Longlists for the 2026 UKLA Book Awards announced

The longlists for this year’s UKLA Book Awards include books in translation, past winners, exciting debuts and ‘a huge range of genres, topics and themes’, say the organisers,  and showcase ‘high-quality children’s books that can reflect all identities and promote diversity’.

The longlists are selected by panels made up of experienced past teacher judges, ex-teachers, librarians, and education consultants.

Awards Chair, Christine Lockwood, said ‘We always approach this difficult but exciting task with great anticipation.  The longlisting team were challenged to select from a very rich and exceptional list of submissions this year and they have come up with four enticing longlists.  It is always a joy to meet our committed, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic longlisters in person, after a long summer of reading and exchanging views online.  I would like to thank them for their hard work and dedication.  The longlists will now pass to our teams of teacher judges and their group leaders, drawn largely from Scotland but also from around the UK, and I can’t wait to share these books with them over the next year.’

Katya Balen and Alex Latimer each two books longlisted across two categories and Nathanael Lessore appears on the 11-14+ longlist for the third successive year.  New publisher, Post Wave Children’s Books, has three books selected in its first year of operation.

This year there are 85 judges covering the four categories and they have until mid-March to read the longlisted books, discuss them with their group leaders, and share them with pupils. All the groups will then meet for the difficult task of choosing their shortlist of 6 books in each category.

Longlist 3-6+

A Wild Walk to School Written and illustrated by Rebecca Cobb (Macmillan)

Bear Written and illustrated by Natalia Shaloshvili.(Frances Lincoln)

Bear’s Lost Glasses. Written and illustrated by Leo Timmers and translated by David Colmer (Gecko Press)

Bothered by Bugs Written and illustrated by Emily Gravett (Two Hoots)

Colin’s Castle Written and illustrated by Holly Swain (Farshore)

Coorie Doon: A Scottish Lullaby Story. Written by Jackie Kay and illustrated by Jill Calder (Walker Books)

Don’t Think of Tigers. Written and illustrated by Alex Latimer (Andersen Press)

Don’t Trust Fish. Written by Neil Sharpson and illustrated by Dan Santat (Andersen Press)

Drawn Onward. Written by Daniel Nayeri and illustrated by Matt Rockefeller (Harper 360)

How We Share Cake. Written and illustrated by Kim Hyo-eun. Translated by Deborah Smith (Scribe)

I Am a Potato!  Written by Ziggy Hanaor and illustrated by Elliot Kruszynski (Cicada Books)

Once I was a Tree. Written by Eoin McLaughlin and illustrated by Guilherme Karsten (Nosy Crow)

One Smart Cookie Written and illustrated by Mika Song (Pushkin Press)

So Tired, So Wide Awake. Written and illustrated by Susanne Strasser (Gecko Press)

The Bicycle. Written by Patricia McCormick and Mevan Babakar; illustrated by Yas Imamura (Farshore)

The Search for Carmella. Written and illustrated by Chloe Savage (Walker Books)

These Are My Rocks Written and illustrated by Bethan Woolvin (Frances Lincoln)

Tiger Its Snowing!Written and illustrated by Daishu Ma (  Post Wave Children’s Books)

Wild Written by Katya Balen and illustrated by Gill Smith (Walker Books)

Zeki Goes to the Market. Written by Anna McQuinn and illustrated by Ruth Hearson (Alanna Max)

 

Longlist 7-10+

After Written by Pádraig Kenny.(Walker Books)

Birdie Written by J P Rose (Andersen Press)

Blitz – One family’s war. Written and illustrated by Martin Impey (Harbour Moon Publishing)

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody. Written by Patrick Ness and illustrated by Tim Miller (Walker Books)

Dragonborn Written by Struan Murray (Puffin)

Dungeon Runners: Hero Trial Written by Kieran Larwood and illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton (Nosy Crow)

Ettie and the Midnight Pool Written by Julia Green and illustrated by     Pam Smy (David Fickling Books)

Evie and Maryam’s Family Tree Written by Janeen Hayat (Guppy Books)

Fallout Written by Lesley Parr (Bloomsbury)

Ghostlines Written by Katya Balen (Bloomsbury)

Gordon the Meanest Goose on Earth. Written and illustrated by Alex Latimer (Oxford  University Press)

Jakub’s Otter. Written by  Coral Rumble (Troika Books)

Leo and Ralph. Written and illustrated by  Peter Carnavas (Pushkin Press)

Mayowa and the Sea of Words. Written by Chibundu Onuzo (Bloomsbury)

Reek. Written by Alastair Chisholm and illustrated by George Caltsoudas (Barrington Stoke)

The Falling Boy. Written by David Almond(Hodder)

The Remarkables. Written and illustrated by Clotilde Perrin and translated by Daniel Hahn     (Gecko Press)

The Secret of Golden Island. Written by Natasha Farrant (Faber)

Tosh’s Island. Written by  Linda Sargent and Joe Brady; illustrated by Leo Marcell (David Fickling Books)

Why Did My Brain Make Me Say It? Written by Sarah Ziman (Troika Books)

 

