Students from Brooke Weston Academy are taking part in the Yoto Carnegie Shadowing Scheme during a new elective taking place in Term 4. The Yoto Carnegies are the UK’s longest running and best-loved children’s book awards; unique in that they are judged solely by librarians.

The Shadowing Scheme is a national reading for pleasure initiative that engages thousands of young people in reading the books on the shortlist. The students taking part are known as ‘shadowers’ as they shadow the judging process for the Yoto Carnegie Medals; they read, discuss and review the books on each shortlist, engage in reading related activity and vote for their favourite to win the Shadowers’ Choice Awards.

Thirteen books have been shortlisted in total this year; seven for the Carnegie Medal for Writing and six for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration. Students from the BW Trust primary and secondary schools will visit Brooke Weston Academy on Friday 16th June to take part in a Trust shadowing event.

Year 9, Phoebe Martin said, 'This is the third time I've shadowed the Carnegie awards, and I've enjoyed it every time. All the books I've read are incredible and definitely ones I would have missed out on reading if it weren't for the shadowing group.'

Year 7, Kristina Olaru said, 'I've finished two of the books already. I didn't realise just how good they were going to be!'

Librarian Wendy Mann said, ‘The shadowing scheme is a fantastic way to introduce students to new books and different genres. By shadowing the awards students feel like they are part of the judging process, and it’s always interesting to see if their favourites match up with the official winners of the awards.’

Find out more about the Shadowing Scheme 

Yoto Carnegies Medal for Writing shortlisted titles 2023

Yoto Carnegies Medal for Illustration shortlisted titles 2023