Rhode Island Children's Book Award Winners And Nominees
2026 Award Winner
Voting for the 2026 RI Children's Book Award will take place March 2 - May 1. Beginning March 2, 2026, schools and libraries may submit their voting results using the online form. The winner will be announced early May 2026.
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 |
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 |