Rhode Island Children's Book Award Winners And Nominees
2025 Award Winner
The 2025 Rhode Island Children's Book Award winner is The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name by Sandhya Parappukkaran, illustrated by Michelle Pereira. This year 8,774 students from 103 schools and public libraries voted for their favorite 2025 nominee. A big thank you to all the librarians and teachers who promoted the list, connected kids with the books, and conducted voting!
2025 Voting Breakdown
| 1 | The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name | 930 | |
| 2 | My Powerful Hair | 710 | |
| 3 | Loloa's Sari-Sari Store | 601 | |
| 4 | Grimwood | 585 | |
| 5 | Champion Chompers | 583 | |
| 6 | Meesh the Bad Demon | 580 | |
| 7 | The Last Plastic Straw | 566 | |
| 8 | Art Club | 527 | |
| 9 | Jovita Wore Pants | 493 | |
| 10 | How Not to Get Eaten | 432 | |
| 11 | Home Away from Home | 430 | |
| 12 | Finch House | 358 | |
| 13 | Something Like Home | 343 | |
| 14 | Ellen Takes Flight | 337 | |
| 15 | Mabuhay! | 310 | |
| 16 | These Olive Trees | 290 | |
| 17 | Shermy & Shake | 223 | |
| 18 | The Guardian Test | 214 | |
| 19 | Sejal Sinha Battles Superstorms | 137 | |
| 20 | Sam Makes a Splash | 125 |
2026 Nominees
Visit the RICBA LibGuide for all resources.
- A Bite Above the Rest by Christine Virnig
- Bodega Cats: Picture Purrfect by Hilda Eunice Burgos
- Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos by Nathalie Alonso
- Haiku, Ew!: Celebrating the Disgusting Side of Nature by Lynn Brunelle
- The Happy Shop by Brittany Long Olsen
- Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla
- Jupiter Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic: A Graphic Novel by Sangu Mandanna
- The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class: Emma McKenna, Full Out by Kate Messner
- Legendarios #1: Wrath of the Rain God by Karla Arenas Valenti
- The Life-Changing Magic of Chess: A Beginner's Guide with Grandmaster Maurice Ashley by Maurice Ashley
- Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
- Mixed-Up by Kami Garcia
- My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story by George Takei
- Off the Map by Meika Hashimoto
- The Racc Pack by Stephanie Cooke
- Search for a Giant Squid: Pick Your Path by Amy Seto Forrester
- Stranded!: A Mostly True Story from Iceland by Ævar Þór Benediktsson
- They Call Me No Sam! by Drew Daywalt
- Wagnificent: The Adventures of Thunder and Sage by Bethanie Deeney Murguia
- Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills by Billy Mills, Donna Janell Bowman
RICBA Winners and Nominees 2010-2024
| Year | Winner | Nominees |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name by Sandhya Parappukkaran, illustrated by Michelle Pereira | 2025 Nominees |
| 2024 | Killer Underwear Invasion!: How to Spot Fake News, Disinformation & Conspiracy Theories by Elise Gravel | 2024 Nominees |
| 2023 | Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter | 2023 Nominees |
| 2022 | The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read by Rita Lorraine Hubbard and illustrated by Oge Mora | 2022 Nominees |
| 2021 | Titan and the Wild Boars: The True Cave Rescue of the Thai Soccer Team by Susan Hood & Pathana Sornhiran | 2021 Nominees |
| 2020 | Inky's Amazing Escape: How a Very Smart Octopus Found His Way Home by Sy Montgomery | 2020 Nominees |
| 2019 | Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero by Patricia McCormick and illustrated by Iacopo Bruno | 2019 Nominees |
| 2018 | O'Connor, Barbara. Wish. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2016. | 2018 Nominees |
| 2017 | Telgemeier, Raina. Sisters. New York: Graphix, 2014. | 2017 Nominees |
| 2016 | Bell, Cece. El Deafo.New York: Amulet Books, 2014. | 2016 Nominees |
| 2015 | Grabenstein, Chris. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library.New York : Random House, 2013. | 2015 Nominees |
| 2014 | Palaciao, R.J. Wonder. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. | 2014 Nominees |
| 2013 | Santat, Dan. Sidekicks. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2011. | 2013 Nominees |
| 2012 | Angleberger, Tom. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. New York: Amulet Books, 2010. | 2012 Nominees |
| 2011 | Jenkins, Steve. Never Smile at a Monkey: and 17 Other Important Things to Remember. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2009. | 2011 Nominees |
| 2010 | Kibuishi, Kazu. Amulet. Book 1, The Stonekeeper. New York: Graphix, 2008. | 2010 Nominees |
| 1991-2010 | Winners and Nominees |