MEET THE Winners of OXFORD BIG READ GLOBAL 2025
This year, students participating in the Oxford Big Read were invited to select books of their choice from a list of OUP readers. The students’ reading selections covered a diverse range of both classic and contemporary themes. Winning submissions were distinguished by thoughtful design, well-crafted essays, and strong critical analysis.
Offices of Oxford University Press across various regions, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia and India, received thousands of submissions from participating schools. These winners advanced to become semi-finalists in the regional Oxford Big Read Global campaign. We are proud to introduce the winners of our seventh edition of the campaign.
CATEGORIES FOR PARTICIPATION
CATEGORY 1: DESIGN A NEW BOOK JACKET
* For those aged 5 years old to 8 years old at the time of entry
All participants read an OUP book and then designed a new cover.
CATEGORY 2: WRITE SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT THE BOOK READ OR DESIGN A POSTER THAT REPRESENTS YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE BOOK
* For those aged 9 years old to 12 years old at the time of entry
Participants read an OUP book and wrote a response describing what they found interesting about the book OR Designed a poster representing their understanding of the same.
CATEGORY 3: WRITE A CRITICAL REVIEW OR Compare and Contrast two books
* For those aged 13 years old to 15 years old at the time of entry
Participants read an OUP book and wrote a critical review describing the theme, plot, and characters Or Compared and contrasted two books.
Awards and Prizes
Three Winners will each receive:
- an Apple iPad
- an Official Award Certificate
Three Runners-up will each receive:
- an exciting gift (equivalent to £100.00 GBP)
- an Official Award Certificate
the GLOBAL winners of 2025
Congratulations to all our champion artists and scholars!
Category 1
Design a New Book Jacket.
Winner
Ages 5-8
Name: Mu Zha
Entry: A New Home by Jan Burchett and Sarah Vogler
Country: Mainland China
Your writing is lively and engaging. It addresses the reader directly and ends strongly with a question. I really like your illustration which was detailed, with lots of action and most importantly bursting with energy!
Runner-up
Ages 5-8
Name: Raniah Raiziel Battad Bumutay
Entry: Let’s Make Pizza by Rachel Wilson
Country: Thailand
Your illustration is full of lively characters and interesting details. A viewer is drawn in by each person’s different response. I specially liked the use of rhyme in the two sentences which conveys the resolution very effectively and draws the eye to the corner of the page.
Category 2
WHAT YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT THE BOOK
OR
DESIGN A POSTER THAT REPRESENTS YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE BOOK
Winner
Ages 9-12
Name: Pham Chau Anh
Entry: Hachiko by Nichole Irving
Country: Vietnam
Very accurately written with mature perceptive and thoughtful analysis. A sophisticated interpretation of the story, going beyond the facts of the narrative with moral and personal implications. The poster is beautifully executed and designed.
Runner-up
Ages 9-12
Name: Yufei Shen
Entry: Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh
Country: Mainland China
You have created an impressive cover and explained your reasons for its design in sophisticated terms. Your engagement with the book is evident in the structure of your analysis, which is cleverly both personal and political.
Category 3
WRITE A CRITICAL REVIEW OR Comapre and Contrast
Winner
Ages 13-15
Name: Lại Anh KhôI
Entry: Madame Marie Tells the Future by Lynne Marie Robertson
Country: Vietnam
Your illustration suggests a sinister context for the story, but turns out to be happy and inspiring at the end. You have written clearly and in detail about the events that take place and the lessons the narrator learn. I really like the way you relate those lessons to your own life and experience.
Runner-up
Ages 13-15
Name: Leyang Li
Entry: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Country: Mainland China
This was a delight to read. There was considerable, critical and personal maturity in your analysis, which goes beyond the narrative import of the text. It is a real pleasure to read a piece of such complexity in this competition which explores the subtleties of Austen’s social commentary and her delicate scalpel of wit.