First awarded in 2005, the purpose of the prize is "to uncover hidden talent in children's writing" and is therefore open only to authors who have published no more than two or three books, depending on which category they are in.
[1] The prize is awarded by British book retailer Waterstones.
It was originally called the Ottakar's Children's Book Prize, after the bookshop chain.
When all Ottakar's stores were rebranded as Waterstone's following the HMV Group takeover in 2006, the prize also changed its name to become the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize.
Beginning in 2012, the prize was divided into three categories: Picture Books, Fiction 5–12, and Teen.