
Finalists 2021
Below is a list of the 2021 FINALISTS in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. The children's books were read and judged by children in 8 UK primary and secondary schools, the adult books by 2 Reading Groups, 1 in London and 1 in Stockholm. The books were marked according to EDITING, THEME, STYLE, COVER and, in the case of many of the children's books, ILLUSTRATIONS.
The WINNERS will be announced on April 1st, 2022.
Jump straight to:
- Category 1: Pre-school picture books
- Category 2: Books for 6 - 8 year olds
- Category 3: Books for 9 - 12 year olds
- Category 4: Books for Teenagers
- Category 5: Books for adults (fiction)
- Category 6: Books for Adults (non-fiction)
- Category 7: Audio Book - Children/Young Adult
- Category 8: Audio Book - Adult
- Category 9: Best Book Cover - Children/Young Adult
- Category 10: Best Book Cover - Adult
- Red Ribbon Bands
If you happen to be looking for a good read, the readers at The Wishing Shelf Awards thoroughly recommend the following:

Nurse Bear Does First Aid: Picture Book to Learn First Aid Skills for Toddlers and Kids
Author: Marta Almansa Esteva

Olive the Worrying Wiener: A Short Tale about a Particularly Long Dog
Author: Ally Arena
Illustrator: Rafaela Sukiyama

Monster in the Water: Fighting Back Against Harmful Algal Blooms
Author: Dylan Dagate
Illustrator: Maria Decerce

Sticky Icky Vicky: Courage over Fear
Author: Alysia Ssentamu, Michael Ssentamu
Illustrator: Noor Alshalabi

Audacious Goals, Remarkable Results: How an Explorer, an Engineer and a Statesman shaped our Modern World
Author: Brad Borkan and David Hirzel

Black, White, And Gray All Over; A Black Man’s Odyssey in Life and Law Enforcement
Author: Frederick Reynolds

Just Say "$%#&! NO!†Book Dedicated to the Well-Intended Overextended!
Author: Heather Tobin
Illustrator: Karen Tobin

Kings, Conquerors, Psychopaths: From Alexander to Hitler to the Corporation
Author: Joseph N Abraham MD

Grandpa Jock and the Incredible Iron-Bru-Man Incident: Gorgeous George
Author: Stuart Reid
Performed by: Stuart Reid

Fries & Alibis: Paranormal Cozy Mystery: Mitzy Moon Mysteries Series, Book 1
Author: Trixie Silvertale
Performed by: Coleen Marlo

Systemology: Create Time, Reduce Errors and Scale Your Profits with Proven Business Systems
Author: David Jenyns

The Essential Family Guide to Caring for Older People
Author: Deborah Stone
Performed by: Maggie Ollerenshaw

Little Wade and Watchtower: Abigail and the Great Gang Trap
Author: Sean March
Cover Designer: Joe Ruiz

Rory, Quest for the Northern Lights
Author: Sarah Cullen, Carmen Ellis
Cover Designer: Zuzana Svobodova

