2026 Children's Choice Awards
Welcome to the 2026 Children’s Choice Awards — where YOU get to be the judge! Vote below for your favorite book — the one that made you laugh, gasp, stay up late, or read “just one more chapter.” Cast your vote, rally your friends, and stay tuned… the winning book will be announced soon!
Gracie Under the Waves, Linda Sue Park: Gracie loves snorkeling! She loves it so much, she convinces her parents to let her plan a family vacation to Roatán, Honduras, where they can all snorkel together. She even makes a new friend there. Now, if only her irritating little brother would leave her alone, everything would be perfect. Then Gracie hurts her leg, and all her carefully made plans start to come apart. Worse still, she learns the reef itself is in serious danger. Gracie wants to help the reef…but she’s just a kid. What can she do to make a difference? Fortunately, her new friend has a few ideas!
A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall, Jasmine Warga: A painting has been stolen…! When Rami sees a floating girl in the museum, he knows he has seen her somewhere before. Then he realizes: She looks just like the girl in the painting that has gone missing. But how does her appearance connect to the theft? Agatha the turtle knows—she has been watching from the garden. But she can’t exactly tell anyone…can she? Will Rami, with the help of his classmate, Veda, be able to solve the mystery? The clues are all around them, but they’ll have to be brave enough to really look.
Mixed-Up, Kami Garcia: Stella knows fifth grade will be the best year ever. Her closest friends, Emiko and Latasha, are in her class and they all got the teacher they wanted. Then their favorite television show, Witchlins, announces a new guidebook and an online game! But when the classwork starts piling up, Stella struggles to stay on top. Why does it take her so long to read? And how can she keep up with friends in the Witchlins game if she can’t get through the text-heavy guidebook? It takes loving teachers and her family to recognize that Stella has a learning difference, and after a dyslexia diagnosis she gets the support and tools she needs to succeed.
The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra’s Needle, Dan Gutman: In this historical fiction account by bestselling author Dan Gutman, five kids who watched the Needle at each phase of its history recount the daring story of how something that seemed to be impossible –and that nearly ended in disaster—finally succeeded against all odds.
Almost Sunset, Wahab Algarmi: Hassan faces a hectic month of homework, soccer and gaming while fasting every day for the holy month of Ramadan, in a story about balancing family traditions and secular middle school life.
Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker, Heidi Heilig: A young adventurer races to break the family curse by repatriating the artifacts her famed ancestor ‘saved.’
When Wishes Were Horses, Cynthia Voight: When Casey, Zoe, Bill and Bug, who live in the same town but don’t know each other, are suddenly connected by magic, they dream about what they’d like to wish for–and if this is for real.
Library Girl, Polly Horvath: Eleven-year-old Essie, who was abandoned as a baby and lovingly raised by four librarians, meets a mysterious boy whom she believes is her twin brother, but as she gets to know him better, she discovers nothing is as simple as it seems.