Congratulations to Kate Saunders on winning the much coveted Costa children’s book award for her wonderful book Five Children on the Western Front.

Kate’s award-winning book takes up the story of E Nesbit’s classic Five Children and It. It’s 10 years on and the first world war has just begun when the last sand fairy on earth, the Psammead, comes back to find the older children all grown up and experiencing the full impact of the first world war.

Kate Saunders’ fought off competition from Simon Mason with Running Girl, Michael Morpurgo with Listen to the Moon and Marcus Sedgwick with The Ghosts of Heaven. Her prize is £5000! You can check out all the shortlisted books for the prize here in pictures.

Coming soon to the site: an interview with Kate Saunders by two teen site members. And you can read a review of Five Children on the Western Front here.

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