The winners of the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards have been announced. Awards are given in six categories:

KPMG BOOK OF THE YEAR

Fia and the Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher, illustrated by Dermot Flynn

THE HONOUR AWARD FOR FICTION

Little Bang by Kelly McCaughrain

THE HONOUR AWARD FOR ILLUSTRATION

Beanie and the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer, illustrated by Steve McCarthy

THE EILÍS DILLON AWARD FOR DEBUT CHILDREN’S BOOK

Fia and the Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher, illustrated by Dermot Flynn

THE KPMG JUNIOR JURIES’ AWARD

Little Bang by Kelly McCaughrain

The Society of Authors in the UK has announced the shortlists for their 2025 awards. There are 7 shortlists with one focused on children’s books. Winners will be announced on June 18th. The Queen’s Knickers Award is given to “an outstanding children’s original illustrated book for ages 0-7. It recognises books that strike a quirky, new note and grab the attention of a child, whether in the form of curiosity, amusement, horror or excitement.” Here is the shortlist:

Big Bad Wolf Investigates Fairy Tales by Catherine Cawthorne, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie

Bird Is Dead by Tiny Fisscher, translated by Laura Watkinson and illustrated by Herma Starreveld (available in US)

The Boy, the Troll and the Chalk by Anne Booth, illustrated by David Litchfield (releasing in US on October 28, 2025)

Little Dinosaurs, Big Feelings by Swapna Haddow, illustrated by Yiting Lee

No. 5 Bubblegum Street by Mikolaj Pa, translated by Scotia Gilroy and illustrated by Gosia Herba (available in US)

The Pandas Who Promised by Rachel Bright, illustrated by Jim Field

The 2025 shortlists for the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards have been announced by the Ontario Arts Council and Ontario Arts Foundation. These annual awards are given to English-Language Canadian books in two categories: picture books and middle grade/YA literature. Here are the shortlisted titles:

PICTURE BOOKS

Fighting Words by Leonarda Carranza, illustrated by Erika Medina

I Want to Read All the Books by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

The Little Regent by Yewande Daniel-Ayoade, illustrated by Ken Daley

Métis Like Me by Tasha Hilderman, illustrated by Risa Hugo

One Giant Leap by Thao Lam

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT

Fledgling by S. K. Ali

Is There a Boy Like Me? by Kern Carter

The New Girl by Cassandra Calin

The Shape of Lost Things by Sarah Everett

Today I Am: 10 Stories of Belonging edited by Jael Richardson

The winners of the 2025 British Book Awards have been announced. The awards are given in a variety of categories. Below are the youth-focused categories and you can see the entire list here.

CHILDREN’S FICTION

WINNER

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hot Mess by Jeff Kinney (available in US)

SHORTLIST

I Am Rebel by Ross Montgomery (available in US)

The Majorly Awkward BFF Dramas of Lottie Brooks by Katie Kirby

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson (available in US)

Reckless by Lauren Roberts (available in US)

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal (available in US)

CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATED BOOK

WINNER

Jonty Gentoo: The Adventures of a Penguin by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (available in US)

SHORTLIST

Bunny vs. Monkey: The Great Big Glitch by Jamie Smart

Dog Man 12: The Scarlet Shedder by Dav Pilkey (available in US)

Letters from the North Pole by Annie Atkins (available in US)

Pablo and Splash by Sheena Dempsey (available in US)

There’s a Poonami in My House by Chris Ramsey

CHILDREN’S NONFICTION

WINNER

Wilding: How to Bring Wildlife Back by Isabella Tree, illustrated by Angela Harding (available in US)

SHORTLIST

Hamza’s Wild World by Hamza Yassin

The History of Information by Chris Haughton

Science is Lit by Big Manny

Taylor Swift by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara (available in US)

The World to Come by Robert Macfarlane and Johnny Flynn, illustrated by Emily Sutton (available in US)

The UK Indie Book Awards shortlist has been announced. The awards include adult fiction and nonfiction, children’s fiction and picture books. The winners will be announced in June. Here are the shortlisted children’s titles:

CHILDREN’S FICTION

Finding Bear by Hannah Gold (available in US)
Ghostlines by Katya Balen

Murder for Two by Niyla Farook
The Falling Boy by David Almond 

Brielle and Bear: Once Upon a Time by Salomey Doku (available in US)
Reek by Alastair Chisholm

PICTURE BOOK

Bear by Natalia Shaloshvili (available in US)
The Dinosaur Next Door by David Litchfield (available in US)

Farah Loves Mangoes by Sarthak Sinha (available in US)
The Golden Hare by Paddy Donnelly 

Invisible Dogs by Ruby Wright 
Runaway Cone by Morag Hood

The winners of the Aurealis Awards have been announced. The awards celebrate the best of Australia’s speculative fiction. Here are the winners for the main categories. You can visit their official site here for the full list.

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION

The Apprentice Witnesser by Bren MacDibble (available in U.S. in June)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Anomaly by Emma Lord

BEST FANTASY NOVEL

Thoroughly Disenchanted by Alexandra Almond

BEST SF NOVEL

Temporal Boom by J M Voss (available in U.S.)

The finalists for the 2025 Christian Book Awards have been announced by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Below you will see the youth categories, but there are many more to be seen here. As a public librarian, I find these lists very helpful to identify materials sometimes missed by professional reviews.

CHILDREN’S BOOK FINALISTS

All Creation Waits: Children’s Edition by Gayle Boss, illustrated by Sharon Spitz

Build by Emily Lex

God’s Big Picture Bible Storybook by N.T. Wright, illustrated by Helena Perez Garcia

Indescribable Atlas Adventures by Louie Giglio, illustrated by Nicola Anderson and Lynsey Wilson

Up Toward the Light by Granger Smith

When God Makes Scribbles Beautiful by Kate Rietema, illustrated by Jennie Poh

YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE FINALISTS

The Action Bible: Faith in Action Edition by Sergio Cariello

Get Your Hopes Up by Carlos Whittaker