Children’s Book Award announces the Top Ten for 2026
The Federation of Children’s Book Groups (FCBG) has unveiled the shortlist for the 2026 Children’s Book Award. Now in its 
46th year, this award remains the only national children’s book prize voted for entirely by young readers. With 2026 marking the National Year of Reading, FCBG is proud to host this unique and powerful celebration of the stories that children themselves choose to champion.
Chosen from hundreds of submitted titles and voted for by children across the UK, this year’s shortlist showcases the vibrancy, humour, heart and originality that define contemporary children’s literature. Spanning books for younger children, books for younger readers and books for older readers, the 2026 shortlist is:
Books for Younger Children
Creepy Pair of Underwear! by Aaron Reynolds & Peter Brown (Simon & Schuster)
Gozzle by Julia Donaldson & Sara Ogilvie (Macmillan Children’s Books)
The Tortosaurus by Katie Cottle (Little Tiger)
There’s a Shark in My Pants! by Michelle Harrison & David Tazzyman (Simon & Schuster)
Books for Younger Readers
Murray and Bun! Murray the Pirate by Adam Stower (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
Pablo and Splash: Roman Holiday by Sheena Dempsey (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Supa Nova by Chante Timothy (Nosy Crow)
Books for Older Readers
Fear Files: Hide and Seek by Christopher Edge & Mathias Ball (Walker Books)
My Name is Samim by Fidan Meikle (Floris Books)
The Last Dragon on Mars by Scott Reintgen (Rock the Boat)
Children nationwide are now invited to vote for their favourite of the ten shortlisted books. The deadline for online voting is 12 noon Friday 8th May. The category winners and the author of the best children’s book published in 2025 will be announced to an invited audience at a special awards ceremony on Saturday 13th June, and will be live streamed via the FCBG YouTube channel.
Sarah Stuffins, Children’s Book Award Coordinator, says, ‘The Children’s Book Award is unique in giving children a direct voice in celebrating the books they love most. This year’s shortlist represents an exciting mix of adventure, humour, and heartwarming stories that will inspire young readers everywhere. This year’s shortlist highlights the growing popularity of illustrated chapter books, including for older readers. It is particularly heartening to see debut authors represented alongside more established names.’
Online voting will open on Monday 23rd March.
For more than four decades, the Children’s Book Award has shone a spotlight on the very best in children’s publishing, recognising books that spark imagination, inspire empathy and ignite a lifelong love of reading. Past winners include J. K. Rowling, Patrick Ness, Malorie Blackman, Anthony Horowitz and Michael Morpurgo. Last year’s overall winner was Ross Montgomery. Julia Donaldson returns to the shortlist this year, having last won the Younger Children category in 2014 with Axel Scheffler for Superworm.
