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