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Sue Hendra & Paul Linnet WIN the LOLLIES book award 2016!
last updated 11 February 2016
In 2016 Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet, co-creators of veggie-hero ‘Supertato’, were shortlisted for the Laugh Out Loud picture book award this year, for the brilliant I Need a Wee! published by Simon and Schuster.
Sue and Paul went on to WIN the LOLLIES AWARD for the picture book category!
The Lollies book award, launched by Scholastic, celebrates and recognises the funniest new children’s books (the LOL stands for… yes you guessed it - ‘laugh out loud’!) and filling a gap left from The Roald Dahl book prize which closed in 2013.
In an article by The Guardian, Head Judge and former Children’s laureate, Michael Rosen says, “funny books never win the awards… even though they have as important a role to play as the wonderful serious books. I’m over the moon that it was possible to revive a funny books award!” Read the full article here.
We are so delighted that Sue and Paul were nominated and then won with a book which is truly funny — whether you are 3 or 43, or older in fact, there is a lesson for us all in this very funny, yet cautionary tale! It’s a story all about those moments where you really need a wee, but you’re having far too much fun to go - and what if you miss out on something?! This happens to Alan the bear on a day out with his friends, but it becomes rather critical as Alan realises he can’t hold on for much longer and whenever he thinks he might be able to go… he can’t! The loo in Dolly’s house is too small, and he causes some upset at a tea party by mistaking a teapot for a tea-potty. Sue and Paul continue to produce the funniest childrens books I have read for quite some time and if you haven’t yet come across them, I urge you to — you’re missing out if not — no matter what age you are!
The cover of the shortlisted title (click on the image to buy a copy) and a collage made by Sue and Paul for our exhibition at The Bookseller children’s conference in September 2015.
“Winning the LOLLIES was an enormous honour; beyond enormous actually. Partly because it was the first award of its kind since the the Roald Dahl Funny Prize was paused. I’ve always been a huge fan of Roald Dahl, of his stories for children and for adults. I’d always fantasised about winning that funny prize but I never dreamed that it would/could happen. When it was stopped (apparently temporarily I’ve just discovered) that was that. But then hurrah! Scholastic announced the Laugh Out Loud Awards and oh my goodness one of our books was shortlisted!”
“The other reason it was such an honour was because after the shortlist of books had been chosen it was completely voted for by children. I’ve never understood how grown ups could be qualified to judge what is a funny children’s book, surely that can only be decided by children themselves.”
“I think a competition like the Laugh Out Loud award is very important. Laughing is very important, so books that make you laugh are surely vital. This award celebrates silliness, reading and children having the right to choose for themselves.” — Sue Hendra
You can read more about their win here in our ‘Children’s Book Awards and Why They Matter…’ blog!
Sue Hendra & Paul Linnet with a bath-full of their back catalogue!
To work with Sue and Paul please get in touch with their Agent, Arabella Stein. You can view Sue and Paul’s profile of artwork and visit their twitter account.