The Whitbread is one of the longest-running and most prestigious book awards in the UK.
There are five main sections including one for best children's book. Two of the five judges in this section are kids.
The other categories are: best novel, best first novel, best poetry collection and best biography. An overall top prize is given to one of those five.
Children's author Philip Pullman made history last year by winning both the children's category and the overall prize for The Amber Spyglass. He's the first kid's author ever to do this.
The Whitbread awards were set up in 1971.