Judges said The Kids was “a book to fall in love with”. “It’s joyous, it’s warm and it’s completely universal,” said chair of judges, the BBC News journalist and broadcaster Reeta Chakrabarti. “It’s crafted and skilful but also accessible. Words from the judges were ‘insightful’, ‘empathetic’, ‘generous’, ‘funny’, ‘compassionate’, ‘uplifting’.”
Lowe also thanked “my little boy, Rory, who is learning about the world and teaching me every day, and is the absolute heart of this book”. Some people, Chakrabarti, said “find poetry a little bit intimidating. They think, ‘Gosh, I’m not necessarily going to get on with it.’” But Lowe’s collection “is so direct that actually you feel that you’re being talked to by somebody. And it spans so much, in a very concentrated way. So it’s about everything, it’s about love and grief. It’s about the present and the past. It’s about teaching and being taught. Motherhood, parents, singledom – there’s so much in it.