The Deepest Breath by Meg Grehan (Little Island) was named to the Books for Younger Readers category shortlist for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020. It is the first LGBTQ+ story to be featured in this category, where a young schoolgirl deals with the realisation that she likes a girl at school more than her male friend and builds up the courage to tell her mum.
For the past 16 years, this annual prize has gone to the very best in new children’s writing and illustration from the opinions of Waterstones’ expert booksellers. The shortlists consist of 18 books across three categories — illustrated books, books for younger readers (ages 5–12), and books for older readers (12+).
Meg Grehan will be going up against Sharna Jackson’s High-Rise Mystery (Knights Of) and Charlie Changes Into a Chicken by Copeland (Puffin); Kirsty Applebaum’s The Middler (Nosy Crow); Jasbinder Bilan’s Asha & the Spirit Bird (Chicken House); and Lucy Strange’s Our Castle by the Sea (Chicken House).
“This is a heartwarming, emotional look at a very young girl realising she likes girls and trying to tell her mum, the person she trusts most in the world,” says Lauren James, author of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe, “It made me cry and feel the biggest love for the human race. Meg’s writing is so beautiful and flows like water.”
Learn more about Meg Grehan’s book ‘The Deepest Breath’ and read its reviews here. For readers aged 10+.
