THE votes have been counted and the winners have been announced in this year’s Oxfordshire Book Awards.

They are nominated, shortlisted and voted for by pupils in the county’s primary schools.

This year, youngsters from 23 secondary and 28 primary schools took part, reading books from a range of genres.

In total nearly 1,500 votes were cast in three categories.

The winning book for secondary aged pupils was Butterfly Summer, by Anne-Marie Conway, with Shirley Hughes’s Hero on a Bicycle being highly commended.

The best primary novel was Wonder by RJ Palacio and the best picture book was The Really, Really, Really Big Dinosaur by Richard Byrne.

Mr Byrne said he looked forward to meeting his readers at the awards ceremony.

He said: “I still get a thrill just knowing that someone has read a book of mine – so imagine how I feel knowing that lots of children voted for The Really, Really, Really Big Dinosaur.

“It really is fantastic.”

He said: “I’ve had a great time telling everybody I know the great news and they’re all very impressed.”

Anne-Marie Conway said: “I was absolutely thrilled to find out I had won.

“It’s fantastic to win any award, but the Oxfordshire Book Award is particularly special as it’s the children who read the books and vote for the winner.”

Burford School librarian Lynne Cooper, who helped set up the scheme five years ago, said: “It’s gone very well.

“We have had extra primary schools taking part, which is really good.

“The voting was quite tight in the secondary category which is why we decided to award a highly commended title.”

  • Butterfly Summer tells of Becky, who moves back to her tiny village where old family secrets surface. She seeks refuge in the butterfly gardens.
  • Hero on a Bicycle is the first novel by Shirley Hughes and is set in Nazi- occupied Florence during the Second World War.
  • Wonder is the funny but moving tale of a 10-year-old boy with a serious facial abnormality who is set to start mainstream school.
  • The Really, Really, Really Big Dinosaur tells the story of little dinosaur Finlay, and tackles issues such as showing off and sharing.The authors have all been informed of their success and invited to an award ceremony at Abingdon School.

Part of the goal of the awards, as well as getting youngsters to broaden their reading horizons, is to inspire them with the chance of meeting real, successful authors.

Caroline Bateman, a Year 7 pupil at the Marlborough School, Woodstock, placed her vote for Butterfly Summer.

She said: “It was a really good opportunity to find out about new books.

“It gave people the opportunity to vote for their favourite over a few weeks, and let them give their own opinions.”

Sammy Miller, from North Leigh, who is in Year 9 at the Marlborough School, said: “I’ve been in the Oxfordshire Book Awards for several years now, and it helps to encourage children to read a variety of genres, and brings people who love reading together.”

Year 9 pupil Ollie Paton, above, from Beckley, said: “The awards let me explore a range of different genres and the voting is interesting because you never know which book will win.”

Ben Court, from Kidlington, who is also in Year 9, said: “I like the freedom and choice we are given in nominating books.”