The UK’s most prestigious children’s books prize and its sister award for illustration the Kate Greenaway medal highlight books that can help young readers

The Costa-winning children’s book The Crossing by Manjeet Mann and Cane Warriors by former Guardian children’s fiction prize winner Alex Wheatle are among those in contention for this year’s Yoto Carnegie medal for the best children’s novel.

Mann and Wheatle’s novels are joined on the eight-book shortlist by Tsunami Girl, a story told through both prose and the Japanese graphic novel format manga, by Julian Sedgwick and illustrated by Chie Kutsuwada. This is the first time a manga book has been shortlisted.