

The Last Life of Lori Mills by Max Boucherat

You Could Be So Pretty by Holly Bourne

Songlight by Moira Buffini

The Houdini Inheritance by Emma Carroll

I Am Wolf by Alastair Chisholm

The Love Interest by Helen Comerford

Treacle Town by Brian Conaghan

Where the Heart Should Be by Sarah Crossan

Kicked Out: A Boy, Everywhere Story by A.M. Dassu

The Star Whale by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Petr Horáček

Skrimsli by Nicola Davies

Splinters by Rachel Delahaye

Northern Soul by Phil Earle

Lover Birds by Leanne Egan

Runner Hawk by Michael Egan

Sisters of the Moon by Marie Louise Fitzpatrick

The Things We Leave Behind by Clare Furniss

Pernickety Boo by Sally Gardner, illustrated by Chris Mould

Movies Showing Nowhere by Yorick Goldewijk, translated by Laura Watkinson

The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton

The List by Keith Gray

Island of Whispers by Frances Hardinge, illustrated by Emily Gravett

North and the Only One by Vashti Hardy

Wild East by Ashley Hickson-Lovence

The Hidden Story of Estie Noor by Nadine Aisha Jassat

If My Words Had Wings by Danielle Jawando

These Stolen Lives by Sharada Keats

Stitch by Pádraig Kenny

Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler

King of Nothing by Nathanael Lessore

Little Bang by Kelly McCaughrain

Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald

Keedie by Elle McNicoll

I Am Rebel by Ross Montgomery

Trigger by C.G. Moore

The Djinn's Apple by Djamila Morani, translated by Sawad Hussain

All That It Ever Meant by Blessing Musariri

My Teeth in Your Heart by Joanna Nadin

The Virtue Season by L.M. Nathan

Yours From the Tower by Sally Nicholls

Play by Luke Palmer

Angel of Grasmere by Tom Palmer

Fallout by Lesley Parr

The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival

Something to be Proud Of by Anna Zoe Quirke

The Letter with the Golden Stamp by Onjali Q. Rauf

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell

Girls by Annet Schaap, translated by Laura Watkinson

Louder Than Hunger by John Schu

100 Tales from the Tokyo Ghost Cafe by Julian Sedgwick, illustrated by Chie Kutsuwada

Apocalypse Cow by O.R. Sorrel

Me and Aaron Ramsey by Manon Steffan Ros

The Island at the Edge of Night by Lucy Strange

Wise Creatures by Deirdre Sullivan

Sister Spirit by Efua Traoré

Us in the Before and After by Jenny Valentine

Doughnuts, Thieves and Chimpanzees by Alex Wharton

Registration for shadowing groups is now open and group leaders can opt in to receive a free publicity pack when the shortlists are announced in March.

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