Age Group: KS3 (Ages 11-14)

The Carnegies

Judged by librarians, the 2026 Carnegies celebrate outstanding reading experiences in books for children and young people in two categories: the Carnegie Medal for Writing and the Carnegie Medal for Illustration. This year’s shortlists were announced on Tuesday 10th March.

The Medal for Illustration shorlist features six picturebooks and two graphic novels. The theme of connection through journeys features strongly in this list, including a journey to a nearby town in The Paper Bridge, and a journey through memories in The Sleeper Train. Two debut illustrators are also highlighted in this list: Kengo Kurimoto for Wildful and Oboh Moses for Freedom Braids. Category winner Wiggling Words, by Kate Rolfe, uses typography and colour to explore what reading is like for people with dyslexia.

The Medal for Writing shortlist includes BooksForTopics favourites J. P. Rose’s Birdie and Katya Balen’s Ghostlines, which both feature in our Year Group Recommended Reads. Teen relationships are the focus for two of the other nominations in this category: Jason Reynolds’s Twenty-Four Seconds from Now and Tia Fisher’s Not Going to Plan. Category winner Wolf Siren is Beth O’Brien’s feminist reimagining of Red Riding Hood.

You can check out the full shortlist for the 2026 Carnegie Awards below.

Fearless by Lauren Roberts

Lauren Roberts

Chapter book

THE SIZZLING FINALE TO THE NO 1 BESTSELLING* ROMANTASY TRILOGY PHENOMENON!

Paedyn Gray and Kai Azer return to the Kingdom of Ilya…

And Paedyn has a life-altering choice to make. Whatever she decides will determine her fate – and the fate of those around her – forever.

In the ultimate battle of love and loyalty, who wins?

Be swept away by the conclusion to the smash hit, romantasy trilogy that has taken the world by storm.

Powerless, Powerful, Reckless and Fearful available now.

Skandar and the Spirit War

A. F. Steadman

Chapter book

BLOODTHIRSTY UNICORNS. UNLIKELY HEROES. A MORTAL ENEMY.

Don’t miss this epic final adventure in the number 1 bestselling SKANDAR series, for fans of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Eragon and Impossible Creatures.
Pre-order THE FIRST UNICORN RIDER now to be one of the first to read an unmissable new magical adventure set in the incredible WORLD OF SKANDAR

Skandar is in hiding after the Chaos Cup where Rex Manning revealed a game-changing secret. But as Rex prepares to invade the Mainland, the Islanders are not sure who to trust.

With one of Skandar’s closest friends now fighting for the enemy, Skandar must build new alliances – including an uneasy truce with Kenna. To defeat Rex, Skandar and his friends will need to look back to the origins of the Island, and harness the full power of their elemental magic.

Can Skandar become the leader he needs to be – to save the Mainland and the heart of the Island itself?

Get ready for unlikely heroes, elemental magic, sky battles, ancient secrets and ferocious unicorns in this highly anticipated adventure that will keep you reading after lights out!

FCBG Children’s Book Award

Established in 1981, the FCBG Children’s Book Award is the only national children’s literature award voted for solely by children from start to finish. Books are shortlisted in a final “Top Ten” which is divided into three categories: Books for Younger Children, Books for Younger Readers and Books for Older Readers. We are delighted to see so many BooksForTopics favourite authors, illustrators, titles and characters featured in this year’s shortlist.

Among the selections for Younger Children is Michelle Harrison and David Tazzyman’s There’s a Shark in My Pants!, which featured in our recommendations for summer holiday reading. BooksForTopics favourites Julia Donaldson and Sara Ogilvie won this category with their new collaboration, Gozzle.

Some of our favourite characters star in the selections for Younger Readers, including Murray and Bun in Murray the Pirate, and category winner Pablo and Splash in Roman Holiday. Chante Timothy’s Supa Nova, which is highlighted in our Year Group Recommended Reads, completes the Younger Readers choices.

For Older Readers, the list includes Hide and Seek, from Christopher Edge’s Fear Files horror series, and category winner Fidan Meikle’s My Name is Samim, both of which have featured in our Books of the Month selections.

Online voting will open on Monday, 23rd March. You can see the full shortlist for this award below, and you can find out more on the FCBG website.

Wolf Siren

Beth O’Brien

Chapter book

A vibrant, evocative and magical debut which centres a positive, empowered disabled character at the heart of a reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood.

The woods are hiding a secret… but then so is Red…

Red is not allowed to go into the woods. Everyone knows that they are dangerous – because of their strange magic and the wolves that lurk there… But Red finds herself increasingly drawn to the woods and the place where her grandmother disappeared without a trace three years ago. When the woodcutter fails to return home one night and wolves are spotted close to the village boundary, fear drives a deep and dangerous divide between the villagers and the nature they live alongside.

