I’m delighted that The Cat, The Mouse and the Runaway Train, illustrated by Steve Cox and published by Hodder, is on the shortlist for the 2015 Portsmouth Book Award, run by the Portsmouth Schools Library Service. The winner will be known in June.

After extensive reading and debating, young people decide their books of the year in three categories: Picture Book (year 1), Shorter Novel (year 5) and Longer Novel (years 8 and 9). At a time when some councils in England have, scandalously, been cutting their schools library services, this award is a great example of the value of such services in encouraging children to become enthusiastic readers.

The other titles on the shortlist are: There’s a Lion in my Cornflakes, by Michelle Robinson and Jim Field; Supertato by Sue Hendra; and The Wonder by Faye Hanson.