School Library Association announces the Information Book Award longlist and an exciting book club opportunity for schools

Schools across the UK can now sign up to join a nationwide Book Club, based around the Information Book Award, organised by the School Library Association (SLA). Schools who take part in the book club will have the opportunity to vote for four winners in the Children’s Choice categories of the Information Book Award. The awards, now in their 15th year, are sponsored by Hachette Children’s Group and Peters.

Today the SLA announces the longlist titles for the Information Book Award (IBA) and the opening of registrations for the IBA Book Club. A panel of judges have whittled down hundreds of entries to a list of 34 outstanding non-fiction titles within three age categories. The judging panel will select a shortlist next month and winners will be announced at an awards ceremony later this year. Four Children’s Choice accolades, one in each age category and an overall winner, will be chosen by participating schools.

Every school that signs up to the IBA Book Club will be entered into a draw to receive a free set of the shortlisted books, thanks to funding from the Authors Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS). An exciting new addition for this year is a Golden Bookmark, which will be hidden in three book bundles. Any school that receives a Golden Bookmark will have the chance to attend the Award Ceremony in person and nominate a pupil to present one of the Children’s Choice Awards.

Each participating school will receive a set of useful resources to help make their book club enjoyable and engaging for pupils. Schools that aren’t selected to receive a free book bundle will be able to purchase the shortlisted books at a reduced price from Peters, helping as many schools as possible to take part in the voting process.

From essential history to natural wonders; practical life skills to managing your emotions; how the world works and how others see it: the 2025 Information Book Award longlist is an awesome demonstration of the quality of Information Books available for children and young people, spanning everything from burps to skateboards and politics to physics.

This year the SLA is placing even greater emphasis on the importance of the IBA Book Club and how book clubs can have positive educational and wellbeing outcomes. A new study released last week, ‘Social Reading Spaces’, by HarperCollins UK in collaboration with SLA, trialled an innovative new approach to book clubs. Seventeen school libraries across the UK, ran social book clubs with no expectation or pressure to read, instead fostering conversations and book talk in a relaxed and pressure-free setting. The study found that as well as having a positive impact on educational outcomes and reading ability, the book clubs also improved social connection between young people and increased wellbeing, providing a safe space for them to express their emotions.

Key dates for the Information Book Awards and Book Club:

• 6th May – 11th June: schools can register to take part in the IBA Book Club at: www.sla.org.uk/iba-book-club (everyone who registers is entered into a draw to win a FREE set of books in one of the age categories)
• 17th June: the IBA shortlist will be announced
• 24th June: selected schools will be sent the shortlisted books and other schools can purchase for cost price from Peters to take part in the IBA Book Club
• Ongoing: Schools can share Book Club activities and photos on social media using #IBABookClub
• End of June: Three lucky schools who find a Golden Bookmark in their book bundle will be able to nominate a pupil to present one of the Children's Choice Awards
• 18th October: Children’s Choice vote closes
• End of November: Awards Ceremony with students presenting Children’s Choice Awards
  
  

Victoria Dilly, CEO of the SLA said: “I’m thrilled to launch our IBA Book Club, with exciting new resources and the addition of the Golden Bookmark initiative, giving pupils the chance to present the Awards they have judged. The recent ‘Social Reading Spaces’ study shows that book clubs not only positively impact reading ability, but also social connections and wellbeing. We hope to have more schools signing up to the IBA Book Club this year than ever before, not only to vote for the Children’s Choice IBA Award winners, but to discover the joy book clubs can bring. The IBA longlist showcases a diverse collection, with topics including Culture, Technology, Nature, Sport and STEM, which shows the endless possibilities for engagement with non-fiction. Information books are fundamental to school libraries and provide librarians with tools to help their students gain knowledge and insight. At the SLA we would like to see every school with a dedicated library and all children having the chance to benefit from brilliant books, curated by a librarian, which will ultimately help them to reach their full potential.”

Ruth Alltimes, Managing Director at Hachette Children’s Group, said “We’re proud to be supporting the School Library Association's Information Book Awards for the 14th year running. This year's longlist showcases a broad range of engaging titles that are providing children with so many opportunities to gain knowledge and understanding of the world around them. We’re excited to see which books are selected from the shortlist by the schools that take part in the IBA Book Club, as the Children’s Choice vote is such an integral part of these awards.”

Claire Bowles, Co-CEO at Peters, said “Peters are delighted to once again be supporting the Information Book Awards. Information books are a brilliant way to engage readers and bring information alive. They give children and young people the opportunity to explore new areas of interest and build on their existing areas of knowledge. Having these books in your school library can have a significant impact on pupils and we are excited to see how they continue to shape the minds of our future generations.”