Only Red seems to hold the key – but she has a secret, and exposing it could ruin her family forever …

Adam Wins the Internet

Adam Beales & James Lancett

Chapter book

There’s nothing thirteen-year-old Adam wants more than to become a successful YouTuber, but it has always seemed impossible. Then one day a mysterious pop-up ad calling itself Popularis Incrementum promises to make ALL HIS DREAMS COME TRUE. Suddenly a world of FAME, FORTUNE and FANCY TVs awaits!

All Adam has to do is gain one million followers in one year. And if he doesnt … ? GULP!

Featuring bold black-and-white illustrations from bestselling illustrator James Lancett.

The perfect summer holiday read for budding young YouTubers everywhere! Fans of David Baddiel, Greg James and Chris Smith and Noel Fitzpatrick’s Vetman will be spellbound.

This brilliant paperback edition features exclusive bonus material, including a Q+A with Adam – featuring interviewer Callum B!

And watch out for Adam’s second out-of-this-world adventure – Adam Destroys the Internet!

Fake News And How To Spot It

Alex Frith & Holly Bathie & Jack Brougham & Laura Wood

Non-fiction

Learn how to spot scams and misinformation with this fun, comprehensive guide.

Packed with entertaining illustrations alongside practical information, Fake News and How to Spot it helps identify many pitfalls of everyday and online life – from scams and advertising tricks, to one-sided information and image manipulation. A must-have tool to help make wise choices and navigate a fast-changing world safely and confidently.

– Broad coverage of a range of topical issues, including doctored photos and videos, influencing with statistics, biased news articles and sophisticated scams.
– A reassuring book for parents, aimed at empowering young people to evaluate information objectively before they act or share online.
– Ideal for adults and young people alike and perfect to share with friends and family.

How to Question Everything: A Kids’ Toolkit for Critical Thinking

Susan Martineau & Vicky Barker

Non-fiction

This is a timely and essential resource for homes and classrooms. It discusses how news, information, stories and adverts are presented both in paper and online and gives children the skills to be a critical reader. It includes information around fact checking and using reliable sources to corroborate a story; it explores how AI and editing tools can be used to manipulate images and it explains misinformation and disinformation.

What is particularly useful is that it encourages children to ask questions around the motivation of the person sharing the information – who is telling the story and why are they sharing it? – and to be aware of confirmation bias, especially where algorithms are used on social media. It encourages readers to be subjective, especially when presented with emotive or sensationalised content and it touches on respectful online behaviours and bullying too.

There is a strong and supportive message that using critical thinking skills can help avoid news anxiety, but the book also acknowledges that news can stir up a wide range of emotions and this is something to consider when reading it with children, alongside the social media influences they have access to.

Although this seems a lot to pack into a short book, the reader is not bombarded with information and the clear design and infographics really help present useful facts and tips with real clarity.

Breaking News: How to Tell What’s Real From What’s Rubbish

Nick Sheridan

Non-fiction

A funny, practical and ever-so timely guide to the NEWS for 8–12-year-olds. Find out how to understand and navigate 24/7 news, how to spot the facts from the fake . . . and what to do if the news becomes overwhelming. Perfect for fans of Matthew Syed’s You Are Awesome and Rashmi Sirdeshpande’s Dosh.

It’s never been easier to access the news; TV, radio, billboards, newspapers and endlessly buzzing on to the screens in our pockets. But with more and more news available, it’s hard to know what to trust. Where do stories come from? What’s real news and what’s fake? And what role does social media play in all of this?

Insightful, hands-on, essential and reassuring, Breaking News will help children navigate the peaks and pitfalls of our modern day news cycle, through laugh-out-loud text, amusing illustration and interactive activities.

Advice from a 12-Year-Old Nobody

Helen Rutter & Julia Christians

Chapter book

12-year-old Vinnie is frustrated by the picture perfect life that his mum – a viral online life coach – is portraying to her readers in order to fit in with her “brand” when the reality couldn’t be further from the truth – their family seems to be falling apart. But more than that, Vinnie is struggling, and his mum is the one person who he used to be able to talk to about things, but she has become too busy answering the world’s problems to have time to deal with his problems, so he keeps them to himself.

One day, Vinnie stumbles across an old blog that his mum used to write before she became famous, and he notices that there are lots of unanswered questions from people asking for her advice – he decides that these people deserve responses and sets about replying himself. Much to his suprise, the public seem to like his responses and more and more messages come flooding in. Reading about other people’s problems makes Vinnie feel like he is not alone and he begins to realise that sharing your problems is better than holding them all on your own.

Typical of Helen Rutter, this book is an incredibly easy read – perfect for struggling or reluctant readers – which is full of laugh out loud humour but with a strong message at its heart.