A shortlist in three categories (illustrated, young readers, older readers) has been released for the 2026 Waterstones Children's Book Prize, chosen by Waterstones booksellers, the Bookseller reported. Category winners and the overall winner will be named at a ceremony on March 26. Check out the complete shortlist here.
Welsh cartoonist and author Huw Aaron has been shortlisted in both the Younger Readers and Illustrated Books categories, marking the first time in the award's history that an author/illustrator has been a finalist for two titles across categories.
Bea Carvalho, head of books, Waterstones, said: "For more than 20 years, the Waterstones Children's Book Prize has sought to spark and maintain a love of reading in children and teenagers through spotlighting the most exciting emerging writers and illustrators....
"In the National Year of Reading, this effort feels especially impactful, and our booksellers have selected a shortlist of 12 outstanding books that truly celebrate the sheer joy, escapism and wonder to be found in children's books today. This is a list that prioritizes reading for pleasure, with picture books bursting with charm that adults will adore reading to little ones on repeat, and novels that are destined to be enthusiastically passed around playgrounds and friendship groups."