In their sixth year, the awards, which celebrate the most exciting an enjoyable books of the year, are run in partnership with the children’s reading charity BookTrust.
Judged by a panel of experts, they aim to encourage parents and carers to spend more time reading with their children.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which was published in 1969 and celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, was awarded Children’s Classic for ‘bringing joy to generations of children and continuing to delight children for years to come’.
Since the book was first published, it has been translated into 62 languages and sold more than 50 million copies worldwide.
Author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle said, ‘Thank you so much for honouring my book. I’m delighted that my stories have been enjoyed by my friends in the UK. The Very Hungry Caterpillar turned 50 this year, and I turned 90 so this is a perfect way to celebrate.’
Winner of both Picture Book and Book of the Year is My Pet Star by Corinne Avertiss and illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw.
The winners of the other categories are:
- Baby and Toddler Book – Nibbles Numbers by Emma Yarlett
- Fiction Book – The Umbrella Mouse by Anna Fargher
- Learning and Development – The Awesome Book of Space by Adam Frost
- Favourite Characters – Where’s Wally: Exciting Expeditions by Martin Hanford
Winners receive a £1,000 prize, while all shortlisted books are promoted in Sainsbury’s stores.
Winners of the Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards 2019
Danika Cave, books buyer for Sainsbury’s, said, ‘As a child I loved books and I’m so passionate about children reading. Sainsbury’s is proud to offer dynamic and diverse books and these awards are a way to show our customers how much we support children reading.’
Jill Coleman, director of children’s books at BookTrust, said, ‘Our dream at BookTrust is that every child will be a reader and develop a lifetime reading habit. These fantastic books will hopefully help children on that journey.’
A stage adaptation of four of author and illustrator Eric Carle’s stories – Brown Bear, Brown Bear, 10 Little Rubber Ducks and The Very Lonely Firefly, as well as The Very Hungry Caterpillar – is currently playing in the West End until 1 September, after which it will tour theatres across the country.