New York, N.Y.–(December 17, 2025)–The Jane Addams Peace Association is delighted to announce 13 finalist titles under consideration for the 2026 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award in the Picture Book category. Please find them listed at the conclusion of this release.
The Jane Addams Peace Association will announce winning and honor books from among these finalists on January 19, 2026. Awards will be presented to the winning and honored authors and illustrators on June 26th at 5:30pm at the Hull House Museum, preceded by a Hull House Tour at 4:30pm in Chicago. Since 1953, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award has annually recognized “children’s books of literary and aesthetic excellence that effectively engage children in thinking about peace, social justice, global community, and equity for all people.” A national committee of members with passion for and expertise in children’s literature and social justice is responsible for making the choices each year.
We believe that these books, and others like them, can open up conversations between children and their adults–teachers, librarians and caregivers–about what is happening in the world around them and how they can be changemakers in their own families and communities. We hope that promoting our final contenders in this way will serve to highlight a greater number of excellent children’s books that can deepen understanding of peace and justice.
A special thanks to the Hastings Peace & Justice Fund for their generous support of the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award for many years.
2026 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Finalists for Picture Books
A Line Can Go Anywhere: The Brilliant, Resilient Life of Artist Ruth Asawa. Caroline McAlister, illustrated by Jamie Green. Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan.
A Place for Us: A Story in Pictures. Written and illustrated by James Ransome. Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin.
The Black Mambas: The World’s First All-Woman Anti-Poaching Unit. Kelly Crull. Millbrook Press/Lerner.
Brave. Written and illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre. Kokila/Penguin Random House.
Call Me Gray. Andrew and Bells Larsen, illustrated by Tallulah Fontaine. Kids Can Press.
CeeCee: Underground Railroad Cinderella. Shana Keller, illustrated by Laura Freeman. Charlesbridge.
Faith Takes the Train. Kesi Augustine, illustrated by Mokshini. HarperCollins.
How Sweet the Sound. Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Charly Palmer. Little Brown Books for Young Readers.
The History of We. Written and illustrated by Nikkolas Smith. Kokila/Penguin.
The One and Only Googoosh: Iran’s Beloved Superstar. Written and illustrated by Azadeh Westergaard. Viking Books for Young Readers/Penguin.
The Sacred Stone Camp. Rae Rose, illustrated by Aly McKnight. Dial Books/Penguin.
Unstoppable John: How John Lewis Got His Library Card–and Helped Change History. Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Jerry Jordan. Viking Books for Young Readers/Penguin.
We Miss You, George Floyd. Shannon Gibney, illustrated by Leeya Rose Jackson. University of Minnesota Press.