The Children’s Book Award
The Children’s Book Award is the only national award voted for solely by children from start to finish.
Welcome
The Children’s Book Award is the only national award voted for solely by children from start to finish. Our first ever winner was “Mr Magnolia” by Quentin Blake in 1981 and winners since then have included Roald Dahl, JK Rowling, Anthony Horowitz, Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Morpurgo, who has won an amazing four times, only beaten by the illustrator Michael Foreman, who has won a total of five times.
Influential & Popular
It is highly regarded by parents, teachers, librarians, publishers and children’s authors and illustrators as it truly represents the children’s choice. Thanks to the support of the publishers, around 700 new books are donated to be read and reviewed by our Testing Groups across the country every year, with a total of over 85,000 total votes being cast in the process. At the end of each testing year, thousands of books are donated to hospitals, women’s refuges, nurseries and disadvantaged schools by our groups.
Congratulations!
The winners of the 2026 award were announced on 13th June at a ceremony in Birmingham attended by our young voters. Congratulations to Sheena Dempsey, author of our overall winner Pablo and Splash: Roman Holiday.
HOW TO SUBMIT BOOKS FOR THE AWARD
Every year publishers and authors submit over 600 titles for consideration for the award and books can be submitted at any time during the year. The award is open to all original works of narrative fiction for children and young adults. They are eligible in the year they are first published in the UK. For full eligibility criteria and submissions guidelines contact the Children’s Book Award Coordinator