2026 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts
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A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez written by Maria Dolores Aguila, published by Roaring Brook Press Zero: The Number That Almost Wasn't written by Sarah Albee, illustrated by Chris Hsu, published by Charlesbridge Brave written by Weshoyot Alvitre, published by Kokila Every Monday Mabel written by Jashar Awan, published by Simon & Schuster Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave written by Drew Beckmeyer, published by Atheneum Wolf Club written by James Bird, published by Feiwel and Friends A Hero's Guide to Summer Vacation written by Pablo Cartaya, published by Kokila Star Sailor: The Story of Words written by Sara Cassidy, illustrated by Julie McLaughlin, published by Orca Book Publishers Hurricane written by Jason Chin, published by Neal Porter Books/HH Mixed-Up written by Kami Garcia, published by First Second A Cup of Quiet written by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson, published by Bloomsbury Wanda Hears the Stars: A Blind Astronomer Listens to the Universe written by Amy S. Hansen with Wanda Diaz Merced, illustrated by Rocio Arreola Mendoza, published by Charlesbridge The Day the Books Disappeared written by Joanna Ho & Caroline Kusin Pritchard, illustrated by Dan Santat, published by Disney Hyperion A Sleuth of Bears and Other Amusing, Beguiling, and Peculiar Collective Nouns written by Colter Jackson, published by PA Press Another Word for Neighbor written by Angela Pham Krans, illustrated by Thai My Phuong, published by Harper |
Some Days I'm the Wind written by Rebecca Gardyn Levington, illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova, published by Barefoot Books Dawn written by Marc Martin, published by Candlewick Studio The Trouble with Heroes written by Kate Messner, published by Bloomsbury Tomatoes on Trial: The Fruit v. Vegetable Showdown written by Lindsay Metcalf, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham, published by Calkins Creek The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez written by Jasminne Paulino, published by Putnam This is Orange: A Field Trip Through Color written by Rachel Poliquin, illustrated by Julie Morstad, published by Candlewick Press Wish I Was a Baller written by Amar Shah, illustrated by Rashad Doucet, published by Scholastic Don't Trust Fish written by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat, published by Dial Dear Acorn (Love, Oak) written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, published by Clarion Books The History of We written by Nikkolas Smith, published by Kokila The Cartoonists Club written by Raina Telegemeir & Scott McCloud, published by Scholastic Torrible Puns: A Collection of Punny poems written by Tricia Torrible, illustrated by Robert Dunn, published by Gnome Road Publishing All the Blue in the Sky written by Renee Watson, published by Bloomsbury Andre: Andre Leon Talley --A Fashionable Fabulous Fairy Tale written by Carole Boston Weatherford & Rob Sanders, illustrated by Lamon O'Neal, published by Henry Holt & Company Little Bird Laila written by Kelly Yang, illustrated by Xindi Yan, published by Dial |
2026 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Selection Committee Members
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Laura Hudock, Framingham State University, Massachusetts (Chair)
Ally Hauptman, Lipscomb University, Tennessee (Chair-elect) Mary Ellen Oslick, Stetson University, Florida |
Jason Lewis, Tyngsborough Elementary School, Massachusetts
Sarah K. Sterner, California Polytechnic University, Humbolt, California Bettie Parsons Barger, Winthrop University, South Carolina Julianne Scullen, Anoka-Hennepin Schools, Minnesota |
NOTABLES OVERVIEW
The charge of the seven-member national committee is to select 30 books that best exemplify the criteria established for the Notables Award. Books considered for this annual list are works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry written for children, grades K-8. The books selected for the list must:
- be published the year preceding the award year (i.e. books published in 2015 are considered for the 2016 list);
- have an appealing format;
- be of enduring quality;
- meet generally accepted criteria of quality for the genre in which they are written; and
- meet one or more of the following criteria:
- deal explicitly with language, such as plays on words, word origins, or the history of language;
- demonstrate uniqueness in the use of language or style; and/or
- invite child response or participation.
INFORMATION FOR PUBLISHERS
- Review the criteria listed above to confirm that the book(s) you wish to submit are eligible for the Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts award.
- Ship one copy of each book you wish to nominate directly to each committee member.
- Contact the 2026 Award Committee chair, Laura Hudock, for more information and for the mailing addresses of the committee members.
JOINING THE NOTABLES COMMITTEE
The deadline for applications has elapsed.
The call for applications is shared for informational purposes.
The call for applications is shared for informational purposes.
| 2025_ncbla_application.pdf |
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