CBC 2026 Kids Favorites

March 20, 2026March 19, 2026 | Tasha

The Children’s Book Council has announced the 2026 Kids Favorites lists. The CBC is a nonprofit trade association of children’s book publishers in North America. The lists are chosen by children and teachers across North America through a voting process. The lists are available as a pdf on their website and include many books for each age range. Below are the top ten in each age group:

KINDERGARTEN – 2ND GRADE TOP TEN

Aggie and the Ghost by Matthew Forsythe

Axolotl and Axolittle by Jess Hitchman, illustrated by Sarah Rebar

Bruce Saves the Planet by Ryan T. Higgins

Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo by Bess Kalb, illustrated by Erin Kraan

Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat

E-I-UFO: Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Zach von Zonk, illustrated by Benjamin Chaud

Flat Cat: The Class Pet by Tara Lazar, illustrated by Pete Oswald

Piece Out by Alex Willan

POP! Goes the Nursery Rhyme by Betsy Bird, illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi

Recess by Lane Smith

3RD-5TH GRADE TOP TEN

Biggest Fake in the Universe by Johan Rundberg

Croco by Azul López

Dog Man: Big Jim Believes by Dav Pilkey

Duck and Moose: Moose’s Bad Hair Day! by Kirk Reedstrom

George Washington’s Spectacular Spectacles: The Glasses That Saved America by Selene Castrovilla, illustrated by Jenn Harney

Paw & Order Vol. 1 by Jason Platt

The Snips: A Bad Buzz Day by Raúl the Third

Swap-A-Word! Fun with a Sound-Alike-Words by Marvin Terban, illustrated by Andreas Wittmann

Why We Eat Fried Peanuts: A Celebration of Family and Lunar New Year Traditions by
Zed Zha, illustrated by Sian James

Zero! The Number That Almost Wasn’t by Sarah Albee, illustrated by Chris Hsu

6TH-8TH GRADE TOP TEN

Aarzu All Around by Marzieh Abbas

Billions to Burn by Taylor Banks

Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson

Chickenpox by Remy Lai

Coven by Soman Chainani, illustrated by Joel Gennari

Creaky Acres by Calista Brill and Nilah Magruder

Dial If You Dare by Alexandre Côté-Fournier, illustrated by Geneviève Bigué

Isle of Ever by Jen Calonita

J vs. K. by Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft

The Trouble With Heroes by Kate Messner

9TH-12TH GRADE TOP TEN

After We Burned by Marieke Nijkamp

The Art of Drag by Jake Hall, illustrated by Sofie Birkin, Helen Li, and Jasjyot Singh Hans

Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers’ Rights by Ashley Hope Pérez

Buzz! by Ananth Hirsh, illustrated by Tess Stone

Dear Manny by Nic Stone

Fireblooms by Alexandra Villasante

The Flip Side by Jason Walz

Messi Mania: The Ultimate Story of the World’s Greatest Soccer Star by Luis Miguel Echegaray

Raven Boys: The Graphic Novel by Maggie Stiefvater, adapted by Stephanie Williams, illustrated
by Sas Milledge

Silenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan Genocide by
Pablo Leon

Wake My Friday Brain Cells – March 20 Edition

March 20, 2026March 19, 2026 | Tasha

CHILDREN’S LIT

8 Coming-of-Age Novels in Verse for Middle Grade and YA Readers – SLJ

‘It’s like a giant book club’: how schools are getting children excited about reading again – The Guardian

Library of Congress Collection Tells the Story of American Children’s Books – Publishers Weekly

Mud Storytime (February 2026) – Early Literacy Librarian

Newbery/Caldecott 2027: Spring Prediction Edition – Fuse 8

Seeing Ourselves Whole: Why Muslim Children Need Stories That Belong to Them – Amaliah

Southern States Boost Early Reading, But Gains Stall in Middle School – KQED

LIBRARIES

Audiobooks don’t really count as reading? Think again. – The Harvard Gazette

How Libraries Shape AI Literacy on Campus – Inside Higher Ed

Obamas, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush Among 1,500 Books Banned in Texas School District – PEN America

Indies Choice Book Awards Shortlists

March 19, 2026March 16, 2026 | Tasha

The shortlists for the Indies Choice Book Awards have been announced. The awards are voted on my indie booksellers in the US. Eligible titles must have appeared on one of the American Booksellers Association’s Indie Next List, Kids’ Indie Next List or Indies Introduce list. Here are the shortlisted titles in the juvenile categories:

CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOKS SHORTLIST

Bakery Dragon and the Fairy Cake by Devin Elle Kurtz

Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo by Bess Kalb, illustrated by Erin Kroan

Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat

If We Were Dogs by Sophie Blackall

Millie Fleur Saves the Night by Christy Mandin

A Snow Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead

MIDDLE GRADE SHORTLIST

All the Blues in the Sky by Renee Watson

Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson

Dragonborn by Struan Murray

Scarlet Morning by ND Stevenson

The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner

YOUNG ADULT SHORTLIST

Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen

The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold

Legendary Frybread Drive-In edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley

They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran

DEBUT CHILDREN’S SHORTLIST

Murder at the Museum by Alasdair Beckett-King

One of the Boys by Victoria Zeller

The Queen’s Bees of Tybee County by Kyle Casey Chu

Trans History by Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett

Whale Eyes by James Robinson

Saber-Tooth by Robin Gow – Book Recommendation

March 19, 2026February 25, 2026 | Tasha

Saber-Tooth by Robin Gow

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Publication Date: January 27, 2026
Reviewed from NetGalley e-galley
ISBN: 9781419777387