The Young Adult’s Collection of Short Scary Stories
Author: Michael Ross
Cover Designer: Magdalena Adić
A Red Ribbon is awarded to a book that did NOT get over 30/40 to be a finalist, but was still very much enjoyed by the readers.
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Children of the Knight
When the children rise,
will the city fall?
Amazon
Writing in a Nutshell
Writing Workshops to
Improve Your Craft
Amazon
LADY REAPER
Disorderly ghosts. Dejected
fays. Dreadful elves.
books2read.com
Tales of Witches and Wyverns
Join Enid’s quest to save
friends from a fae queen
Amazon
I FEEL YOUR STARE
An Autobiography by Cheryl
Gillespie - Book Award Winner!
Amazon
Epistolary
Mandy writes about her
life until tragedy strikes.
Amazon
Pippin's Country Adventure
A happy fun educational read
about an adventurous poodle.
Amazon
The Boy and the Jaguar
A magical Mayan tale
for middle-grade readers.
Amazon
CHARLES DARWIN...
An entertaining learning
resource for curious kids.
www.alanhesse.com
Truth Was Once Taboo
New humanity, ancient
wisdom: spirituality reborn.
Amazon
RAIN FALLING ON EMBERS
A grieving, fish out of water
teen struggles to survive.
KatieMcCabeSeries.com
Sammie and Pumpkin
An adopted dog learns
how to make new friends.
Amazon
Arni's Adventures
Pet dinosaur, bear, cat story
for the young reader.
Ashok
THE IMPROBABLE WONDERS OF
MOOJIE LITTLEMAN "Visionary,
magical, rich" -MC WEEKLY
Amazon
The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior
"This happened in 1944 but
honored 80 years later!"
Amazon
Bentley Makes a Dump Cake
A delightful, messy adventure
with joy, teamwork, & color
Miki Taylor
I Never Said I Love You
A story of travel, friendship,
forgiveness, & roads not taken
Amazon
Sophia and Sinclair Get Lost!
A rabbit and a turtle get
lost in a hay maze!
Amazon
THE GREAT MOSQUITO HUNT
Hunting the world for
the causes of disease
Amazon
The Power of...
kindness, gratitude,
empathy & positivity
Amazon
Marlon and the Scary Something
Scaredy cat finds courage,
foils fear, wins friend
Amazon
Churchill’s Secret Army
WW2 courage and sacrifice
in the undercover SOE
www.cloudshillpress.com
More Future Dreams/Nightmares
Award-winning SF short
stories of AIs and robots.
Donald Firesmith
THE NIGHT SLAYER
Perfect for PERCY JACKSON fans
'Thrill-a-page, fantasy' TWSA
Amazon
JUST RIVER
Hilarious and grave.
A story of resilience.
Amazon
Master of Music - Marla Himeda
Book 1 of a unique,
inspirational fantasy series!
Amazon
The Pivotal Pastor
A pastor and famous
architect transform a parish
Amazon
LIKE A HERO
Being a superhero WITHOUT
powers is never easy!
books2read
Just Janey's Way
Janey wants EVERYTHING her way
Is Janey a STUBBORN BULLY?
Amazon
RIVER WITCH
A haunting, emotional tale
of magic and purpose.
Amazon
A Tree in Time
A fabilious journey into
the distant past.
gentlpresspublishing.co.uk
A Cauldron of Uncanny Dreams
13 creepy award-winning
stories for a cold, dark night
Amazon
TREACHERY!
A WW2 child
evacuee thriller
Amazon
Harmony Dances On
Helping children navigate the
journey through grief
Amazon
Then We'll Say Goodnight
How would you get your
unruly puppies back to bed?
Amazon
The Girl Who Looked Beyond...
13 yrs old. How can she have
a destiny to save the world?
Amazon
My Year at the Good Bean Café
Weird and inexplicable events
and their effect on our lives
Amazon
PWF for Women 40+
Paranormal Women's Fiction -
NEW SERIES!
books2read.com
DANCE STANCE
"Highly recommended! A truly
excellent book" Wishing Shelf
bookshop.org
LADY APPRENTICE
"Love, fighting, mystery and
magic” BRAG Medallion
books2read.com
What Death Taught Terrence
A man reviews life from the
beyond. What will he learn?
Amazon
SECRET SKY
Everybody wishes they could
fly - until it happens
books2read.com
Chains of Prophecy
A man finds he is the chosen
sorcerer of Heaven.
Amazon
An Enemy Like Me
A story not only of war but of
love & what we will do for it.
Amazon
No Death in Finding Nemo
Stories of mundane lives which
change in surprising ways
www.jeffreyfeingold.com
FALSE NEUTRAL
One chance to finally
make sense of it all.
Amazon
WELCOME TO OPINE
Homo Sapiens 2.0: Will genetic
blessing be their undoing?
Amazon
THE JEWEL OF WENZLO
An epic conflict
between rodent kings
Amazon
DRAGONDAH (9 - 12 year olds)
Solving ancient mysteries and
outwitting scheming villains!
Amazon
Glitching Souls
Award-winning, Mind-bending,
Technothriller
Amazon
A First Book of Microbiology
A fun learning journey
down the microscope lens.
Amazon
The Broken Wife
A gripping tale of love,
loss, and BETRAYAL.
Amazon
Girl & the Lock on Her Heart
An empowering book to
ignite everyone’s self love.
Amazon
THE REPROBATES
Do you remember suffering
from a death of the soul?
www.benjamingrose.co.uk
My Year at the Good Bean Cafe
A riveting tale of unlikely
and inexplicable events.
Amazon
Bentley Makes a Dump Cake
A delightful, messy adventure
with joy, teamwork, & color
Miki Taylor
INTO THE BLAZE
A new trilogy where fantasy,
myth, and reality entwine
Amazon
A Good Day and Other...
A wide-ranging collection
of imaginative, funny stories.
Amazon
NEW TRAILS
A queer portal fantasy of
magic, courage, and home
books2read