The shortlists have been announced for the 2026 The Week Junior Book Awards. Covering 12 categories, the awards recognise picture books, poetry, heartwarming stories and gripping graphic novels to factual books and wellbeing.

Now in their fourth year, The Week Junior Book Awards were created to celebrate the very best in books for young readers, increasing awareness of the lifelong benefits of reading for pleasure and ultimately inspiring children to discover their next great read.

In the National Year of Reading, The Week Junior Book Awards celebrate the very best in children’s publishing, championing stories that can spark a lifelong love of reading and help young people build confidence and curiosity along the way.

The shortlist highlights the growing popularity of graphic novels and audiobooks with a significant increase in entries to these awards this year.

Chair of the judges and editorial director of The Week Junior, Anna Bassi said ‘In a year when we are all being encouraged to “go all in” with reading, our shortlist offers children an outstanding array of opportunities to do just that. Whether they’re after answers to crazy questions, want to know more about birds, brains or bodies, brush up on football skills or discover how AI actually works they’ll find all they need to know (and more!) among the factual books that our expert shortlist committee have selected. For those who prefer fiction there are mysteries, monkeys, reluctant heroes, aliens and even a gothic horror for older readers to enjoy. Starting with this week’s issue and throughout the summer we’ll be making sure The Week Junior’s readers hear all about them and have their chance to vote for their favourites to win the Children’s Choice and Cover of the Year Awards.’

Voting for Children’s Choice and Cover of the Year Awards is now live until 4th September 2026. The link to vote can be found here.

The Week Junior 2026 shortlist:

Animals & nature

Our Islands by Yuval Zommer (Thames & Hudson)

The Great Pollination Investigation by Deborah Hocking (Bonnier Books UK)

MEGA: The Most Enormous Animals Ever by Jules Howard and Gavin Scott (Nosy Crow)

What if… Every Volcano Erupted at Once? by Emma Young and Super Freak (DK)

A Tree is a Time Machine by Rob and Tom Sears (LKP Children’s)

Audiobook 

The Amazing Ann Jelly by Daniel Fuller. Narrated by Jonell Elliot (That Guy Creative)

Choose Your Own Evolution by Jules Howard. Narrated by Glen McCready (Nosy Crow)

Champions of the Galaxy by Tọlá Okogwu. Narrated by David Ijiti (Simon and Schuster Children’s Books)

Gloam by Jack Mackay. Narrated by Indira Varma (W.F. Howes)

Teachers vs Aliens vs the Kids! by Steve Williams (Farrago)

Errol’s Garden Audio Musical by Gillian Hibbs, Caroline Wigmore and Jen Green. Narrated by Nicholas McLean and Grace Mouat (Child’s Play)

Breakthrough

A Box Full of Murders by Janice Hallett (Penguin Random House)

Wolf Siren by Beth O’Brien (HarperCollins Children’s Books)

Gloam by Jack Mackay and Ben Joel Price (Rock the Boat)

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

Kamari Brown and his First Million by Steven Gosling (Secta Publishing)

How to Roller-Skate with One Leg by Ella Dove and Jennifer Jamieson (Orchard Books)

Factual 

Henri Matisse A Pop-Up Book by Susie Hodge and Teresa Bellon (NQ Publishers)

Hide-and-Seek History: The Vikings by Harriet Evans and Chaaya Prabhat (Little Tiger)

Owning It: Our disabled childhoods in our own words, anthology edited by James Catchpole, Lucy Catchpole, Jen Campbell. Illustrated by Sophie Kamlish (Faber & Faber)

Ten Children Who Changed The World by Paterson Joseph and Rumbidzai Savanhu (Wren & Rook)

Graphic novel 

When the Sky Falls: Graphic Novel by Phil Earle and Fred Fordham (Andersen Press)

Dadbot by Jack Noel (Piccadilly Press)

Supa Nova by Chanté Timothy (Nosy Crow)

Bunny vs Monkey: Intergalactic Monkey Business by Jamie Smart (David Fickling Books)

Donut Squad: Take Over the World by Neill Cameron (David Fickling Books)

Boss of the Underworld: Shirley vs the Green Menace by Tor Freeman (Hodder Children’s Books)

Hobbies and interests 

Shoot for the Stars by Danielle Brown. Illustrated by Jayde Perkin and Filigrana de Ideas (Little Tiger)