Jasper cannot believe that his older brother is ignoring him just before he leaves for college far away. His brother had promised to take him to find fossils, but they never did. Jasper loves rocks and fossils, which is why when he picked his new name, he picked Jasper. Jasper feels so angry at his brother that he dumps an entire glass of lemonade on his brother’s college laptop, ruining it. When his brother leaves for college, Jasper is still angry, now at himself as well as his brother. When Jasper starts to hear the bones of a saber-tooth tiger speaking to him from inside the ground, the voice is friendly. It urges Jasper to dig and soon Jasper is staying up all night digging a hole in his backyard. But the voice changes and soon Jasper has to face that anger even when buried can be destructive.

This book is so multi-layered that it’s nearly impossible to write a coherent summary of it. The book is written in verse, sharing Jasper’s struggles with his anger, questioning whether he is ready to grow up as an eighth grader, finding new friends, but always being drawn back to the voice in his head, the saber-tooth. Jasper is also trans, an element that is important and yet not the focus of the book. I deeply appreciate the handling of the saber-tooth in the end. It does not become a figment of Jasper’s imagination or a sign of mental illness, it is very much alive and while symbolic is also tangible.

A verse novel with wildness, bite and rage.

2025 Andre Norton Nebula Award Finalists

March 18, 2026March 16, 2026 | Tasha

The finalists for the 2025 Andre Norton Nebula Award have been announced. The award recognizes the best of science fiction and fantasy for middle grade and young adult fiction. Here are the finalists:

Gemini Rising by Jonathan Brazee

Goblin Girl by K. A. Mielke

Into the Wild Magic by Michelle Knudsen

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

The Tower by David Anaxagoras

Wishing Well, Wishing Well by Jubilee Cho

The Swan’s Daughter by Roshani Chokshi – Book Recommendation

March 18, 2026February 25, 2026 | Tasha

The Swan’s Daughter by Roshani Chokshi

Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: January 6, 2026
Reviewed from library copy
ISBN: 9781250873101

Demelza is the daughter of a veritas swan and an evil sorcerer. Her sisters are all veritas swans themselves, able to transform and whose beautiful voices force the truth from others. Demelza though takes after her father more. She doesn’t have wings and her voice is hurtful to the ears. Across the land, Prince Arris has put out a call for eligible girls to apply to be his bride. Arris lives under a family curse where he is doomed to likely be killed by his bride for power over the throne. Demelza heads to the prince’s realm to try to help, also escaping death by her father’s hand. Can these two find the way through the magic and curses that bind them?

This YA novel is a delight. Both of the lead characters are a joy to spend time with. From Arris who is trying to make the most of his short life by clinging to every beautiful experience he can to Demelza who is trying to figure out who she is outside of her mother and father’s needs. The two stumble together through the book, their connection growing beautifully across the story in a genuine way. Even better, the secondary characters are also rendered completely. Both sets of parents have complex love stories of their own, the contestants for Arris’ hand are marvelous, and Arris’ sister steals every scene she enters.

One of the best teen romatasies, this one is worth losing your heart to. Appropriate for ages 12+.

Peters 2026 Children’s Book of the Year

March 17, 2026March 11, 2026 | Tasha

Peters Children’s Book of the Year celebrates the best children’s fiction and nonfiction published in the UK. A Book of the Year is selected from the four books that win their specific categories. Here are the winning titles:

BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Boy at the Window by Lucy Strange

PICTURE BOOK OF THE YEAR

Don’t Trust Fish! by Neil Sharpson and Dan Santat

JUNIOR FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Boy at the Window by Lucy Strange

TEEN FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

I Dare You by Tamsin Winter

NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Cave Explorer by Kate Winter

Poems for Every Season by Bette Westera – Book Recommendation

March 17, 2026February 25, 2026 | Tasha

Cover image for Poems for Every Season: A Year of Haiku, Sonnets, and More by Bette Westera, illustrated by Henriette Boerendans. Features two squirrels on a tree branch.

Poems for Every Season: A Year of Haiku, Sonnets, and More by Bette Westera, illustrated by Henriette Boerendans, translated by David Colmer

Publisher: Eerdmans
Publication Date: February 17, 2026
Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
ISBN: 9780802856524

A beautiful volume of poems that share the senses of the season combined with a variety of poetic formats. Each season in the volume begins with a welcoming Haiku. That leads into each month of the year having a poem, allowing readers to feel both the deepest winter and also the promise of spring as the poems continue. It’s a volume of poetry that allows the poems to stand on their own while also becoming more while seen as a full year and volume.

The quality of the poems is exquisite, using both the content of the poem and the structure of the poem to share that moment in the season. This is all the more impressive given that the poems are translated from Dutch to English and still maintain rhythm and rhyme. The illustrations in the book are woodcuts, beautifully colored and delicate. They have an organic feel that fits the subjects perfectly and offer a beauty of image that rivals that of the poems.

A superb collection of seasonal poetry for children. Appropriate for ages 6-10.

2026 Carnegie Shortlists

March 16, 2026March 11, 2026 | Tasha

The shortlists for the 2026 Carnegie Medals for illustration and writing in books for young people have been announced. Here are the shortlisted titles for these UK awards:

ILLUSTRATION