New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2026 - Picture Books

A Guide to Rocks written by Sascha Cotter and illustrated by Josh Morgan (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata)

Koro Wētā written by Heather Haylock, illustrated by Sarah Trolle and translated by Ngairo Eruera (Ngāti Ranginui, Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa)

Left to Nowhere written and illustrated by Ian Chapman

Pūkeko Who-Keko? written and illustrated by Toby Morris

The Only Dinosaur in School written by Leonie Agnew and illustrated by Julia Hegetusch (Muaūpoko)

Visit the blog again next week for the Junior Fiction finalists or if you can't wait till then have a look here for a list of all the finalists.

Image via New Zealand Book Awards Trust

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Dancing with Memories" by Sally YULE, Professor Ralph MARTINS & Maggie BEER; illustrated by Cheryl ORSINI
• "Gozzle" by Julia DONALDSON; illustrated by Sara OGILVY

Fiction:

• "Kristy's Big Day - Graphic Novel" by Mary Ann MARTIN & Gale GALLIGAN (Baby-Sitters Club - Graphic Novel series)
• "Hilo : Then Everything Went Wrong" by Judd WINICK (Hilo series)
• "Snug" by Michael MORPURGO; illustrated by Faye HANSON (Little Gems series)
• "Detective Beans and the Map of Mystery" by Li CHEN (Detective Beans series)
• "Bitza : Rules? What Rules?" by Andrew DADDO; illustrated by Stephen Michael KING (Bitza series)
• "Junie B Jones and a Little Monkey Business" by Barbara PARK & Colleen A F VENABLE; illustrated by Honie BEAM (Junie B Jones - Graphic novel series) 

Non fiction:

• "Crystal and Gem" by Dr R.F. SYMES & Dr R.R. HARDING (DK Eyewitness series)
• "Animal! The Animal Kingdom as you've Never Seen it Before" by John WOODWARD (DK Knowledge Encyclopedia series)
• "The Easter Story" by Joy COWLEY; illustrated by Donald MORRISON
• "Eye Twisters : The Science and Magic of Optical Illusions"

Senior Fiction:

• "Holes" by Louis SACHAR 
• "Sunshine" by Jarret J. KROSOCZKA

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Dig, Dump, Roll" by Sally SUTTON; illustrated by Brian LOVELOCK
• "Finding Grace / Kimihia A Grace" by Emma HINTON; translated by Lois McIVER; illustrated by Nicky HARTLEY 

Fiction:

• "Dawn on the Coast - Graphic Novel" by Mary Ann MARTIN & Arley NOPRA (Baby-Sitters Club - Graphic Novel series)
• "Willa and Woof : Mimi is Missing" by Jacqueline HARVEY (Willa and Woof series)
• "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine RUNDELL; illustrated by Tomislav TOMIĆ (Impossible Creatures series)
• "Meet Ella : Swim Class" by Rebecca McRitchie; illustrated by Danielle McDONALD (Meet Ella series)
• "Piggy - The Entity" by Terrance CRAWFORD & Dan WIDOWSON (Piggy series)
• "Dream On" by  Shannon HALE

Non fiction:

• "Cat" by Juliet CLUTTON-BROCK (DK Eyewitness series)
• "Did You Know : Kiwi"  (Did You Know series)
• "Alive Again! The Easter Story" by Sarah J DODD & Ligi RAFFAELLA
• "Ernest Rutherford - Just an Ordinary Boy" by Maria GILL; illustrated by Alistar HUGHES

Senior Fiction:

• "Becoming Brianna" by Terri LIBENSON (Emmie & Friends series)
• "Wings of Fire : The Hybrid Prince" by Tui SUTHERLAND  (Wings of Fire series)

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Don't Be Silly Santa" by Annie SIMPSON; illustrated by Ian WORRALL-DUTTON
• "Wowee! Look at that Tree!" by Ben KNIGHT

Fiction:

• "Dragon Girls : Maya the Ember Dragon" by Maddy MARA (Dragon Girls series)
• "The Bold Kitten" by Holly WEBB
• "InvestiGators : Case Files" by John Patrick GREEN (InvestiGators series)
• "The Magic Faraway Tree : The Enchanted Wood" by Enid BLYTON; illustrated by Mark BEECH  (Gymnastics Diaries series)
• "Karen's Surprise - Graphic Novel" by Ann M. MARTIN & Sauna J. GRANT (Baby-sitters Little Sister - Graphic Novel series)
• "Star Wars Adventures - Volume 2" (Star Wars Adventures series)

Non fiction:

