I am delighted to discover that 'The Queen's Hat' has been shortlisted for the Oscar's First Book Prize: a touching tribute to Oscar Ashton, the son of Evening Standard executive editor and columnist James Ashton, who was three years old when he died in December 2012 from an undetected heart condition.

It’s the second year for Oscar's First Book Prize, which is given to the best first book a child might pick up on their own. Last year, Benji Davies picked up the award for his heartwarming picture book, 'The Storm Whale' (pictured below).

Sixty submissions were whittled down to a long-list of ten, and the final five were carefully picked by a panel of judges: actress Gillian Anderson, Dame Marjorie Scardino, former Pearson CEO and the first female board director of Twitter, Rupert Thomas, marketing director of Waitrose, and Oscar’s parents, Viveka Alvestrand and Evening Standard executive editor and columnist, James Ashton. Gillian Anderson will present the award, sponsored by Waitrose, at Soho House, on May 7.

Below are the final five books shortlisted books for Oscar's First Book Prize. Congratulations, all!