Oscar’s Book Prize unveiled by Princess Eugenie
This year’s winner of Oscar’s Book Prize was unveiled last night by Princess Eugenie at St James’s Palace
There’s A Pig Up My Nose by writer John Dougherty and illustrator Laura Hughes was announced as the winner of Oscar’s Book Prize for 2018. Dougherty, a former primary school teacher, found inspiration for the tale from a girl he used to teach who has a ‘snorty laugh’. It tells the tale of a group of schoolchildren who band together to help the protagonist Natalie get a pig out of her nose.
Whittled down from over 100 entries, the five titles shortlisted included Lucie Goose by Danny Baker and Sunk! by Rob Biddulph. Princess Eugenie, upon presenting the prize, commented, “I had the best day reading the shortlist and laughing at all the books. I am proud to be here this evening in remembrance of Oscar Ashton.”
Oscar’s Book Prize was set up by James Ashton and Viveka Alvestrand in memory of their son, Oscar, who passed away age three from an undiagnosed heart condition. Each year, the prize aims to award the best book for under-fives that’s been published in the last 12 months. Now in its fifth year, the award is supported by Amazon, National Literacy Trust and the Evening Standard.
Commenting on the award, panel judge Brigitte Ricou-Bellan said, “It was remarkable to see the swell of enthusiasm and quantity of quality submissions for Oscar’s Book Prize this year. Early years literacy is a key building block in a child’s development and we are incredibly proud to be supporting this cause once more. Congratulations to John Dougherty and Laura Hughes.”