• "Racing Legends" by David CLAYTON
• "Roald Dahl's Whizzpopping Joke Book" by Roald DAHL
• "Space : The Universe as You've Never Seen it Before" (DK Knowledge Encyclopedia  series)
• "Football" by Hugh HORNBY (DK Eye Witness  series)

Senior Fiction:

• "Shadow House : The Missing" by Dan POBLOCKI (Shadow House series)
• "The Kill Factor" by Ben OLIVER

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "The Hundred and One Dalmations" by Dodie SMITH & Peter BENTLY; illustrated by Steven LENTON
• "In the City" by Carron BROWN; illustrated by Stef MURPHY
• "The Oak Tree" by Julia DONALDSON; illustrated by Victoria SANDØY 

Fiction:

• "Deltora Quest 3 - 21st Anniversary Edition" by Emily RODDA
• "Junie B Jones and the Silly Smelly Bus - Graphic Novel" by Barbara PARK & Colleen A F VENABLE; illustrated by Honie BEAM  (Junie B Jones  - Graphic Novel series)
• "Blurmp : A Blurmp in Time" by Jim BENTON (Blurmp series)
• "Gymnastics Diaries : Bar Star" by Georgia GODWIN & Laura SEIVEKING; illustrated by Amanda ERB  (Gymnastics Diaries series)
• "The Ghost in the Bath" by Jeremy STRONG; illustrated by Scoular ANDERSON (4U2Read series)
• "Sea Legs" by Jules BAKES; illustrated by Niki SMITH
• "Press Start! : Game on, Super Rabbit Boy!" by Thomas FLINTHAM (Press Start series)

Non fiction:

• "Music" by Kirsty HOLMES (Genius Kid: Activities series)
• "Computers : How Digital Hardware Works" by Jason VIOLA; illustrated by Falynn KOCH (Science Comics series)
• "Quarks, Sparks and Quantum Mysteries" by Lisa HARVEY-SMITH; illustrated by Aiden RYAN

Senior Fiction:

• "Refugee : The Graphic Novel" by Alan GRATZ; illustrated by Syd FINI

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Alpacas in Space" by Matt COSGROVE (Macca the Alpaca series)
• "The Big Story of Being Alive" by Neal LAYTON

Fiction:

• "Ella Forever : School Rivals" by Serena GEDDES (Ella Forever series)
• "Stuck" by Kayla MILLER (Click series)
• "Dragon Girls : Rosie the Twilight Dragon" by Maddy MARA (Dragon Girls series)
• "Gruff Justice" by Ross MONTGOMERY; illustrated by Marisa MOREA  (Little Gems series)
• "Diary of a Pug : Pug the Unicorn" by Kyla MAY (Diary of a Pug series)
• "The Sword Thief - Graphic Novel" by Gorgon CORMAN & Hannah TEMPLAR (39 Clues - Graphic Novel series)

Non fiction:

• "The Maps and Flags Book" by Joe FULMAN
• "Did You Know? - Tiger"  (Did You Know? series)
• "Minecraft Survival Challenges - The Heroic Edition" 
• "Dog" by Juliet CLUTTON-BROCK (DK Eyewitness series)

Senior Fiction:

• "Adorable Empire" by Laura TERRY

Reference:

• "The Catholic Children's Bible" 

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Kia Hīteki i te Rā Whakanui Māmā / Hoppy Mother's Day" by Norah WILSON; illustrated by Kimberly ANDREWS (E Oma, Rapeti / Run Rabbit series)
• "Grumpy Monkey Spring Fever" by Suzanne LANG; illustrated by Max LANG (Grumpy Monkey series)

Fiction:

• "Gymnastics Diaries - Fantastic Floor" by Georgia GODWIN & Laura SIEVEKING; illustrated by Amanda ERB (Gymnastics Diaries series)
• "Reel Life" by Kane LYNCH
• "I Survived the Nazi Invasion" by Lauren TARSHIS; illustrated by Alvaro SARRASECA (I Survived series)
• "Bitza" by Andrew DADDO; illustrated by Stephen Michael KING  (Bitza series)
• "Owl Diaries : The Wildwood Bakery" by Rebecca ELLIOTT (Owl Diaries series)
• "The Different Stories" by Paul JENNINGS
• "Star Wars Adventures : Volume 1" by Disney (Star Wars Adventures series)

Non fiction:

• "Taniwha" by Gavin BISHOP
• "Humpback Whale : A First Field Guide to the Singing Giant of the Ocean" by Dr. Asha DE VOS
• "Sports" by Kirsty HOLMES (Genius Kid: Activities series)
• "A World of Super Cars" by Paul MASON (Genius Kid: Activities series)

