The Mother Goose Award was an award annually presented to "the most exciting newcomer to British children's book illustration."
It was inaugurated in 1979 and last awarded in 1999. Sponsored by Books for Children booksellers, award winners received £1,000 and a gilded goose egg.[1]
Twenty illustrators were recognised in 21 years.
| Year | Illustrator | Title | distinct Author | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Pippin and Pod | — | ||
| 1980 | Mr Potter's Pigeon | Patrick Kinmonth | ||
| 1981 | Green Finger House | Rosemary Harris | ||
| 1982 | Sunshine | — | ||
| 1983 | Angry Arthur | Hiawyn Oram | ||
| 1984 | The Hob Stories | William Mayne | ||
| 1985 | Badger's Parting Gifts | — | ||
| 1986 | (no award) | |||
| 1987 | A Bag of Moonshine (British folktales retold) | Alan Garner | ||
| 1988 | Emma Chichester Clark | Listen to This | Laura Cecil, compiler | |
| 1989 | Bush Vark's First Day Out | — | ||
| 1990 | Strat and Chatto | Jan Mark | ||
| 1991 | A Close Call | — | ||
| 1992 | Inside the Whale and Other Animals | Steve Parker | ||
| 1993 | The Seashell Song | Susie Jenkin-Pearce | ||
| 1994 | Where the Great Bear Watches | James Sage | ||
| 1995 | I Love Animals | — | ||
| 1996 | When Martha's Away | — | ||
| 1997 | Catherine and the Lion | — | ||
| 1998 | Motley the Cat | Susannah Amoore | ||
| 1999 | The Gigantic Turnip (from The Giant Turnip, publ. 1863) | Aleksei Tolstoy | ||
Records of the Mother Goose Award from 1978 to 1986 are held in the archives of the Institute of Education, University of London.[2]
Materials dated 1978 to 1986.