
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.
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An Enemy Like Me
A story not only of war but of
love & what we will do for it.
Amazon
Secrets of The Sealed Forest
Magic awakens in this
modern fantasy adventure.
Amazon
Wild Asses of Mojave Desert
“Funny & tender, moving &
poetic" Recommended US Review
books2read.com
The Last Spiritwalker
Blood, magic, myths &
a badass female lead
Amazon
A Vampire's Tooth Fairy Chase
A vampire with flat teeth
searches for the Tooth Fairy.
Amazon
SECRET SKY
Everybody wishes they could
fly - until it happens
books2read.com
Harvey's Hutch
A man, nearly seventy,
looks back on his life.
Amazon
CHILDREN OF HORSESHOE HIDEOUT
A modern day Boxcar Children,
loved the world over
Amazon
SECRETS AND SPIES
A WW2 tale of love, friendship
and wartime conflict, 8-12 yrs
Amazon
FARSEEKER
Enlightened. Enslaved. Erased.
A Sci-Fi, Fantasy epic!
Amazon
The Beast Keepers
A young vet discovers a
world of mythical creatures
Amazon
Planet Asperger
Around the Syndrome
in 88 Questions
books2read.com
Hieroglyph
A fantastical mix of history &
fantasy. GOLD medal winner!
Amazon
Comfort in the Wings
An inspiring, heartfelt
journey of joy after loss
Amazon
Children of the Realm
Girl finds mythical origins
in YA urban fantasy
Amazon
Code of Rainbow Series
An Epic teen fantasy series
that links MAGIC with SCIENCE
Amazon
Into The Shadows
Journey from naïve university
student to a great spy.
marinemoments.uk
CHARLES DARWIN...
An entertaining learning
resource for curious kids.
www.alanhesse.com
Nemesis Rising
"Survival comes with a cost
for Sam …his humanity."
Amazon
Arctic Dinosaurs
Her first Arctic year -
middle grade - free activities
Fathom Publishing
A Night at The King’s Inn
Award winning tale of
intrigue, mystery, and horror.
Amazon
PARIS BLUE, first love memoir
Classical music and first love
in the magical city of Paris
www.mybook.to
RAVEN'S GRAVE Charlotte Stuart
Betrayal and death in
an Alaskan Tlingit village.
Amazon
The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior
"This happened in 1944 but
honored 80 years later!"
Amazon
In the Shadows of Castles
A story of love, hope and
survival in a time of war.
Amazon
False Neutral
A story of choices made & not
made, & the collision of paths
Amazon
The Woodsman
A 5* serial killer thriller
on Kindle and Unlimited
Amazon
Sam & Me & the Hard Pear Tree
A personal account of
a mother’s ultimate loss
Amazon
THE GRAVITY OF LIES
WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE
WAS BASED ON LIES?
Amazon
Running from Covid in our...
Paradoxical journey of losing
and finding freedom in an RV
Amazon
The Gift of Knowing You
Discover all of who you are &
the power of your story.
Amazon
RAIN FALLING ON EMBERS
A grieving, fish out of water
teen struggles to survive.
KatieMcCabeSeries.com
For Evil Done & Evil Suffered
Gripping murder mystery; tease
the brain & stir the senses.
Amazon
MUMMY TRUMPS
A rhyming flatulent book that
is fun for all of the family.
Amazon
The Animals at the Zoo
A Fun & Educational Picture
Book for Kids Ages 2-5
Amazon
Belluna's Big Adventure...
Dance-It-Out Creative Movement
Story for Young Movers
Amazon
Kingdom of Trung Trung Karmo
A fast-paced adventure
for middle graders
Amazon
Children of the Knight
When the children rise,
will the city fall?
Amazon
EVERKNIGHT
A Heroic Journey of
Uncompromising Honor
Amazon
The Wolf's Tooth
A boy in a forest. Alone,
but for a wolf pack.
Amazon
Captivity (Faction War #1)
"A superb work of
graphic dystopian fiction.â€
books2read.com
Putney Hicks Inventor
Can Putney Hicks engineer
a way out of trouble?
Amazon
Selfish Shellfish & Sick Sea
An environmental gem for the
age. Get your copy at:
theprolificword.com
Then We'll Say Goodnight
How would you get your
unruly puppies back to bed?
Amazon
The Keepers of Jo’Hanna
Finding courage in a society
overthrown by tyranny
Amazon
Whispers of the Gone
A Realm and Elven Saga
for the curious adventurer.
Amazon
CITRUS by Tabitha Kumwembe
Join Captain Alexis Creed on
her quest to conquer evil!
Amazon
HUNGRY TRAILS
‘A…culturally rich family
chronicle.’ Kirkus Review
Amazon
Comfort in the Wings
A woman’s inspiring quest for
comfort and joy after grief
Amazon
Discovery of Elizabeth Sawyer
The ‘Witch of Edmonton’
overturns Jacobean London
www.jonathanvischer.com
The Boy and the Jaguar
A magical Mayan tale
for middle-grade readers.
Amazon
An Only Child's Diary
For girls facing the
challenge of growing up
Amazon
COUNTDOWN AMERICA
A fast-paced cyber
espionage thriller
Amazon
Eye of the Turtle
Thrilling adventure with
environmental theme (8+)
Gloria Barnett
The Girl Who Looked Beyond...
13 yrs old. How can she have
a destiny to save the world?
Amazon
THE DARK PLACES NOVELS
Paranormal thrillers to
get your pulse racing
kimgravell.com
The Poison Keeper
The story of Giulia Tofana,
Renaissance poisoner.
Amazon
LADY APPRENTICE
"Love, fighting, mystery and
magic†BRAG Medallion
Amazon
Kingdom of Trung Trung Karmo
A fast-paced adventure
for middle graders
Amazon