There’s A Pig Up My Nose by John Dougherty and Laura Hughes has been announced as the winner of Oscar’s Book Prize 2018. Chosen from over 100 entries – the largest submission
Oscar’s Book Prize, a celebration of children’s literature
supported by us and Amazon, looks for the best book
for under-fives published in the past year. The award honours Oscar Ashton, a
boy who passed away at the age of three and a half from an undetected heart
condition, who had an expansive imagination and loved fantastical stories, and
was set up by his parents James Ashton and Viveka Alvestrand.
Penned by former primary school teacher turned writer John Dougherty and brought to life with comical artwork by illustrator Laura Hughes, There’s A Pig Up My Nose is a tale about a group of schoolchildren banding together to help protagonist Natalie find a way to get a pig out of her nose. Inspiration for the tale came, for Hughes, from the diversity she sees every day in London, while Dougherty found his inspiration in the classroom after he had teased a girl for her “snorty laugh”.
Princess Eugenie, upon presenting the prize, said, “I had the best day reading the shortlist and laughing at all the books. I am proud to be here this evening in remembrance of Oscar Ashton.”
The prize’s 2018 judging panel included TV and radio presenter Katie Derham, Julia Eccleshare, Children’s Director of the Hay Festival, Brigitte Ricou-Bellan, UK Director of Books at Amazon, and Oscar’s parents, James Ashton and Viveka Alvestrand.