Golden Kite Awards 2026

To kick off the 2026 Virtual Winter Conference, on February 6th, SCWBI held the Golden Kite Awards ceremony for the best children's literature published in 2025.

Open to the public, with opportunities to mix and mingle with the Golden Kite finalists and winners in a virtual "afterparty," it was a wonderful celebration of these outstanding book creators and their books! 

Watch the recorded live stream HERE on SCBWI YouTube.

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Sid Fleischman Award for Humor

Honoree

Big Changes for Plum! 

by Matt Phelan 

(Greenwillow Books) 

Winner

Never Take Your Rhino on a Plane 

written by KE Lewis and illustrated by Isabel Roxas

(Clarion)

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Picture Book Text

Honoree

Fireworks 

written by Matthew Burgess and illustrated by Catia Chien 

(Clarion)

Winner

We Go Slow 

written by Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie and illustrated by Aaron Becker 

(Atheneum)

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Picture Book Illustration

Honoree

Fireworks 

written by Matthew Burgess and illustrated by Catia Chien 

(Clarion)

Winner

When Alexander Graced the Table 

illustrated by Frank Morrison and written by Alexander Smalls and Denene Millner 

(Denene Millner Books)

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Nonfiction Text for Younger Readers

Honoree

One Girl's Voice: How Lucy Stone Helped Change the Law of the Land 

written by Vivian Kirkfield illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon

(Calkins Creek)

Winner

Some of Us: A Story of Citizenship and the United States 

written by Rajani LaRocca and illustrated by Huy Voun Lee

(Christy Ottaviano Books)

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Nonfiction Text for Older Readers

Honoree

A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, A Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out

written by Nicholas Day and illustrated by Yas Imamura 

(Random House Studio)

Winner

White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History

written by Ann Bausum

(Roaring Brook Press)

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Middle Grade Fiction

Honoree

Gabby Torres Gets a Billion Followers

by Angela Dominguez 

(Roaring Brook Press)

Winner

Once for Yes

by Allie Millington 

(Feiwel and Friends)

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Illustrated Book for Older Readers

Honoree

Lu and Ren's Guide to Geozoology

by Angela Hsieh 

(Quill Tree Books)

Winner

Song of a Blackbird

by Maria van Lieshout

(First Second)

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Young Adult Fiction

Honoree

Island Creatures 

by Margarita Engle 

(Atheneum)

Winner

Song of a Blackbird

by Maria van Lieshout

(First Second)

Congratulations again to the finalists, honorees, and winners! To purchase books from the SCBWI Golden Kite Award finalists, honors, and winners, visit The SCBWI Bookshop page!