Rhode Island Children's Book Award Winners And Nominees
2026 Award Winner
The 2026 Rhode Island Children's Book Award winner is Stranded!: A Mostly True Story from Iceland by Ævar Þór Benediktsson. This year 9,533 students from 100 schools and public libraries voted for their favorite 2026 nominee. A big thank you to all the librarians and teachers who promoted the list, connected kids with the books, and conducted voting!
2026 Voting Breakdown
| 1 | Stranded! | 982 | |
| 2 | They Call Me No Sam! | 872 | |
| 3 | Mixed-Up | 816 | |
| 4 | Call Me Roberto! | 809 | |
| 5 | Search for a Giant Squid | 763 | |
| 6 | Haiku, Ew! | 748 | |
| 7 | My Lost Freedom | 644 | |
| 8 | Wings of an Eagle | 505 | |
| 9 | Off the Map | 415 | |
| 10 | Jupiter Nettle | 372 | |
| 11 | The Happy Shop | 357 | |
| 12 | Invisible Isabel | 355 | |
| 13 | Bodega Cats: Picture Purrfect | 318 | |
| 14 | The Racc Pack | 307 | |
| 15 | Wagnificent | 231 | |
| 16 | A Bite Above the Rest | 216 | |
| 17 | Wrath of the Rain God | 216 | |
| 18 | Emma McKenna, Full Out | 206 | |
| 19 | The Life-Changing Magic of Chess | 204 | |
| 20 | Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All | 197 |
2027 Nominees
Visit the RICBA LibGuide for all resources.
- Awesome Earth: Concrete Poems Celebrate Caves, Canyons, and Other Fascinating Landforms by Joan Bransfield Graham, Tania García (illustrator)
- The Black Mambas: The World's First All-Woman Anti-Poaching Unit by Kelly Crull
- Club Microbe by Elise Gravel
- Creaky Acres: A Graphic Novel by Calista Brill, Nilah Magruder (Illustrator)
- Dragonborn by Struan Murray
- Gabby Torres Gets a Billion Followers by Angela Dominguez
- Gifts from the Garbage Truck: A True Story About the Things We (Don't) Throw Away by Andrew Larsen, Oriol Vidal (illustrator)
- Hurricane by Jason Chin
- Jasper Rabbit's Creepy Tales!: Troubling Tonsils! by Aaron Reynolds, Peter Brown (Illustrator)
- Millie of the Manor by Karina Evans and Andrea Bell
- On Guard! by Cassidy Wasserman
- Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate, Charles Santoso (Illustrator)
- Popcorn by Rob Harrell
- Return to Sender by Vera Brosgol
- Rewriting the Rules: How Dr. Kathleen Friel Created New Possibilities for Brain Research and Disability by Danna Zeiger
- Safe Harbor by Padma Venkatraman
- School Dance by Sarah Sax
- The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman
- Wat Takes His Shot: The Life & Legacy of Basketball Hero Wataru Misaka by Cheryl Kim, Nat Iwata (Illustrator)
- Will's Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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 |