Nestle Smarties Prize

The Youth Libraries Group selects the best in children's literature by asking the people who count: the actual readers of the books.

The Nestles Smarties Prize, given out by the Youth Libraries Group and administered by Booktrust, recognizes outstanding books published each year in the UK for children. Five adults pick a shortlist of books in three different categories: Under age 5, ages 6-9, and ages 9-11. Once the shortlist is formed, judges are picked through contests from young people in classrooms across the country. The gold, silver, and bronze winners in each category are selected by the children in the category's age range.

The prize was first given in 1985 and more than 80 children's authors have been given medals since that date. All three of England's children's laureates have been Smarties winners. Three authors-JK Rowlilng, Lauren Child, and Geraldine McCaughrean-have won the most Smarties medals at three apiece.

Winners

Year	Award	Title	Author
2004	Ages 5 and under	Biscuit Bear	Mini Gray
	Ages 6 - 8	Fergus Crane	Paul Stewart, Chris Riddell
	Ages 9 - 11	Spilled Water	Sally Grindley
2003	Ages 5 and under	The Witch's Children and the Queen	Ursula Jones, Russell Ayto
	Ages 6 - 8	Varjak Paw	SF Said
	Ages 9 - 11	The Fire Eaters	David Almond
2002	Ages 5 and under	Jazzy in the Jungle	Lucy Cousins
	Ages 6 - 8	That Pesky Rat	Lauren Child
	Ages 9 - 11	Mortal Engines	Philip Reeve
2001	Ages 5 and under	Chimp and Zee	Catherine and Lawrence anholt
	Ages 6 - 8	The Shrimp	Emily Smith
	Ages 9 - 11	Journey to the River Sea	Eva Ibbotson
2000	Ages 5 and under	Max	Bob Graham
	Ages 6 - 8	Lizzie Zipmouth	Jacqueline Wilson
	Ages 9 - 11	The Wind Singer	William Nicholson
1999	Ages 5 and under	The Gruffalo	Julia Donaldson, Axel Sheffer
	Ages 6 - 8	Snow White and the Seven Aliens	Laurence Anholt
	Ages 9 - 11	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	J K Rowling
1998	Ages 5 and under	Cowboy Baby	Sue Heap
	Ages 6 - 8	The Last Gold Diggers	Harry Horse
	Ages 9 - 11	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets	J K Rowling
1997	Ages 5 and under	Ginger	Charlotte Voake
	Ages 6 - 8	The Owl Tree	Jenny Nimmo, Anthony Lewis
	Ages 9 - 11	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	J K Rowling
1996	Ages 5 and under	Oops! A Preston Pig Story	Colin McNaughton
	Ages 6 - 8	The Butterfly Lion	Michael Morpurgo
	Ages 9 - 11	The Firework Maker's Daughter	Philip Pullman
1995	Ages 5 and under	The Last Nooo-Nooo	Jill Murphy
	Ages 6 - 8	The Tinners	Jill Paton Walsh
	Ages 9 - 11	Double Act	Jacqueline Wilson
1994	Ages 5 and under	So Much	Trish Cooke
	Ages 6 - 8	Dimanche Diller	Lesley Harker
	Ages 9 - 11	The Exiles at Home	Hilary McKay
1993	Ages 5 and under	Hue Boy	Jane Ray
	Ages 6 - 8	War Game	Michael Foreman
	Ages 9 - 11	Listen to the Dark	Maeve Henry
1992	Ages 5 and under	Nice Work, Little Wolf	Hilda Offen
	Ages 6 - 8	The Story of Creation	Jane Ray
	Ages 9 - 11	The Great Elephant Chase	Gillian Cross
1991	Ages 5 and under	Farmer Duck	Martin Waddell, Helen Oxenbury
	Ages 6 - 8	Josie Smith and Eileen	Magdalen Nabb
	Ages 9 - 11	Krindledrax	Philp Ridley
1990	Ages 5 and under	Six Dinner Sid	Inga Moore
	Ages 6 - 8	Esio Trot	Roald Dahl
	Ages 9 - 11	Midnight Blue	Pauline Fisk
1989	Ages 5 and under	We're Going on a Bear Hunt	Michael Rosen
	Ages 6 - 8	Bill's New Frock	Anne Fine
	Ages 9 - 11	Blitzcat	Robert Westall
1988	Ages 5 and under	Can't You Sleep Little Bear?	Martin Waddell, Barbara Firth
	Ages 6 - 8	Can It Be True?	Susan Hill
	Ages 9 - 11	Rushavenn Time	Theresa Whistler
1987	Ages 5 and under	The Angel and the Soldier Boy	Peter Collington
	Ages 6 - 8	Tangle and the Firesticks	Benedict Blathwayt
	Ages 9 - 11	A Thief in the Village	James Berry
1986	Overall	The Snow Spider	Jenny Nimmo
1985	Overall	Gaffer Samson's Luck	Jill Paton Walsh