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The award highlights books in four categories: Picture Books, Junior Fiction, Teen Fiction and Non-Fiction. Browse the shortlisted books in each of the four categories below. You can view the longlists here.
VOTING OPEN FOR TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS - WINNERS ANNOUNCED MARCH 2026
‘Unreservedly silly fun,’ ‘sweet and funny,’ and ‘plenty of laughs’ are just a few of the phrases used by Peters’ judges to describe the picture book shortlist.
This year's shortlist includes: Don't Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson and Dan Santat (Andersen Press); Llama Library by Holly Ryan and Ella Bailey (HarperCollins); Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer and Steve McCarthy (Walker Books); What's That Noise? by Charlie Higson and Nadia Shireen (Simon & Schuster); This Is Who I Am by Rashmi Sirdeshpande and Ruchi Mhasane (Andersen Press); and Letters to a Monster by Patricia Forde and Sarah Warburton (Bloomsbury Children's Books).
Junior readers have plenty to choose from, from atmospheric ghost stories to hilarious and heart-warming comics to stories of survival. There's something for everyone!
This year's shortlist includes: Wildlands by Brogen Murphy (Puffin); The Boy at the Window by Lucy Strange (Barrington Stoke); Dadbot by Jack Noel (Piccadilly Press, Bonnier Books); Nate Yu's Blast From the Past by Maisie Chan (Piccadilly Press, Bonnier Books); Running My Own Race by Abena Eyeson (Nosy Crow); and The Snowman Code by Simon Stephenson and Reggie Brown (HarperCollins).
🏆 Celebrate junior fiction and read our exclusive 2026 awards interview with shortlisted authors!
Teachers and librarians - cast your vote and crown the winner!Peters Children's Book of the Year 2026 is decided by public vote from teachers, school librarians, and public library staff from the UK. Voting closes Saturday 28 February 2026, 11.59pm.
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A set of powerful and compelling stories make up a teen fiction shortlist that’s bound to grip both younger and older teen readers.
This year's shortlist includes: Phoenix Brothers by Sita Brahmachari (Oxford University Press); Traumaland by Josh Silver (Rock the Boat); I Dare You by Tamsin Winter (Usborne); What Happens Online by Nathanael Lessore (Hot Key Books); Stealing Happy by Brian Conaghan (Bloomsbury Children's Books); and A Flash of Neon by Sophie Cameron (Stripes Publishing, Little Tiger Press).
🏆 Celebrate teen fiction and read our exclusive 2026 awards interview with shortlisted authors!
Our fantastic non-fiction shortlist packs a punch, covering topics from animals and their habitats to the Lascaux cave paintings to LGBTQ+ activism from the 1940s to the present day.
This year's shortlist includes: I'm Building A Nest by Saskia Gwinn and Adam Ming (Happy Yak); We Are Your Children: A History of LGBTQ+ Activism by David Roberts (Pan Macmillan Children's); Frog: A Story of Life on Earth by Isobel Thomas and Daniel Egneus (Bloomsbury); Tales of Scary Beasts by Susan Martineau and Vicky Barker (b small publishing); and The Cave Explorer by Kate Winter (Puffin).
See all packs
See all packs
Shortlisted books are available in handy book packs for each category, so you can buy all of the books in one go, with 20% off RRP.
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The Peters’ Children’s Book of the Year Awards are awarded annually to celebrate the best of children’s fiction and non-fiction published in the UK. The awards’ mission is to celebrate and champion the power of books to inspire children to read for pleasure, ensuring all children, regardless of background, have access to the opportunities that reading holds.
We are seeking books that provide an outstanding reading experience for children and young people, that will inspire more children to pick up a book and read.
We celebrate publishing in four categories: Picture Books, Junior Fiction, Teen fiction and Non-Fiction.
Read the full Awards Mission and learn more about the longlisting and shortlisting process here.