Senior Fiction:

• "Invisible Emmie" by Terri LIBENSON (Emmie & Friends series)

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Ambulance, Ambulance!" by Sally SUTTON; illustrated by Brian LOVELOCK
• "Don't Lose Mr. Cuddles" by Dev PETTY; illustrated by Mike BOLDT

Fiction:

• "Ninja Girl 3 : Ninja Running Wild!" by Ahn DO (Ninja Girl series)
• "The Guinea Pig Party" by Holly WEBB; illustrated by Ellie SNOWDON
• "Pepper" by Ellen MILES (Puppy Place series)
• "Dog Man The Scarlet Shedder" by Dav PILKEY (Dog Man series)
• "Boy vs Beast : Mud Beast" by Mac PARK (Boy vs Beast series)
• "Winging it" by Megan Wagner LLOYD; illustrated by Michelle Mee NUTTER
• "City of Dragons : Quest for the True Dragon" by Jaimal YOGIS; illustrated by Vivian TRUONG (City of Dragons series)
• "Saphie The One-Eyed Cat - Volume 2" by Joanna HO (Saphie series)

Non fiction:

• "Splash!" by Donovan BIXLEY
• "Horrible Science : The Quiz Book" by Nick Arnold

Senior Fiction:

• "War Games - A Novel of  1936 Berlin" by Alan GRATZ
  

Reference:

• "Children's Illustrated World Atlas" by Simon ADAMS, Mary ATKINSON, Sarah PHILLIPS, John B. WOODWARD & Katherine M. BAKER (consultant)
  

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "The Human Body" by Carron BROWN; illustrated by Rachael SAUNDERS (A-Shine-A-Light Book series)
• "I Spy Island : Book vs Shark" by Sue Hendra; illustrated by Paul LINNET (I Spy Island series)

Fiction:

• "Jessi Ramsey, Pet-Sitter" by Mary Ann MARTIN; illustrated by Elen T. CRENSHAW (The Baby-sitters Club - Graphic Novel series)
• "Finding My Voice" by Aoife DOOLEY (Frankie's World series)
• "Letters to a Dog" by Piers TORDAY; illustrated by Alice McKINLEY
• "Gymnastics Diaries - Beam Queen" by Georgia GODWIN & Laura SIEVEKING; illustrated by Amanda ERB (Gymnastics Diaries series)
• "Meg and Merlin Having Fun" by Tanya LANDMAN; illustrated by Sonia ALBERT (Meg and Merlin series)
• "Flora the Fancy Dress Fairy" by Daisy MEADOWS (Rainbow Magic - Early Reader series)
• "The Legend of Chocolate Hills" by Geronimo STILTON (Geronimo Stilton series)
• "Press Start! -Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up!" by Thomas FLINTHAM (Press Start! series)

Non fiction:

• "Epic New Zealand Adventurers" by Maria GILL; illustrated by Marco IVANCIC
• "Aotearoa : Lost Worlds" by Dave GUNSON
• "A World of Monster Trucks" by Paul MASON

Senior Fiction:

• "Wings of Fire : Darkstalker - The Graphic Novel" by Tui SUTHERLAND; adapted by Barry DEUTSCH & Rachel SWIRSKY; illustrated by Jake PARKER
   (Wings of Fire - Graphic Novel series)

Most Popular in 2025

 The most popular books in St Brendan's School Library in 2025 were:

1st    Baby-Sitters Club - Graphic Novel series by Mary Ann Martin; illustrated by Raina Telgemeier, Chan Chau, Gale Galligan & others.

2nd     Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

3rd =    Dog Man series  by Dav Pilkey; Baby-Sitters Little Sister - Graphic Novel series by Mary Ann Martin, illustrated by Katy Farina & others; Cat Kid series by Dav Pilkey; Paris Takes over the World series by Zanni Louise.

4th=  Allergic  by Megan Wagner Lloyd; illustrated by Michelle Mee Nutter; Whitney and Britney Chicken Detectives by Lucinda Gifford.

  

5th=  I Survived - Graphic Novel series by various. 

6th= Minecraft Guides/Handbook series; Squished by Megan Wagner Lloyd; illustrated by Michelle Mee Nutter; Click series by Kayla Miller.; The Piggy and Gerald series (Elephant and Piggy) by Mo Willems; Guts by Raina Telgemeier; Freestyle by Gale Galligan; Science Comics series; The Pigeon series by Mo Willems; Minecraft Bite-Size Builds series; Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae.

7th= The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Joanna Cacao; The Bad Guys series by Aaron Blabey; Level Up 2025 by Eddie Robson.

