The Yoto Carnegies celebrate outstanding reading experiences in books for children and young people. They are unique in being judged by librarians, with the Shadowers’ Choice Medal voted for by children and young people. The awards aim to spark a lifelong passion for reading by connecting more children with books that will change lives.

Maura Farrelly, Chair of Judges for The Yoto Carnegies 2024, said: “These are books that play with language and show how powerful words and illustrations can inspire imaginations and encourage empathy as well as helping young readers make sense of an increasingly confusing world and give them hope for a brighter future.”

A total of 36 books were selected by the judging panel: 19 for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing, and 18 for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration.

The 2024 Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing longlist

The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander (Andersen Press)

The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell (Usborne)

Away with Words by Sophie Cameron (Little Tiger)

The Little Match Girl Strikes Back by Emma Carroll, illustrated by Lauren Child (Simon & Schuster)

The Boy Lost in the Maze by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Kate Milner (Otter-Barry Books)

Choose Love by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Petr Horáček (Graffeg)

Electric Life by Rachel Delahaye (Troika Books)

Until the Road Ends by Phil Earle (Andersen Press)

Digging for Victory by Cathy Faulkner (Firefly Press)

Crossing the Line by Tia Fisher (Bonnier Books UK)

Wild Song by Candy Gourlay (David Fickling Books)

Boy Like Me by Simon James Green (Scholastic)

Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan (Andersen Press)

Steady for This by Nathanael Lessore (Bonnier Books UK)

The Swifts by Beth Lincoln, illustrated by Claire Powell (Penguin)

Dogs of the Deadland by Anthony McGowan, illustrated by Keith Robinson (Oneworld Publications)

Tyger by SF Said, illustrated by Dave McKean (David Fickling Books)

Ravencave by Marcus Sedgwick (Barrington Stoke)

Greenwild: The World Behind the Door by Pari Thomson, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli (Macmillan Children’s Books)

The 2024 Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration longlist

The Tree and the River by Aaron Becker (Walker Books)

Wolves in Helicopters by Paddy Donnelly, written by Sarah Tagholm (Andersen Press)

April’s Garden by Catalina Echeverri, written by Isla McGuckin (Graffeg)

The Concrete Garden by Bob Graham (Walker Books)

Deep by Stephen Hogtun (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

Lost by Mariajo Ilustrajo (Quarto)

Colours, Colours Everywhere by Sharon King-Chai, written by Julia Donaldson (Macmillan Children’s Books)

The Skull by Jon Klassen (Walker Books)

The Wilderness by Steve McCarthy (Walker Books)

Tyger by Dave McKean, written by SF Said (David Fickling Books)

To the Other Side by Erika Meza (Hachette Children’s Group)

The Midnight Panther by Poonam Mistry (Bonnier Books UK)

The Bowerbird by Catherine Rayner, written by Julia Donaldson (Macmillan Children’s Books)

Global by Giovanni Rigano, written by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin (Hachette Children’s Group)

The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish by Chloe Savage (Walker Books)

My Baba’s Garden by Sydney Smith, written by Jordan Scott (Walker Books)

The Boy Who Lost His Spark by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini, written by Maggie O’Farrell (Walker Books)

What Feelings Do When No One’s Looking by Aleksandra Zając, written by Tina Oziewicz (Pushkin Press)

You can find out more about the Yoto Carnegies 2024 longlist here.