Football Skills illustrated by Frank Bueno (Usborne)

World Kitchen – Celebrations by Abigail Wheatley and Chaaya Prabhat (Usborne)

Find it! British Birds by Marianne Taylor and Sally Payne (Richardson Publishing)

The Football GOAT: Kane v. Bellingham by Matt Oldfield, Seth Burkett and Dan Leydon (Walker Books)

Making It Up As You Go Along by Patricia Forde et al and Mary Murphy (Little Island)

Older Fiction 

The Lone Husky by Hannah Gold and Levi Pinfold (HarperCollins Children’s Books)

Flember: The Golden Heart by Jamie Smart (David Fickling Books)

The First Year by Matt Goodfellow and Joe Todd-Stanton (Otter-Barry Books)

My Soul, A Shining Tree by Jamila Gavin (Farshore)

Jed Greenleaf by Kieran Larwood (Faber & Faber)

The Boy With Big Decisions by Helen Rutter (Scholastic)

Picture book 

Don’t Trust Fish! by Neil Sharpson and Dan Santat (Andersen Press)

The Forever Bear by Lu Fraser and Pippa Curnick (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

Baxter’s View by Kerri Cunningham (Fox & Ink Books)

There’s A Shark In My Pants! by Michelle Harrison and David Tazzyman (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)

The Best Jollof Rice Ever! by Onyinye Iwu (Otter-Barry Books)

Tiger, Don’t Worry! by Daishu Ma (Post Wave Children’s Books)

Poetry 

The Waters and the Wild by Eilish Fisher and David Rooney (Penguin Random House)

This is Not a Small Voice by Traci N. Todd and Jade Orlando (Nosy Crow)

BOING! A Bouncy Book of Bugs by James Carter and Neal Layton (Otter-Barry Books)

The Poetry World of John Agard by John Agard and Shirley Hottier (Otter-Barry Books)

The Brightest Star by Meg Grehan and Nene Lonergan (Little Island)

STEM book

The History of We by Nikkolas Smith (Rock the Boat)

See Inside AI by Alex Frith & Victoria Williams with illustrations by Beatrix Hatcher (Usborne)

What If… You Didn’t Make Snot? by Emma Young and Super Freak (DK)

The Wizard’s Guide to Magical Experiments by AJ Wood and Jo Rioux (Magic Cat)

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

Wellbeing

Beyond the Setting Sun by Sarah J. Dodd and Cee Biscoe (SPCK)

All Brains Are Wonderful by Scott Evans and The Boy Fitz Hammond (b small)

Keep Smashing It by Jodie Ounsley written with Becky Grey and illustrated by Dane Thibeault (Macmillan Children’s Books)

How to be Disabled and Proud by Cathy Reay (Puffin)

You and Your Body by Dr Punam Krishan (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

Younger Fiction 

Squirrel and Duck: Mission Improbable by Tom Percival (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

Grumpfort by Jamie Hammond (Usborne)

Pia’s Pet Club: Puppy Problem by Serena Patel and Emma McCann (Usborne)

The Other Father Christmas by Serena Holly and Shahab Shamshiraz (Storymix Books)

The Misadventures of Mina Mahmood: School Trip! by Farhana Islam and Simran Diamond Singh (Farshore)

Ivy and Bearlock Holmes by Kristyna Litten (Magic Cat)

Children’s Book Cover of the Year

This trophy will be awarded to the cover that children deem to be the most creative, eye-catching and appealing to its intended audience.

Cruise Ship Kid: Thief at Sea! by Emma Swan. Cover illustrations by Katie Saunders (Usborne)

Deep Dark: A Cassia Thorne Mystery by Zohra Nabi. Cover illustrations by Paola Escobar (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)

Badger Books written and illustrated by Paddy Donnelly (The O’Brien Press)

Pirate Penguin by Hunter McNeil-Ali. Cover and illustrations by Nicci Martin (Sequoia Publishing UK)

Oscar Wilde’s Stories for Children by Oscar Wilde. Cover and illustrations by Lauren O’Hara (Little Island)

Hidden Heroes of Science by Peter Gallivan. Cover and illustrations by Robbie Cathro (DK)

Midnight Treasure by Piers Torday. Cover illustrations by Alla Khatkevich (Quercus)