8th= Drama by Raina Telgemeier; The Dragon Prince series by various authors; Pirates of Pangaea - Book 1 by Daniel Hartwell & Matthew Holm; The Good Egg by Jory John; Minecraft Volume 2 by Sfe R. Monster; Four Eyes by Rex Ogle, illustrated by Dave Valeza; The Bewilderbeast by Josh Pyke, illustrated by Binny Talib; City of Dragons series by Jaimal Yogis; Boy vs Beast series by Mac Park; Shiny Misfits by Maysoon Zayid, illustrated by Shada Amin; Jokes for Every Day by Toby Reynolds.

Some of these books are previous favourites and are also on earlier Most Popular in ... lists, but a few are new to the list this year. 

Is your favourite book, series or author on our Most Popular list for 2025? 

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "We're All Wonders" by R. J. PALACIO

Fiction:

• "Spy Academy : Doomsday" by Jack HEATH (Spy Academy series)
• "Boffin Boy and the Lost City" by David ORME; illustrated by Peter RICHARDSON
• "Dread Cat" by Michael ROSEN (Little Gems series)
• "Shadow Hills" by Jordan QUINN; illustrated by Ornella GRECO & Glass House Graphics (Dragon Kingdom of Wrenly series)
• "Big Trouble for Nellie Choc-ice" by Jeremy STRONG; illustrated by Jamie SMITH (Little Gems series)
• "Seeing Red" by Ruth AINSWORTH (Piggy - Graphic Novel series)
• "Dog Man - Big Jim Believes" by Dav PILKEY (Dog Man - Graphic Novel series)
• "Pizza Face" by Rex OGLE; illustrated by Dave VALEZA

Non fiction:

• "Around the World in 80 Endangered Animals" by Jess FRENCH
• "24 Hours in the Kiwi Bush" by Gillian & Darryl TORCKLER
• "This Book is Full of Holes" by Nora NICKUM

Senior Fiction:

• "Villain : Respawn" by Adrian BECK (Villain series)
• "Sunny Figures it Out" by Jennifer L. & Matthew HOLM (Sunny series)

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "All My Treasures : A Book of Joy" by Jo WITEK; illustrated by Christine ROUSSEY

Fiction:

• "Ghost Kiwi" by Ruth Paul
• "Diary of a Wimpy Kid : Partypooper" by Jeff KINNEY (Diary of a Wimpy Kid series)
• "Keeper of the Lost Cities : Everblaze" by Shannon MESSENGER (Keeper of the Lost Cities series)
• "Florence the Friendship Fairy" by Daisy MEADOWS (Rainbow Magic - Early Reader series)
• "Piggy - Desert Nightmare" by VANNOTES (Piggy - Graphic Novel series)
• "Rocket and Groot - The Hunt for Star-Lord" by Amanda DIEBERT (Rocket and Groot - Graphic Novel series)

Non fiction:

• "The Most Magical Unicorn Joke Book" by Rachel MOSS & Rebecca LEWIS-OAKS
• "Niue : People, Culture, Identity " by Mele NEMALA
• "Whenua: Māori Pūrākau of Aotearoa" by Isobel Joy TE AHO-WHITE
• "Did You Know Kea?"

Senior Fiction:

• "Wrath of the Triple Goddess" by Rick RIORDAN (Percy Jackson and the Olympians series)

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Words and Your Heart" by Kate Jane NEAL
• "My New Friend is so Fun" by Mo WILLEMS

Fiction:

• "Nellie Choc Ice and the Plastic Island" by Jeremy STRONG; illustrated by Jamie SMITH
• "The Ghost Tower" by Gillian CROSS; illustrated by Sarah HORNE
• "Night Hunt" by Jordan QUINN; illustrated by Glass House Graphics (Dragon Kingdom of Wrenly series)
• "The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby" by Dan PILKEY (The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby - Graphic Novel series)
• "Miles and Jones : The Blizzard of Blobs" by Sam SMITH (Miles and Jones series)
• "The Secret of the Snow" by Thea STILTON (Thea Stilton Special Edition series)
• "Critters" by Emily SNAPE (Game On! series)

Non fiction:

• "How to Write a Poem" by Kwame ALEXANDER & Deanna NIKAIDO; illustrated by Melissa SWEET
• "Men's Football Legends 2025" by David BALLHEIMER
• "Incredible But True : Dinosaurs" by Dougal DIXON
• "The Bad Guys 2 Joke Book" by Arie KAPLAN

Senior Fiction:

• "Castaway" by Bill O'BRIEN (My New Zealand Story series)