Barbara Hayes, CEO at ALCS said: “We are delighted to congratulate the longlist for the 2025 Information Book Award. ALCS are proud to support the School Library Association in their commitment to advocating reading for pleasure in schools through their IBA Book Club. Providing children with the means to take part in the Children’s Choice Award is vital in helping them to develop a love and enthusiasm for reading, and it is a pleasure to be a partner on this inspirational initiative.”

Helen Cleaves, Chair of the Judges, said: “It's the judges' privilege to announce such a fantastic longlist for the Information Book Award. We hope that the variety of topics, wealth of knowledge and engaging design in this year’s titles will spark enjoyment and curiosity in children and young people, as well as helping to develop essential critical thinking skills. The IBA offers a valuable focus on high-quality information, at a time when young people are often bombarded by opinion, interpretation and 'alternative' facts. We can't wait to hear feedback from schools as they delve into this wonderful selection of books and students get stuck into judging.”

The IBA Longlist for each age category is as follows:

Age 0-7 (12 books)

• Along Came A ... Burp!, Saskia Gwinn, illustrated by Paula Bowles (Templar Books)
• Celebrations and Festivals: Diwali, Sital Gorasia Chapman, illustrated by Darshika Varma (Quarto)
• Finding Home, Mike Unwin, illustrated by Jenni Desmond (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
• First Questions and Answers: Why Do We Need Worms?, Katie Daynes, illustrated by Moesha Kellaway (Usborne)
• How to Shine at Primary School, Kit Brown, illustrated by Allison Steinfeld (Wren & Rook, Hachette Children’s Group)
• The Life-Changing Magic of Skateboarding, Sky Brown, illustrated by Shaw Davidson (Magic Cat Publishing)
• A Little Blue Dot, Maren Hasenjäger (Mama Makes Books)
• Me and My Hair, Kimberley Kinloch, illustrated by Jessica Gibson (Usborne)
• Patience, Rachel Williams, illustrated by Leonie Lord (Magic Cat Publishing)
• This Book Will Make You an Artist, Ruth Millington, illustrated by Ellen Surrey (Nosy Crow)
• Welcome to Our Playground: A Celebration of Games Children Play Everywhere, Moira Butterfield, illustrated by Harriet Lynas (Nosy Crow)
• What is AI?, Neal Layton (Hodder Children’s Books, Hachette Children’s Group)

Age 8-12 (12 books)

• 50 Ways Into Football, Dan Freedman and Daniel Gee (Wren & Rook, Hachette Children’s Group)
• All About Flags, Robin Jacobs, illustrated by Ben Javens (Cicada Books)
• Amazing Asia, Rashmi Sirdeshpande, illustrated by Jason Lyon (Quarto)
• Colossal Words for Kids, Collette Hiller, illustrated by Tor Freeman (Quarto)
• Gold Rush, Flora Delargy (Quarto)
• How to Say No to Your Phone, Brad Marshall (Magic Cat Publishing)
• How to Walk on the Moon and Other Incredible Ideas About Physics, William Potter, illustrated by Richard Watson (Arcturus Publishing)
• Inside Story: How the News Works, ITN Productions, illustrated by Terri Po (Templar Books)
• The Jellyfish Garden: Explore their Curious World, Paola Vitale, illustrated by Rossana Bossù (Post Wave Children’s Books)
• On Track, Tom Adams, illustrated by Tom Jay (Quarto)
• Our Cosmos, Professor Raman Prinja, illustrated by Suzie Mason (Welbeck Children’s Books, Hachette Children’s Group)
• She Speaks: The Women of Greek Myths in their Own Words, Honor Cargill-Martin, illustrated by Camelia Pham (Magic Cat Publishing)

Age 13-16 (10 books)

• Alastair Campbell Talks Politics, Alastair Campbell (Red Shed, Farshore)
• Black History for Every Day of the Year, David and Yinka Olusoga, illustrated by Kemi Olusoga (Macmillan Children’s Books)
• Deborah Meaden Talks Money, Deborah Meaden (Red Shed, Farshore)
• Explodapedia: Rewild, Ben Martynoga, illustrated by Moose Allain (David Fickling Books)
• History for Beginners, Andy Prentice and Tom Mumbray, illustrated by Paul Boston (Usborne)
• The History of Information, Chris Haughton (DK Children’s)
• An Illustrated History of Urban Legends, Adam Allsuch Boardman (Flying Eye Books)
• Queerbook, Malcom Mackenzie, illustrated by Emily A. Foster (Red Shed, Farshore)
• Seriously HAPPY, Ben Aldridge (Quarto)
• The Usborne Teen Survival Guide, Caroline Young, illustrated by The Boy Fitz Hammond, Laura Wood (Usborne)

The School Library Association annual awards rely entirely on sponsor funding and the SLA is grateful to all the sponsors, past and present, without whom these awards would not be possible.