All the finalists in the 2026 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults

All the books – and their authors, illustrators, translators and publishers – in the race for the prize(s), with commentary from books editor Claire Mabey.

From 159 entries this year’s judges have narrowed this year’s finalists down to just 30 books, each a shimmering gem, a treasure for Aotearoa’s bookshelves. “ They made us laugh, cry and stare off into space to think some more,” says convenor of judges Simie Simpson. “And they reflect the diversity of both the children reading these stories, and of Aotearoa in 2026.”

The world is currently going through a technological shift as significant as the industrial age and with it comes an avalanche of anxieties about literacy, reading for pleasure, the health of our children’s very brains. The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults is more than just a mechanism for honouring excellence. There’s a whole world of advocacy and engagement and passion that gathers around the awards to tackle such concerns. The remarkable Hell reading challenge , now in its second decade, sees nearly 800 schools and libraries taking part, more than 312,000 pizza wheels distributed and about 2.2 million books read. Pizza-rific stuff.

This year will see the inaugural New Zealand Children’s Book Week – August 15-21 – bookend the awards ceremony. Read NZ Te Pou Muramura will build on the Books Alive events (in which the below awards finalists tour the country to inspire young readers) by rustling up even more bookish events with writers, teachers, parents, librarians, bookshops and literary organisations nationwide.

Now, to the awards. There are six categories: Picture Book, Junior Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Non-Fiction, Illustration and te reo Māori. Winners are announced at a ceremony at Pipitea Marae in Wellington on August 19 and will each take home $8,500. Of those winners, one will be named the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year and will receive an extra $8,500. The Best First Book prize winner gets $2,500. Herewith are your finalists:

The Bookhub Picture Book Award finalists

A Guide to Rock s by Sacha Cotter, illustrated by Josh Morgan (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata) (Huia Publishers)

Koro Wētā by Heather Haylock, illustrated by Sarah Trolle, translated by Ngairo Eruera (Ngāti Ranginui, Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa)  (Oratia Books)

Left to Nowhere by Ian Chapman (One Tree House)

Pūkeko Who-keko? by Toby Morris (Penguin Random House)

The Only Dinosaur in School by Leonie Agnew, illustrated by Julia Hegetusch (Muaūpoko) (Scholastic New Zealand)

I cried when I first read A Guide to Rocks by Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan (creators of such hits as Dazzlehands and The Bomb). It is a poignant book about sharing your anxieties, lightening your load and nurturing a closer relationship with your family in the process. Morgan’s illustrations are always exquisite but in A Guide to Rocks they’re something else: the rocks themselves shimmering, psychedelic manifestations of old wounds and fresh worries with a charming dose of nostalgia. Morris’ Pūkeko Who-keko? is a stone cold classic. It’s got an iconic yet under appreciated Aotearoa bird, dad jokes and those instantly loveable Morris-y images – eyebrows and grins and physical comedy. The Only Dinosaur in School by Leonie Agnew and Julia Hegetusch is another classic – a gorgeous story about being yourself and discovering that everyone is trying to hide something. I haven’t seen Ian Chapman’s Left to Nowhere but the cover image is … unsettling in a way that leaves me wanting more; and Paula Green say s the book is “beautifully written and sublimely illustrated”. Koro Wēta by Heather Haylock (of Granny McFlitter fame) honours the wēta and its long-time place in our lives. Five fabulous picture books… my money is probably on A Guide to Rocks for sheer majesty of the imagery and depth of concept. But it might be hard to beat a Toby Morris’ simple but perfectly formed crack-up caper.

Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award finalists

Detective Stanley and the Mystery at the Museum by Hannah Tunnicliffe, illustrated by Erica Harrison (Flying Eye Books)

Dreamslinger by Graci Kim (Penguin Random House New Zealand)

Kimi the Kekeno’s Big Adventure by Shelley Burne-Field (Ngāti Mutanga, Ngāti Rārua) (Allen & Unwin Aotearoa)

The Terrible Trio 1: The (not so) Superheroes by Swapna Haddow, illustrated by Minky Stapleton (Scholastic New Zealand)

Violet and the Velvets 2: The Case of the Angry Ghost by Rachael King, illustrated by Phoebe Morris (Allen & Unwin Aotearoa)

I’m surprised that Sonya Wilson’s The Secret Green isn’t here – a gripping sequel to Spark Hunter which was shortlisted for this award in 2022, and won the best first book category. We also don’t have Stacy Gregg’s epic feline adventure The Last Journey or Ruth Paul’s kid crime-busting caper, Ghost Kiwi. All three of these novels lean towards the upper age range in this category whereas most of the finalists lean towards the younger, junior end (such is…