Finalists 2021
Below is a list of the 2021 FINALISTS in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. The children's books were read and judged by children in 8 UK primary and secondary schools, the adult books by 2 Reading Groups, 1 in London and 1 in Stockholm. The books were marked according to EDITING, THEME, STYLE, COVER and, in the case of many of the children's books, ILLUSTRATIONS.
The WINNERS will be announced on April 1st, 2022.
Jump straight to:
- Category 1: Pre-school picture books
- Category 2: Books for 6 - 8 year olds
- Category 3: Books for 9 - 12 year olds
- Category 4: Books for Teenagers
- Category 5: Books for adults (fiction)
- Category 6: Books for Adults (non-fiction)
- Category 7: Audio Book - Children/Young Adult
- Category 8: Audio Book - Adult
- Category 9: Best Book Cover - Children/Young Adult
- Category 10: Best Book Cover - Adult
- Red Ribbon Bands
If you happen to be looking for a good read, the readers at The Wishing Shelf Awards thoroughly recommend the following:

Nurse Bear Does First Aid: Picture Book to Learn First Aid Skills for Toddlers and Kids
Author: Marta Almansa Esteva

Olive the Worrying Wiener: A Short Tale about a Particularly Long Dog
Author: Ally Arena
Illustrator: Rafaela Sukiyama

Monster in the Water: Fighting Back Against Harmful Algal Blooms
Author: Dylan Dagate
Illustrator: Maria Decerce

Sticky Icky Vicky: Courage over Fear
Author: Alysia Ssentamu, Michael Ssentamu
Illustrator: Noor Alshalabi

Audacious Goals, Remarkable Results: How an Explorer, an Engineer and a Statesman shaped our Modern World
Author: Brad Borkan and David Hirzel

Black, White, And Gray All Over; A Black Man’s Odyssey in Life and Law Enforcement
Author: Frederick Reynolds

Just Say "$%#&! NO!†Book Dedicated to the Well-Intended Overextended!
Author: Heather Tobin
Illustrator: Karen Tobin

Kings, Conquerors, Psychopaths: From Alexander to Hitler to the Corporation
Author: Joseph N Abraham MD

Grandpa Jock and the Incredible Iron-Bru-Man Incident: Gorgeous George
Author: Stuart Reid
Performed by: Stuart Reid

Fries & Alibis: Paranormal Cozy Mystery: Mitzy Moon Mysteries Series, Book 1
Author: Trixie Silvertale
Performed by: Coleen Marlo

Systemology: Create Time, Reduce Errors and Scale Your Profits with Proven Business Systems
Author: David Jenyns

The Essential Family Guide to Caring for Older People
Author: Deborah Stone
Performed by: Maggie Ollerenshaw

Little Wade and Watchtower: Abigail and the Great Gang Trap
Author: Sean March
Cover Designer: Joe Ruiz

Rory, Quest for the Northern Lights
Author: Sarah Cullen, Carmen Ellis
Cover Designer: Zuzana Svobodova

