The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) announced the winners of their 2026 Golden Kite Awards which celebrate the best children’s literature published in 2025. Here are the winners:

SID FLEISCHMAN AWARD FOR HUMOR

WINNER

Never Take Your Rhino on a Plane by KE Lewis, illustrated by Isabel Roxas

HONOREE

Big Changes for Plum! by Matt Phelan

PICTURE BOOK TEXT

WINNER

We Go Slow by Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie, illustrated by Aaron Becker

HONOREE

Fireworks by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Calia Chen

PICTURE BOOK ILLUSTRATION

WINNER

When Alexander Graced the Table by Alexander Smalls and Denene Millner, illustrated by Frank Morrison

HONOREE

Fireworks by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Calia Chen

NONFICTION TEXT FOR YOUNGER READERS

WINNER

Some of Us: A Story of Citizenship and the United States by Rajani LaRocca, illustrated by Huy Voun Lee

HONOREE

One Girl’s Voice: How Lucy Stone Helped Change the Law of the Land by Vivian Kirkfield, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon

NONFICTION TEXT FOR OLDER READERS

WINNER

White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History by Ann Bausum

HONOREE

A World without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, a Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out by Nicholas Day, illustrated by Yas Imamura

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION

WINNER

Once for Yes by Allie Millington

HONOREE

Gabby Torres Gets a Billion Followers by Angela Dominguez

ILLUSTRATED BOOK FOR OLDER READERS

WINNER

Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout

HONOREE

Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology by Angela Hsieh

YOUNG ADULT FICTION

WINNER

Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout

HONOREE

Island Creatures by Margarita Engle

We Need Diverse Books has announced the winners of the 2026 Walter Dean Myers Awards. They are given in two age categories. Here are the winning books and honor books:

YOUNGER READERS

WINNER

The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze by Derrick Barnes

HONOR

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson

TEEN

WINNER

Champion by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Obstfeld, and Ed Laroche

HONOR

King of the Neuro Verse by Idris Goodwin

The ten shortlisted titles in contention for Ireland’s 2026 KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards have been announced. Here are the selected titles:

Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat (available in US)

The Doomsday Club by Kevin Moran (available in US)

Letters to a Monster by Laureate na nÓg Patricia Forde, illustrated by Sarah Warburton

My Name Is Jodie Jones by Emma Shevah

Puisín na mBróg by Fearghas Mac Lochlainn, illustrated by Paddy Donnelly 

Skipshock by Caroline O’Donoghue (available in US)

Solo by Gráinne O’Brien (available in US)

Stealing Happy by Brian Conaghan

This That What by Katy Ashworth, illustrated by Colleen Larmour

The Waters and the Wild by Eilish Fisher, illustrated by David Rooney

The Carnegies are the UK’s longest running children’s book awards. They offer two medals, one for illustration and one for writing. Here are the longlisted titles for 2026.

WRITING LONGLIST

Birdie by J. P. Rose

Birdy Arbuthnot’s Year of “Yes!” by Joanna Nadin

Black Star by Kwame Alexander (available in US)

The Boy I Love by William Hussey

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Tim Miller (available in US)

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

Ghostlines by Katya Balen

Handle with Care by Louisa Reid

Not Going to Plan by Tia Fisher

On the Wall by Anne Fine

Popcorn by Rob Harrell (available in US)

Shrapnel Boys by Jenny Pearson

Songs for Ghosts by Clara Kumagai (available in US)

The Spick and the Span by Pil Van Martin

Stealing Happy by Brian Conaghan

Traumaland by Josh Silver

Twenty-Four Seconds from Now by Jason Reynolds (available in US)

When It’s Your Turn for Midnight by Blessing Musariri (publishing in US in April 2026)

Wolf Siren by Beth O’Brien

ILLUSTRATOR LONGLIST

Be Back Soon illustrated by Jenny Bloomfield, written by Anna Wilson

Beanie and the Bansheenie illustrated by Steve McCarthy, written by Eoin Colfer (available in US)

The Café at the Edge of the Woods by Mikey Please (available in US)

