Strictly Come Dancing presenter Claudia Winkleman has signed up to the judging panel for children's writing competition Oscar's Book Prize.
She joins Cathy Rentzenbrink, an author, and Dan Mucha, Director of Books at Amazon, as a judge of the competition which will award £5,000 for the best book published in 2016 for children aged five or under.
The competition was set up three years ago in memory of Oscar Ashton, who tragically died suddenly just before Christmas in 2012 at the age of three of an undetected heart condition. The competition pays tribute to his love of stories. It will be supported this year by Amazon and the National Literacy Trust.
Oscar was the son of James Ashton, a columnist for the Evening Standard, and his wife Viveka Alvestrand, a jewellery designer. They will also be on the judging panel, as they have been every year of the competition so far.
On the website, they wrote: "We wrestled with how to commemorate him. By launching Oscar’s Book Prize, a hunt for the best pre-school book of the year, we aimed to celebrate a child’s love for magical stories. They are the books that our son rifled through eagerly and helped to foster his vivid imagination."
Claudia has three children with film producer husband Kris Thykier - Jake, 13, Matilda, 10 and Arthur, five. She said: "I can't wait to read all the entries. I can still remember sitting on my parents' lap while they read to me, loving their accents and squealing 'more' when they finished. My mum kept every book and I read them to my children.
She admitted that her children "would definitely say my husband is more skilled in that department. He'll disappear with a big Seuss book and have them crying with laughter. But I read to them every night."
Her fellow judge, Cathy Rentzenbrink, is author of the 2015 memoir The Last Act of Love, which she wrote about her brother after he was knocked down by a car on his way home from school.
She said: "My son Matt is seven, about the same age that Oscar would be now. When I explained to him why I was judging this prize, he thought it was very sad that Oscar had died and that it was brilliant that his parents had wanted to do this for him.
"He asked if he could look at the books with me and I agreed, so we are both really looking forward to reading them together."
The competition is being supported by Amazon this year in their Amazon in the Community programme, which aims to help children and young people thrive in the digital world, including equipping them with literacy skills.
Dan Mucha, the other judge, said: "Amazon started life as a bookseller, and we are passionate about helping more children discover the joy of reading. It's a privilege to support Oscar's Book Prize, a competition which puts the love of stories above all else and encourages parents to read to their children from a young age."
The National Literacy Trust are also on board this year. The charity "works to improve the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in the UK's most disadvantaged communities, where up to 40% of people have literacy problems."
Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust said: "We are delighted to be supporting Oscar's Book Prize. It's never too soon for parents to start reading with their young children, which will allow them to develop the vital language skills that will set them up for future success.
"This competition celebrates the brilliant new early years literature that will capture the imaginations of both children and parents and that they will love exploring together."
Previous winners of the prize has previously been won by Benji Davies for Storm Whale in 2014, by Steve Antony for The Queen's Hat in 2015 and last year by Gemma Merino for The Cow Who Climbed a Tree.
Sarah Sands, editor of the Evening Standard, said: "Oscar's Book Prize is now a significant event in the publishing calendar and we are delighted to continue our partnership. It is for the pleasure of all children and in particular remembering a little boy who loved to read – Oscar."
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