The Week Junior Book Awards have unveiled the 2026 shortlist, celebrating the best in children’s literature across 12 categories, from gorgeous picture books, poetry, heartwarming stories and gripping graphic novels to factual books and wellbeing.

The shortlist committee have selected 73 books for consideration, which are to be judged by some famous faces including pop star Sophie Ellis-Bextor, fitness coach Joe Wicks (aka The Body Coach), and Youtuber, parenting influencer Louise Pentland and LoveReading4Kids very own Deborah Maclaren. Each category will be assessed by four judges, including respected voices from education, publishing and media, ensuring a breadth of knowledge, perspective and thoughtful consideration across the shortlist.

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.

Recent figures from the National Year of Reading highlight the importance of nurturing a love of books from an early age. While only one in three young people aged 8–18 currently say they enjoy reading, and one in four children in England leaving primary school without reaching the expected reading level, the data also points to a clear opportunity to inspire change. 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 also highlights a growing trend in children’s publishing, with graphic novels and audiobooks continuing to rise in popularity. Both categories play an increasingly important role in the children’s book landscape, a shift reflected in a significant increase in entries to these awards this year. With utterly hilarious audiobooks like Teachers vs Aliens vs the Kids! by author and comedian Steve Williams and Jamie Smart’s latest Bunny vs Monkey graphic novel, the shortlist is jam packed with genuinely exciting and accessible books.

Jack Mackay’s Gloam leads this year’s shortlist, with the title being nominated for both the Audiobook and Breakthrough categories. Publishing houses like Usborne, Otter-Barry Books and Nosy Crow are in the spotlight with numerous nominations across different categories.

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

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 shortlists

Animals & Nature

• Our Islands by Yuval Zommer

• The Great Pollination Investigation by Deborah Hocking

• MEGA: The Most Enormous Animals Ever by Jules Howard and Gavin Scott

• What if… Every Volcano Erupted at Once? by Emma Young and Super Freak

• A Tree is a Time Machine by Rob and Tom Sears

Audiobook

• The Amazing Ann Jelly by Daniel Fuller. Narrated by Jonell Elliot

• Choose Your Own Evolution by Jules Howard. Narrated by Glen McCready

• Champions of the Galaxy by Tọlá Okogwu. Narrated by David Ijiti

• Gloam by Jack Mackay. Narrated by Indira Varma

• Teachers vs Aliens vs the Kids! by Steve Williams

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

Breakthrough

• A Box Full of Murders by Janice Hallett

• Wolf Siren by Beth O’Brien

• Gloam by Jack Mackay and Ben Joel Price

• Evie and Maryam’s Family Tree by Janeen Hayat

• Kamari Brown and his First Million by Steven Gosling

• How to Roller-Skate with One Leg by Ella Dove and Jennifer Jamieson

Factual

• Henri Matisse A Pop-Up Book by Susie Hodge and Teresa Bellon

• Hide-and-Seek History: The Vikings by Harriet Evans and Chaaya Prabhat

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

• TEN Children Who Changed The World by Paterson Joseph and Rumbidzai Savanhu

Graphic Novel

• When the Sky Falls: Graphic Novel by Phil Earle and Fred Fordham

• Dadbot by Jack Noel

• Supa Nova by Chanté Timothy

• Bunny vs Monkey: Intergalactic Monkey Business by Jamie Smart

• Donut Squad: Take Over the World by Neill Cameron

• Boss of the Underworld: Shirley vs the Green Menace by Tor Freeman

Hobbies and interests

• Shoot for the Stars by Danielle Brown. Illustrated by Jayde Perkin and Filigrana de Ideas

• Football Skills illustrated by Frank Bueno

• World Kitchen - Celebrations by Abigail Wheatley and Chaaya Prabhat

• Find it! British Birds by Marianne Taylor and Sally Payne

• The Football GOAT: Kane v. Bellingham by Matt Oldfield, Seth Burkett and Dan Leydon

• Making It Up As You Go Along by Patricia Forde et al and Mary Murphy

Older Fiction

• The Lone Husky by Hannah Gold and Levi Pinfold

• Flember: The Golden Heart by Jamie Smart

• The First Year by Matt Goodfellow and Joe Todd-Stanton

• My Soul, A Shining Tree by Jamila Gavin

• Jed Greenleaf by Kieran Larwood

• The Boy With Big Decisions by Helen Rutter

Picture Book

• Don’t Trust Fish! by Neil Sharpson and Dan Santat

• The Forever Bear by Lu Fraser and Pippa Curnick

• Baxter’s View by Kerri Cunningham

• There’s A Shark In My Pants! by Michelle Harrison and David Tazzyman

• The Best Jollof Rice Ever! by Onyinye Iwu

• Tiger, Don’t Worry! by Daishu Ma

Poetry

• The Waters and the Wild by Eilish Fisher and David Rooney

• This is Not a Small Voice by Traci N. Todd and Jade Orlando

• BOING! A Bouncy Book of Bugs by James Carter and Neal Layton

• The Poetry World of John Agard by John Agard and Shirley Hottier

• The Brightest Star by Meg Grehan and Nene Lonergan

STEM Book

• The History of We by Nikkolas Smith

• See Inside AI by Alex Frith & Victoria Williams with illustrations by Beatrix Hatcher

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

• The Wizard’s Guide to Magical Experiments by AJ Wood and Jo Rioux

• Bridges by Magda Garguláková and Jakub Bachorík

Wellbeing

• Beyond the Setting Sun by Sarah J. Dodd and Cee Biscoe 

• All Brains Are Wonderful by Scott Evans and The Boy Fitz Hammond

• Keep Smashing It by Jodie Ounsley written with Becky Grey and illustrated by Dane Thibeault

• How to be Disabled and Proud by Cathy Reay

• You and Your Body by Dr Punam Krishan

Younger Fiction

• Squirrel and Duck: Mission Improbable by Tom Percival

• Grumpfort by Jamie Hammond

• Pia’s Pet Club: Puppy Problem by Serena Patel and Emma McCann

• The Other Father Christmas by Serena Holly and Shahab Shamshiraz

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

• Ivy and Bearlock Holmes: The Case of the Missing Flower by Kristyna Litten

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

• Deep Dark: A Cassia Thorne Mystery by Zohra Nabi. Cover illustrations by Paola Escobar

• Badger Books written and illustrated by Paddy Donnelly

• Pirate Penguin by Hunter McNeil-Ali. Cover and illustrations by Nicci Martin

• Oscar Wilde’s Stories for Children by Oscar Wilde. Cover and illustrations by Lauren O’Hara

• Hidden Heroes of Science by Peter Gallivan. Cover and illustrations by Robbie Cathro

• Midnight Treasure by Piers Torday. Cover illustrations by Alla Khatkevich

Check out The Week Junior Book Awards 2025 winners here, or click on a book below to buy, read our expert reviews, or download an extract of this year's shortlisted titles.