
Finalists 2024
Below is a list of the 2024 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, 2025.
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:
A Red Ribbon is awarded to a book that did NOT get over 25/35 to be a finalist, but was still very much enjoyed by the readers.

Red Ribbon
'They're All Barking,' A Dog's Guide to Human Behaviour
Author: Professor Daniel Springer-Spaniel

Red Ribbon
Sweet Peas and Bees: Life at the Flower Farm
Author: Mary Murphy
Illustrator: Fiona Van Housen

Red Ribbon
Wanderer's Journey: A Refugee's Search for a Home in the Beautiful Game Author
Author: Vedran Dedic
Sponsored Ads
Literary Historical Fiction
Karma and horses drive one
family through 2500 Years.
Amazon
Battle for Eklatros
Can Ànifa’s party save
Eklatros from the invasion?
Amazon
RAVEN'S GRAVE Charlotte Stuart
Betrayal and death in
an Alaskan Tlingit village.
Amazon
Winkle and Aster
Urban fantasy that takes
imagination to its limits
books2read
Jemma and the Raven
A luminous adventure in
this epic YA fantasy debut
Amazon
MEMOIR OF A MANGLED MIND
Three minds. One body.
And nobody is safe.
Amazon
My Year at the Good Bean Café
Weird and inexplicable events
and their effect on our lives
Amazon
S.O.S. by Sue C Dugan
An exciting, time-travel
adventure for middle graders
Amazon
CLOUDY WITH CHANCE OF ANSWERS
"Crazy family. Endless cold
case. Then there's a clue!"
Amazon
MATTER PRESS
Compressed fiction
with a bang
Matter Press
Comfort in the Wings
An inspiring, heartfelt
journey of joy after loss
Amazon
The Shadow of the Volcano
A thrilling 'time travel'
adventure for 7 - 13 yr olds.
Amazon
Dinosaur Symphony
A Guide to Dinosaurs
and Classical Music
Amazon
CHARLES DARWIN...
An entertaining learning
resource for curious kids.
www.alanhesse.com
The Stranger of Ul Darak BK 1
A new intriguing epic
high fantasy series
sceston.com
Social Media & Mental Health
‘’Empower your child to be
safe in the digital world’’
Amazon
No Death in Finding Nemo
Stories of mundane lives which
change in surprising ways
www.jeffreyfeingold.com
BEHIND THE PICKLE JAR
A fun, relatable,
emotionally powerful read!
Amazon
Truth Was Once Taboo
New humanity, ancient
wisdom: spirituality reborn.
Amazon
Tuskie’s Travels
Tuskie teaches his crew to
dissolve upsets in 30 seconds!
www.thekidcode.ca
LADY IN RED
Teen sleuths search for
a missing masterpiece.
Amazon
The Faraway Mountains
A memorable novel about
growing up under dictatorship
Amazon
TWO LEFT WINGS - Safety Averse
4 kids - heart-warming / funny
friendship and self-growth
Amazon
Pumpkin King Saves Christmas
How Santa became jolly with
the help of the Pumpkin King.
Amazon
HENRY
Inspiring WWII Nonfiction
survival account
Amazon
Sibby's Secret
Heart-stopping adventure
for our detective Buccaneers
Amazon
Chronicles of MatiLou/PerryAnn
Through it all the girls work
to save Mother Earth.
Amazon
Into The Shadows
Journey from naïve university
student to a great spy.
marinemoments.uk
FIGHT
Thought-provoking poems encou-
raging us to fight for justice
YouTube
LOOK AWAY NO MORE
A story rich in history & love
at a Georgia college in 1970.
Amazon
JOYFUL LIFE PRESS
Books and workbooks that
entertain, support and inspire
www.joyfullifepress.com
MORATURI LOST
Ship lost in Andromeda:
The vet is now Captain!
Amazon
THE TRALL SERIES
Middle-grade portal
fantasies set in Australia.
by Gayle Torrens
Building The Beast:
The Comic Memoir
of a Crazy Idea!
Amazon
The Collective Consciousness
Embark on a journey into the
depths of the human spirit!
Amazon
An Enemy Like Me
What would you do for love?
3 POV WWII HistFic Saga
www.terimbrown.com
Adventures of Beryl and Carol
Award winning, clean teen
adventure for all ages.
berylandcarol
The Campbell Sisters
3 sisters work towards very
different goals in 1955 NYC
Amazon
THE SOCIETY
Elizabeth Grant Thriller-woman
embroiled in a conspiracy
Amazon
Sprout's Surprise!
A humorous story with
a gentle ecofriendly message
Amazon
I Never Said I Love You
A story of travel, friendship,
forgiveness, & roads not taken
Amazon
The Antunite Chronicles
An allegory for our time,
a thrillogy for all ages.
Amazon
Changing Tide
A Thrilling First
Contact Novel
www.cougarproductions.com
The Pivotal Pastor
A pastor and famous
architect transform a parish
Amazon
Glitching Souls
Award-winning, Mind-bending,
Technothriller
Amazon
The Nephilem
A Sun-soaked setting
with a difference.
www.exquil.com
Clouds on the Ground
Poems exploring natural beauty
and the realm of dreams
Amazon
THE UNBROKEN
Love and adventure in
the strange worlds of mind.
Nigel Peace
2024... Your Year of More
is a meaningful self-help
book for wise readers.
Amazon
SEA CHANGE
Gay romance and adventure
on a yacht at sea
Nick Bamford
MaryLou
"An engaging, well-crafted
family drama" TWSA
Amazon
Anna and the Adders
A rhyming counting book
to get little ones learning
Amazon
Butterfly with a Broken Wing
Children's mental health story
It's ok NOT to be ok
Amazon
Memoir of Millennial Caregiver
A story of caregiving, loss,
and acceptance of the unknown.
Amazon
Tales of Witches and Wyverns
Join Enid’s quest to save
friends from a fae queen
Amazon
Your Words Your Love
A dazzling explosion
of beauty for your soul.
books2read
Winkle and Aster
Urban fantasy that takes
imagination to its limits
books2read
HUNGRY TRAILS
‘A…culturally rich family
chronicle.’ Kirkus Review
Amazon
A Lady Newspaperman's Dilemma
Alex’s goal: succeed in a 1926
male world of news reporting
Amazon