The 2026 Sydney Taylor Book Awards, Revealed!


LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT  

    🕮    The winners of the 2026 Sydney Taylor Book Awards, recognizing the best Jewish children’s and young adult literature of the year, were announced on January 26, 2026 at the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards event. Melanie Koss is the current chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee, and she joined me on the podcast to discuss the 2026 winners of the award.

LEARN MORE:

2026 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARDS

Picture Book Winner: Shabbat Shalom, Let's Rest and Reset written and illustrated by Suzy Ultman, published by Rise x Penguin Workshop

Middle Grade Winner: Neshama by Marcella Pixley, published by Candlewick

Young Adult Winner: D.J. Rosenblum Becomes the G.O.A.T. by Abby White, published by Levine Querido

~~~

Picture Book Honors

The Book of Candles: Eight Poems for Hanukkah by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Leanne Hatch, published by Clarion Books

The Keeper of Stories by Caroline Kusin Pritchard, illustrated by Selina Alko, published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

My Body Can by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Alexandra Colombo, published by Apples & Honey Press

Middle Grade Honors

Beinoni by Mari Lowe, published by Levine Querido

Young Adult Honors

The Rebel Girls of Rome by Jordyn Taylor, published by HarperCollins

~~~~

Picture Book Notables

Fanny's Big Idea: How Jewish Book Week Was Born by Richard Michelson, illustrated by Alyssa Russell, published by Rocky Pond Books

Finding Forgiveness by Rebecca Gardyn Levington, illustrated by Diana Mayo, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux

The Remembering Candle by Alison Goldberg, illustrated by Selina Alko, published by Barefoot Books

Middle Grade Notables 

A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff, published by Dial Books

The Daughter of Auschwitz: The Girl Who Lived to Tell Her Story by Tova Friedman, published by Quill Tree Books

Right Back at You by Carolyn Mackler, published by Scholastic Press

Same Page by Elly Swartz, published by Delacorte Press

The Trouble with Secrets by Naomi Milliner, published by Quill Tree Books

Young Adult Notables

Leaving the Station by Jake Maia Arlow, published by Storytide

~~~~

2026 Body-of-Work Award Winner: Uri Shulevitz

2026 Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award Winner: “How to Catch a Mermaid (When You're Scared of the Sea)” by Jessica Russak-Hoffman.

CREDITS:

Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

Comments

Post a Comment