The Carnegie Medal is awarded annually to the writer of an outstanding book for children.

Amy, who is chairman of the East Midlands Youth Libraries Group, was put forward as a candidate and was told the good news on the last day of term.

It is rare for a school librarian to be selected for the 12-strong panel and Amy is looking forward to the role.

She will be given a long-list of books to read over Christmas which she has to narrow down to five to 10 books.

The panel then decide between them who the eventual winner is.

Amy said: "This means everything to me. The Carnegie is such a big thing for children's librarians and it's the most prestigious award for children's authors - now I'm going to be part of it.

"It will give students here access to some of the best literature published in the next two years. For our keen readers, it's something to be excited about because now they can be part of the judging process.

"I'm so passionate about reading and I want to pass my passion on."