The Bookbug Picture Book Prize shortlist selection process

Established in 2010, this is our thirteenth year of delivering Bookbug Bags to children across Scotland. We read all eligible titles from Scottish authors and illustrators, and do our best to ensure that there is enough variety across the three shortlisted titles for every child to find a story that they love.

Every book chosen for our Bookbug P1 Family Bag and The Bookbug Picture Book Prize has been through a robust review process, with a panel of experts from education settings, libraries, and Scottish Book Trust.

An independent panel of experts selects the books. This year’s panel included:

• Primary 1 teachers
• A children’s librarian and Bookbug coordinator
• Members of the Scottish Government Improving Health and Wellbeing Division
• A member of the Scottish Government Equalities and Human Rights Division
• A member of the Education Scotland Literacy and English team
• Experts from the Scottish Book Trust team

We invite publishers to submit eligible titles from Scottish authors and illustrators each autumn. Panel members read all eligible titles and are asked to nominate the books they feel are high quality, engaging and age-appropriate. Following the face-to-face panel, a separate selection of teachers read the books in classrooms across Scotland and share their feedback to help us make the final selection.