Which J.K. Rowling book won the 1997 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Gold Award?

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone won the 1997 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Gold Award.

The award was one of the early major signs that Rowling’s debut had captured young readers. The Nestlé Smarties Book Prize was a British children’s book award decided through a combination of judging and children’s voting, and the first Harry Potter novel won the 9-to-11-years category in 1997.

The book also received the 1997 British Book Award for Children’s Book of the Year and the Carnegie Medal nomination history often associated with its early reception. The Nestlé Smarties prize is not the same as the later Blue Peter Book Award or the Hugo Award, so those distinctions matter when identifying the specific honor and year.