Longlist 11- 14+

Black Star. Written by Kwame Alexander (Andersen Press)

Every Borrowed Beat. Written by Erin Stewart (Rock the Boat)

Handle with Care. Written by Louisa Reid (Guppy Books)

Here to Slay. Written by Radhika Sanghani (Knights Of)

Let the Light In. Written by Jenny Downham and Louis Hill (David Fickling Books)

Shrapnel Boys. Written by Jenny Pearson (Usborne)

Songlight. Written by Moira Buffini (Faber)

Songs for Ghosts. Written by Clara Kumagai (Zephyr)

Stealing Happy. Written by Brian Conaghan (Bloomsbury)

The Boy I Love. Written by William Hussey (Andersen Press)

The Last Dragon on Mars. Written by Scott Reintgen (Rock the Boat)

The Line They Drew Through Us. Written by  Hiba Noor Khan (Andersen Press)

The Thread That Connects Us. Written by Ayaan Mohamud(Usborne)

Thunder City Written by Philip Reeve (Scholastic)

Twenty-Four Seconds From Now. Written by Jason Reynolds (Faber)

Us in the Before and After. Written by  Jenny Valentine (Simon & Schuster)

What Happens Online. Written by Nathanael Lessore (Hot Key Books)

When It’s Your Turn for Midnight. Written by Blessing Musariri (Zephyr)

When the Bones Sing. Written by Ginny Myers Sain (Electric Monkey)

Wolf Siren. Written by Beth O’Brien (HarperCollins)

 

Longlist Information Books 3-14+

Ayo’s Adventure: Across the African Diaspora from Afro to Zulu. Written by Ain Heath Drew and illustrated by Erin K. Robinson (Barefoot Books)

Black History for Every Day of the Year. Written by David Olusoga, Yinka Olusoga and Kemi Olusoga; illustrated by Kemi Olusoga (Macmillan)

Bridges. Written by Magda Garguláková and illustrated by Jakub Bachorík (Post Wave Children’s Books)

Bright Birds and their brilliant brains. Written and illustrated by Kate Read (Two Hoots)

Choose Your Own Evolution. Written by Jules Howard and illustrated by Gordy Wright (Nosy Crow)

Explodapedia: The Brain. Written by Ben Martynoga and illustrated by Moose Allain (David Fickling Books)

Frog. Written by Isabel Thomas and illustrated by Daniel Egnéus (Bloomsbury)

Galápagos Islands: The World’s Living Laboratory. Written by Karen Romano Young and illustrated by Amy Grimes (What on Earth!)

Graphic Novel Builder: The illustrated guide to making your own comics Written and illustrated by Edward Ross (Collins)

It’s a Brave Young World. Written by Anu Adebogun and illustrated by Soofiya and Lila Cruz (Little Tiger Press)

Me and My Hair. Written by Kimberley Kinloch and illustrated by Jessica Gibson (Usborne)

Michael Rosen’s Pocket Shakespeare: A Beginner’s Guide to the Best Bits of the Bard. Written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Chris Riddell (Walker Books)

Six Queens. Written and illustrated by Lydia Monk (Macmillan)

The Endless Sea. Written by Chi Thai and illustrated by Linh Dao (Walker Books)

The History of Information. Written and illustrated by Chris Haughton (DK)

The Jellyfish Garden. Written by Paola Vitale,  illustrated by Rossana Bossù and translated by Margaret Greenan ( Post Wave Children’s Books)

University of Cambridge: There’s No Such Thing as a Silly Question. Written by Mike Rampton and illustrated by Guilherme Karsten (Nosy Crow)

We Are Your Children. Written and illustrated by David Roberts (Two Hoots)

Who lives here? Written and illustrated by Alexandra Milton (Boxer Books)

Why Do We Sleep? Written by Cathy Evans and illustrated by Polya Plavinskaia (Cicada)

For Awards sponsor, Nikki Gamble of Best Books for Schools, ‘The UKLA Book Awards are significant not only for the recognition and celebration of high-quality literature for children, but also for the underpinning principle that teachers’ knowledge of children’s books is fundamental to creating readers in classrooms. At a time when there is much talk about a crisis in reading for pleasure, we should pause to reflect on the teachers who are helping to buck this trend and how they achieve positive outcomes.’

She adds. ‘The books on the longlist are a testament to the teachers’ thoughtful deliberations. The longlists represent the best in publishing for children, from brilliant and lively storytelling in words and pictures to illuminating and thoughtfully designed nonfiction that opens up new worlds, always with the child reader at the centre. The authors, illustrators, designers and editors who have lavished such care in creating these books must be applauded. Each one could be a winner, and we look forward to seeing the judges’ final choices in July.’

Last year’s winners were

3-6+

Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf written by Craig Barr-Green and illustrated by Francis Martin (Little Tiger Press)

7-10+

Safiyyah’s War written by Hiba Noor Khan (Andersen Press)

11-14+

Glasgow Boys by Margaret Macdonald (Faber)

Information Books 3-14+

Brilliant Black British History written by Atinuke  and illustrated by Kingsley Nebechi (Bloomsbury)