Vote for the Children's Book Cover of the Year 2026! - Fun Kids

Fun Kids is proud to support the Children’s Book Cover of the Year at The Week Junior Book Awards 2026 — and this is the one award where you get to decide the winner!

Seven brilliant book covers have made this year’s shortlist.

Take a look at them all, pick the one you think is the most creative, eye-catching and downright awesome, and cast your vote.

Grown-ups — it’s a lovely one to do together, and it only takes a minute!

🗳️ Voting closes at 11.59pm on 4 September 2026.

Make sure you have a parent or guardian’s permission to vote.

Click here to vote

Click here to vote

Meet the shortlist

Badger Books

Written and illustrated by Paddy Donnelly (The O’Brien Press). A warm, beautifully drawn celebration of books — and the book-loving badgers who can’t get enough of them.

Cruise Ship Kid: Thief at Sea!

By Emma Swan, with a cover illustrated by Katie Saunders (Usborne). A fun, fast-paced mystery set aboard a cruise ship, where a young detective is on the trail of a sneaky thief.

Deep Dark: A Cassia Thorne Mystery

By Zohra Nabi, with a cover illustrated by Paola Escobar (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books). An atmospheric, spine-tingling mystery wrapped in a wonderfully moody, mysterious cover.

The Hidden Heroes of Science

By Peter Gallivan, with a cover illustrated by Robbie Cathro (DK). A bold, colourful look at the unsung scientists whose discoveries helped change the world.

Midnight Treasure

By Piers Torday, with a cover illustrated by Alla Khatkevich (Quercus). A sweeping adventure story with a richly detailed, treasure-hunt of a cover that’s full of secrets.

Oscar Wilde’s Stories for Children

By Oscar Wilde, with a cover illustrated by Lauren O’Hara (Little Island). Timeless tales given gorgeous new life with elegant, magical illustrations.

Pirate Penguin

By Hunter McNeil-Ali, with a cover illustrated by Nicci Martin (Sequoia Publishing UK). A playful, swashbuckling adventure starring the cutest pirate to ever sail the seven seas.