Students will have the opportunity to participate in the North Carolina Children's Book Award program sponsored by North Carolina School Library Media Association. It is designed to introduce students to current children's literature and to instill a love or reading. There are two categories: Picture Book which is designed for preschool through third grade and Junior Book category for fourth and fifth graders. In the picture book category, students must have read or had read to them at least 5 of the books. In the Junior Book category, students must have read or had read to them at least 3 of the nominated books. Voting will take place in the media center in March at Yadkinville and then our votes will be sent to the state. This is a great chance for students to have a hand in picking the book that will be awarded this honor.
North Carolina Children's Book Award Announcement
2024-2025 School Winners are....
Picture Book Category
Yoshi, Sea Turtle Genius: a True Story About an Amazing Swimmer by Lynne Cox
Junior Book Category
Chunky by Yehudi Mercado
2023-2024 School Winners are....
Picture Book Category
Paletero Man by Lucky Diaz
Junior Book Category
Starfish by Lisa Fipps
Written by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Illustrated by Gabriel Epstein
And the 2025-2026 Nominees are .........
2026 North Carolina Children’s Book Award: Picture Book Nominees
100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli
David LaRochelle
Illustrated by Lian Cho
Buffalo Fluffalo
Bess Kalb
Illustrated by Erin Kraan
Don't Trust Cats: Life Lessons from Chip the Dog
Dev Petty
Illustrated by Mike Boldt
Home in a Lunchbox
Cherry Mo
Ice Cream Everywhere: Sweet Stories from Around the World
Judy Campbell-Smith
Illustrated by Lucy Semple
The Man Who Didn't Like Animals
Deborah Underwood
Illustrated by LeUyen Pham
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Mac Barnett
Illustrated by Jon Klassen
Two New Years
Richard Ho
Illustrated by Lynn Scurfield
Whalesong: The True Story of the Musician Who Talked to Orcas
Zachariah OHora
Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination
Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham
The Yellow Bus
Loren Long
Zap! Clap! Boom!: The Story of a Thunderstorm
Laura Purdie Salas
Illustrated by Elly MacKay
2026 North Carolina Children’s Book Award: Junior Book Nominees
Ferris
Kate DiCamillo
Haiku, Ew!: Celebrating the Disgusting Side of Nature
Lynn Brunelle
Illustrated by Julia Patton
Hummingbird
Natalie Lloyd
The Last Dragon on Mars
Scott Reintgen
The Misfits: A Royal Conundrum
Lisa Yee
Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arctic
Candace Fleming
Illustrated by Deena So'Oteh
Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy
Angie Thomas
No Matter the Distance
Cindy Baldwin
Squished
Megan Wagner Lloyd
Illustrated by Michelle Mee Nutter
Things in the Basement
Ben Hatke
We Own the Sky
Rodman Philbrick
Wild Brunch: Poems About How Creatures Eat
David L. Harrison
Illustrated by Giles Laroche
Prezi for the NCCBA Junior Nominess for 2026!