Center for Children’s Literature

Irma Black Award

The Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature (Irma Black Award) goes to an outstanding book for young children—a book in which text and illustrations are inseparable, each enhancing and enlarging on the other to produce a singular whole. The Irma Black Award is unusual in that children are the final judges of the winning book.

2026 Award Ceremony

Thousands of children in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the United Arab Emirates will participate in the voting process in 2026. We will share links to videos from the gold and silver medalists on this page in late May.

2026 Irma Black Award


Gold Medal
Silver Medal
Silver Medal
Silver Medal

Gold Medal

  • Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat (Dial Books for Young Readers)

Silver Medals

  • The Peanut Man by Carmen Agra Deedy, illustrations by Raúl Colón (Peachtree Books)
  • Evelyn Witch Gets a Pet by Beth Ferry, illustrated by Charles Santoso (Roaring Brook Press)
  • Worm Makes a Sandwich by Brianne Farley (Penguin Random House)

News Coverage

2026 Irma Black Award and Cook Prize Winners Announced
School Library Journal, May 14, 2026

2026 Irma Black Award Winner

Don't Trust Fish
Author: Neil Sharpson
Illustrator: Dan Santat
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers

Honor Books

  • The Peanut Man by Carmen Agra Deedy, illustrations by Raúl Colón (Peachtree Books)
  • Evelyn Witch Gets a Pet by Beth Ferry, illustrated by Charles Santoso (Roaring Brook Press)
  • Worm Makes a Sandwich by Brianne Farley (Penguin Random House)