The Young Adult’s Collection of Short Scary Stories
Author: Michael Ross
Cover Designer: Magdalena Adić
A Red Ribbon is awarded to a book that did NOT get over 30/40 to be a finalist, but was still very much enjoyed by the readers.
Sponsored Ads
Secrets of The Sealed Forest
Magic awakens in this
modern fantasy adventure.
Amazon
The Crooked Ladder
It's time to climb...
or die
Amazon
A Good Day and Other...
A wide-ranging collection
of imaginative, funny stories.
Amazon
The Book Witch
A thrilling, fast paced
fantasy book for MGs
Amazon
INTO THE BLAZE
A new trilogy where fantasy,
myth, and reality entwine
Amazon
I FEEL YOUR STARE
An Autobiography by Cheryl
Gillespie - Book Award Winner!
Amazon
A Misfortunate Misfit
Incredible true story of a
man saving his own life
Amazon
Hecatomb of the Vampire
5 horror tales link in book 1
of The Dark Rituals Saga
Amazon
Ian's Realm Saga
A 7 book adventure fantasy
series for the family.
gardnersart.com
Mirrors & Smoke: A War of 1812
'A smartly plotted, character
novel set in 1800s Canada' WSA
Amazon/Audible
Life with psychopathic brother
A quirky philosophical novel
about forgiveness.
linnaspen.com
Love in the Cupboard
A sweet, clean Catholic Priest
seeks a wife rom-com
Amazon
BEHIND THE PICKLE JAR
A fun, relatable,
emotionally powerful read!
Amazon
Moving Men by Karene Horst
A modern novel, relationships
% the scars they leave behind
Flying Trees Publishing
FALSE NEUTRAL
One chance to finally
make sense of it all.
Amazon
Naked in the Now
What if presence felt like
being seduced by life?
Amazon
A First Book of Microbiology
A fun learning journey
down the microscope lens.
Amazon
Ghoul of Sherwood
Robin Hood and his men solve
a grisly murder near a nunnery
Amazon
Clouds on the Ground
Poems exploring natural beauty
and the realm of dreams
Amazon
Secrets of a Social Butterfly
How I unstuck my life
and you can too.
Lynn Bruines
Nantucket Monsters
Island monsters on the sly,
live in the corner your eye
B. LAWSON HULL
Lines in the Sand
Edgy and isolating. A perfect
memoir of loss and endurance.
F. Scott Service
The Beast Keepers
A young vet discovers a
world of mythical creatures
Amazon
Plea to a Frozen God
A desperate trio appeals
to the God of Death.
Amazon
The Woodsman
A 5* serial killer thriller
on Kindle and Unlimited
Amazon
Pippin's Country Adventure
A happy fun educational read
about an adventurous poodle.
Amazon
THE SELFISH SHELLFISH & THE
SICK SEA an environmental gem
for the age. GET A COPY AT:
theprolificword.com
Changing Tide
A Thrilling First
Contact Novel
www.cougarproductions.com
More Future Dreams/Nightmares
Award-winning SF short
stories of AIs and robots.
Donald Firesmith
The Shadow of the Volcano
A thrilling 'time travel'
adventure for 7 - 13 yr olds.
Amazon
THE SAD PRINCESS
Refinding joy with our
children is not a fairy tale
Amazon
LADY IN RED
Teen sleuths search for
a missing masterpiece.
Amazon
MERCY'S VIEW: BLACKOUT
Memoir - A runaway's reckless
re-entry into society
Amazon
Sea Change by Nick Bamford
'A gay romance and adventure
on a yacht at sea'
nickbamford.com
MEMOIR OF A MANGLED MIND
Steve's 2 other personalities
wreak havoc all around him
Amazon
The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior
"This happened in 1944 but
honored 80 years later!"
Amazon
From Patriarchy to Paradise
The script is flipped:
Women steer back to garden.
expandjoy
The Book of Wisdom-ish
Adventure begins with
a book. And an A.
Amazon
Beyond the Brink
Teleportation is just the
beginning...
Amazon
The Shadow Deception
Can a pranking pixie and a
grumpy angel save the world?
Amazon
Portraits of a Pandemic
The story of how a microscopic
virus changed our lives.
Amazon
Return to Vienna
How SOE worked to free
Austria from Hitler's grip
Amazon
The Puppet Maker's Daughter
Marika protects her family &
orphaned children from Nazis.
Amazon
Jemma and the Raven
A luminous adventure in
this epic YA fantasy debut
Amazon
Clifftop Farm in Wartime
A story of WW2
evacuated children
Amazon
Then We'll Say Goodnight
How would you get your
unruly puppies back to bed?
Amazon
Adventures of Beryl and Carol
Award winning, clean teen
adventure for all ages.
berylandcarol
My Year at the Good Bean Cafe
A riveting tale of unlikely
and inexplicable events.
Amazon
CALM POND
TOP 10 BOOK - 9 short stories
for 5 - 9 year olds
Amazon
Bentley Makes a Dump Cake
A delightful, messy adventure
with joy, teamwork, & color
Miki Taylor
EVERKNIGHT
A Heroic Journey of
Uncompromising Honor
Amazon
SKY ICE
Demon hunters. Slow-burn
romance. Hidden world.
Amazon
CLOUDY WITH CHANCE OF ANSWERS
"Crazy family. Endless cold
case. Then there's a clue!"
Amazon
GRAVE SECRETS-Cassandra Aston
The dark fantasy you've
been waiting for
Amazon
An Enemy Like Me
A story not only of war but of
love & what we will do for it.
Amazon
The Crooked Ladder
It's time to climb...
or die
Amazon
A Rage To Live
A true boys' coming of age
story set during the Holocaust
Amazon
Secrets of The Sealed Forest
Magic awakens in this
modern fantasy adventure.
Amazon
NEW TRAILS
A queer portal fantasy of
magic, courage, and home
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