I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE easy: a few nice novels to read, a gentle cup of tea, a thoughtful decision, but when I couldn't open the office door for manuscripts the second week running, I realised that this was not going to be quite as easy as I had imagined.

To sift through the entries has been a gigantic, but hugely enjoyable task for our readers, who selected a long list of 22 novels from more than 2,000 complete manuscripts. I have reduced that to a shortlist of five for our final decision.

So how were we able to choose between an alien football team, a 13th-century boy monk, a troubled teenage girl vampire, or a cat with powers of perception? Well, actually, the books with real child appeal leap out. Most of the agony lay in the final choices between manuscripts that, while almost good enough, had insurmountable flaws of plot, style or unbelievability. Don't get me wrong - children will follow you through a time vortex, down a Victorian drain or through the back door of a spaceship if your writing is good enough, but if a character acts unemotionally or illogically, or if a writer cheats a reader by bad plotting, or, most often, if the writing just can't convey what the writer wants to say, that's when a story falls.

That's why I'm so proud of our well-crafted shortlist - and of the immense talent on show from all the entries. There is no doubt that we Brits lead the world of children's books for a reason ... we are extraordinarily eccentric, talented and deeply adept at calling up worlds of childhood that can mesmerise, enchant, grip and challenge, with passion and substance. We believe that great work for children is important and life changing - and our shortlist proves it.

The winner, to be judged by bestselling author Malorie Blackman, Times reviewer Amanda Craig, Fiona Allen from Waterstone's, young people's librarian Karen Robinson and Chicken House MD Barry Cunningham, will be announced on March 22

THE SHORTLIST

Reavers by Emily Diamand
A post apocalyptical fantasy set in a partially flooded Britain. The story centres on a young fisher girl, orphaned when the sinister Reavers come calling and she is at sea with her seer-like cat. Read an extract

The Secret Life of Jemma Jones by Ann Marie Conway
A heart-warming modern day story of fractured family life: Jemma's big sister isn't welcome in the house any more, her dad's gone AWOL and her mum refuses to tell her why. The only thing to brighten Jemma's week is the Yellow Brick Road Drama Club. Read an extract

The Crowfield Feather by Pat Walsh
A dark, atmospheric, mythological fantasy set in the fourteenth century about an orphan boy who lives in a monastery. The story builds on the discovery that the monks have apparently buried an 'angel' in the forest. Read an extract

Knowing Leila by Frances Field
Leila's once famous pop-star mum is going on the road again, and this summer Leila's going with her. A modern story of teenage friendship, tricky family relationships and moral dilemmas - set in the gorgeously colourful world of an 'end of the pier' revival show. Read an extract

Aliens FC by Sam Morrison and Danny Stack
A younger, comic novel about a brother and sister kidnapped in their Beckham and Rooney football shirts by aliens. Aliens who are desperate to rescue their failing soccer team. A terrible case of mistaken identity! Read an extract

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