Coorie Doon illustrated by Jill Calder, written by Jackie Kay

Don’t Trust Fish illustrated by Dan Santat, written by Neil Sharpson (available in US)

The Endless Sea illustrated by Linh Dao, written by Chi Thai (available in US)

The Faerie Isle illustrated by Dermot Flynn, written by Síne Quinn

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

Freedom Braids illustrated by Oboh Moses, written by Monique Duncan (available in US)

Good Golden Sun by Brendan Wenzel (available in US)

Higher Ground by Tull Suwannakit (available in US)

Lord of the Flies: The Graphic Novel illustrated by Aimée de Jongh, written by Golding William

The Ordinary Life of Jacominus Gainsborough by Rébecca Dautremer (available in US)

The Paper Bridge illustrated by Seng Soun Ratanavanh, written by Joelle Veyrenc (available in US)

The Playdate illustrated by Clara Dackenberg, written by Uje Brandelius (available in US)

Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob by Huw Aaron (available in US)

The Sleeper Train illustrated by Baljinder Kaur, written by Mick Jackson (available in US)

Wiggling Words by Kate Rolfe

Wildful by Kengo Kurimoto (available in US)

The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) has announced the shortlisted authors and illustrators for the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award. The international award is given for lifetime achievement and continuing relevance. The winners will be announced in April at the Bologna International Children’s Book Fair. Here are the shortlisted creators:

WRITING

Ahmad Akbarpour (Iran)

María José Ferrada (Chile)

Timothée de Fombelle (France)

Lee Geum-yi (The Republic of Korea)

Pam Muñoz Ryan (US)

Michael Rosen (UK)

ILLUSTRATION

Beatrice Alemagna (Italy)

Linda Bondestam (Finland)

Cai Gao (China)

Gundega Muzikante (Latvia)

Walid Taher (Egypt)

María Wernicke (Argentina)

The shortlist for the 2026 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize has been announced. The UK award is given in several age ranges and the four shortlisted titles in each is below:

ILLUSTRATED BOOKS SHORTLIST

The Great Green Island by Becky Colvin

Milo and the Mountain by Jamie Carroll

My Rice Is Best by Selina Brown

Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob by Huw Aaron (available in US)

YOUNGER READERS SHORTLIST

Evie and Maryam’s Family Tree by Janeen Hayat

Spirit Warriors by Ashley Thorpe

Unfairies by Huw Aaron (available in US)

Wildlands by Brogen Murphy

OLDER READERS SHORTLIST

And the River Drags Her Down by Jihyun Yun (available in US)

A Language of Dragons by S. F. Williamson (available in US)

Solo by Grainne O’Brien (available in US)

‘Til Death by Busayo Matuluko

The 2026 Information Book Award Shortlist celebrates UK-published informational books for young people up to age 16. Youth across the UK vote on the winner in three categories. Here are the shortlisted titles:

UNDER 7 YEARS

A Billion Ways to Be by Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Ana Sanfelippo 

Frog: A Story of Life on Earth by Isabel Thomas, illustrated by Daniel Egneus (available in US)

Recycling Day: What Happens to the Things We Throw Away? by Polly Faber, illustrated by Klas Fahlén (available in US)

Where Did She Go? by Cariad Lloyd, illustrated by Tom Percival 

8-12 YEARS

About Time by Rebecca Struthers & Alom Shaha, illustrated by Lucy Rose (available in US)

Choose Your Own Evolution by Jules Howard, illustrated by Gordy Wright

Science Detective Agency by Stevie Derrick, illustrated by Miriam Serafin

Why Do We Sleep? by Cathy Evans, illustrated by Polya Plavinskaia (available in US)

13-16 YEARS

Explodapedia: The Brain by Ben Martynoga, illustrated by Moose Allain

It’s a Brave Young World by Anu Adebogun, illustrated by Soofiya and Lila Cruz

Normal Women by Philippa Gregory, illustrated by Alexis Snell (available in US)

Owning It: Our disabled childhoods in our own words edited by James Catchpole, Lucy Catchpole and Jen Campbell, illustrated by Sophie Kamlish