These awards are a unique celebration of the contribution New Zealand’s children’s authors and illustrators make to building national identity and cultural heritage.
Awards in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are made in six categories: Picture Book, Junior Fiction (the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award), Young Adult Fiction, Non-Fiction (the Elsie Locke Award), Illustration (the Russell Clark Award) and te reo Māori (the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Awards).
Up to five finalists are selected for each category, and from these a category winner or winners are selected. All awards carry prize money of $8,500. In addition, the judges will award a Best First Book prize of $2,500 to a previously unpublished author or illustrator. The overall prize, the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year award, carries a prize of $8,500.
https://www.nzbookawards.nz/new-zealand-book-awards-for-children-and-young-adults
| 2025 Shortlist BookHub Picture Book Award | | |
| Beddy-bye Time in the Kowhai Tree | Written by Juliette MacIver and illustrated by Lily Uivel | This quintessentially Kiwi romp captures the fun and chaos of getting a wee one to bed. |
| Mataali'i | Written by Dahlia Malaeulu (Vaivase Tai, Sinamoga) and illustrated by Darcy Solia | A story rich in Samoan cultural values, earthly duties, and ancestral bonds. |
| Ten Nosy Weka | Written by Kate Preece and illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Ngati Kahungunu, Kai Tahu) | A charmingly illustrated and playful trilingual counting rhyme following a group of cheeky weka in their Rekohu adventures. |
| Titiro Look | Written and illustrated by Gavin Bishop (Tainui, Ngati Awa) and translated by Darryn Joseph (Ngati Maniapoto, Ngati Rereahu) | A vibrant bilingual book to ask questions, point and talk, for adult reader and child to explore together. |
| You Can't Pat a Fish | Written and illustrated by Ruth Paul | A delightful, insightful, and fun-filled story about not getting what you wished for! |
| 2025 Shortlist Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction | | |
| Brown Bird | Written by Jane Arthur | A gentle and poignant examination of finding friendship, family, and the seldom-explored joys of being "the quiet one." |
| Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat | Written and Illustrated by Li Chen | A sweet and humourous graphic novel featuring a crime-solving kitten, an elusive hat, and a diamond heist. |
| The Apprentice Witnesser | Written by Bren MacDibble | A post-apocalyptic story of hope, courage, resilience, and family. |
| The Raven's Eye Runaways | Written by Claire Mabey | Three young people and a one-eyed raven join forces against the oppressive regime that restricts the gift of reading and writing to an elite few. |
| 2025 Shortlist Young Adult Fiction Award | | |
| Bear | Written by Kiri Lightfoot and Illustrated by Pippa Keel Situ | A moving novel of adolescent rage, humour, kindness, and the pain of finding yourself. |
| Violet and the Velvets: The Case of the Missing Stuff | Written by Rachael King and Illustrated by Phoebe Morris | A twelve-year-old rockstar in the making forms a band with a ragtag group of friends in this heartfelt and fun adventure. |
| Gracehopper | Written by Mandy Hager | A poignant examination of identity, loss, acceptance, and resilience in an unstable world. |
| Migration | Written by Steph Matuku (Ngati Tama, Ngati Mutunga) | Set in an interplanetary military school, a young wahine will have to test herself, and explore who she really is and what she wants to become. |
| The Mess of Our Lives | Written by Mary-anne Scott | A talented young musician struggles to free himself from a life of mental illness, trauma, and neglect. |
| The Paradise Generation | Written by Sanna Thompson | In a dystopian future Wellington, a young teen navigates school, love, hidden truths, and rebellion. |
| 2025 Shortlist Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction | | |
| Black Magic | Written by David Riley and illustrated by Munro Te Whata (Ngapuhi, Ngati Porou, Makefu) | The fascinating history behind the black uniforms with silver ferns of Aotearoa New Zealand's national sports teams. |
| Dear Moko: Maori Wisdom for Our Young Ones | Written by Hinemoa Elder (Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa, Ngati Kuri, Ngai Takoto, Ngapuhi nui tonui) | A stunning collection of whakatauki that explains their meanings and links them to everyday life. |
| Ruru: Night Hunter | Written by Katie Furze and illustrated by Ned Barraud | The story of a night in the life of a ruru, from hunting, to evading human threats and mammalian predators, to feeding its young. |
| The Treaty of Waitangi: Te Tiriti O Waitangi | Written by Ross Calman (Ngati Toa, Ngati Raukawa, Kai Tahhu) | An in-depth and concise overview of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. |
| Tui Pea Luva | Written by Mele Tonga-Grant and illustrated by Luca Walton | Tui Pea Luva, meaning "weave then gift," is a heartfelt collection of poetry offering strength, memories, and love passed down from mothers, sisters, and aunts. |
| 2025 Shortlist Russell Clark Award for Illustration | | |
| Alice and the Strange Bird | Written and illustrated by Isaac du Toit | In 1880, seven-year-old Alice McKenzie saw and interacted with a moa on an isolated beach. Isaac du Toit uses a diorama with mixed media techniques to tell the tale. |
| Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Puoro | Illustrated by Rehua Wilson (Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa) | The journey of Hineraukatauri, a chrysalis who enters the human world without a voice, is depicted through a mixture of darkness and light, abstract imagery, and realistic figure drawing. |
| Poem for Ataahua | Illustrated by Sarah Wilkins | Cook Islands Maori poet Alistair Te Ariki Campbell wrote this poem for his great-granddaughter, Ataahua, and Sarah Wilkins shares her vision of it through her illustrations. |
| Sad Sushi | Written and illustrated by Anna Aldridge | A powerful yet accessible exploration of the experience of depression, with complex, dreamy illustrations. |
| You Can't Pat a Fish | Written and illustrated by Ruth Paul | A playful twist on pet ownership with a delightful combination of zany images and quirky, rhyming text. |
| 2025 Shortlist Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Awards for Te Reo Maori | | |
| A Aria me te Atua o te Kumara | Written by Witi Ihimaera (Te Whanau a Kai, Rongowhakaata, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngati Porou), illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Ngati Kahungunu. Kai Tahu), and translated by Heni Jacob (Ngati Raukawa) | An inspirational tale of a long ad difficult journey to the sky by Aria and her friends, as they try to save the world's dying kumara - and the world itself. |
| Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Puoro | Written by Elizabeth Gray (Ngati Rehia, Ngati Uepohatu, Tama Upoko ki awa tipua, Ngati Tuwharetoa ano hoki) and illustrated by Rehua Wilson (Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa) | Lyrical language and evocative illustrations tell the story of how Hineraukatauri brought music into the world. |
| Ka matoro a Whetu raua ko Kohu i Rotorua | Written and illustrated by Hayley Elliott-Kernot and translated by Te Ingo Ngaia (Taranaki, Ngaruahine, Te Atiawa, Waikato-Maniapoto, Ngati Whakaue, Te Whanau-a-Karuai) | Whetu and Kohu, a kea and a kereru, explore the wonderful attractions of Rotorua in this vibrantly illustrated adventure. |
| Ko nga Whetu Kai o Matariki, ko Tupuanuku raua ko Tupuarangi | Written by Miriama Kamo (Ngai Tahu, Ngati Mutanga), illustrated by Zak Waipara (Ngati Porou, Ngati Ruapani, Ngati Kahungunu, Rongowhakaata), and translated by Ariana Stevens (Poutini Ngai Tahu) | The stories and tikanga surrounding the Matariki season are told with beautiful and engaging illustrations. |
| Nga Kupenga a Nanny Rina | Written by Qiane Matata-Sipu (Te Waiohua, Waikato, Ngapuhi, Ngati Pikiao, Cook Islands) and illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Ngati Kahungunu, Kai Tahu) | Nanny Rina teaches the intricacies of weaving to her moko in a fun and enjoyable story. |
| 2025 Shortlist NZSA Best First Book Award | | |
| Brave Kahu and the Porangi Magpie | Written by Shelley Burne-Field (Ngati Mutunga, Ngati Rarua, Te Atiawa, Samoa) | Told using original and poetic language with te reo Maori interwoven throughout, this is the story of brave kahu Poto who leads her whanau through looming threats and adventures. |
| Play Wild | Written by Rachel Clare | A joyful, hands-on celebration of nature, creativity, and the magic of play. |
| The Raven's Eye Runaways | Written by Claire Mabey | A tale of resilience, secrecy, and the quiet power of knowledge. |
| The Witch of Maketu and the Bleating Lambs | Written by Anika Moa (Ngapuhi, Te Aupouri) and illustrated by Rebecca ter Borg | A laugh-out-loud adventure follows a sleep-deprived witch and her noisy, rebellious lambs, who are plotting their escape! |
| The Writing Desk | Written and illustrated by Di Morris | This beautifully illustrated graphic novel incorporates family photographs and ephemera to tell the story of two sisters and the daily trials of life in colonial New Zealand. |
| 2024 Winners NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults |
| Margaret Mahy Book of the Year | Gregg, Stacy | Nine Girls |
| Picture Book Award | Michaela Keeble, illustrated by Brown, Tokerau | Paku Manu Ariki Whakatakapokai |
| Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction | Gregg, Stacy | Nine Girls |
| Young Adult Fiction Award | Merriman, Eileen | Catch a Falling Star |
| Wenlock, Ned | Tsunami |
| Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction | Mushin, Steve | Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan to Rewild Every City on Earth |
| Russell Clark Award for Illustration | Bishop, Gavin | Patu: The New Zealand Wars |
| Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for Te Reo Māori | Wairama, Moira illustrated by Tolland, Margaret | Nani Jo me ngā Mokopuna Porohīanga |
| NZSA Best First Book Award | Wenlock, Ned | Tsunami |
| 2022 Winners NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults | | |
| Margaret Mahy Book of the Year | Bishop, Gavin | Atua: Maori Gods and Heroes |
| Picture Book Award | Paul, Ruth | Lion Guards the Cake |
| Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction | Agnew, Leonie | Memory Thief |
| Young Adult Fiction | Koirala, Saradha | Learning to love Blue |
| Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction | Bishop, Gavin | Atua Maori Gods and Heroes |
| Russell Clark Award for Illustration | Bishop, Gavin | Atua Maori Gods and Heroes |
| Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for books in Te Reo Maori | Morrison, Yvonne/Cooper, Jenny/Papa, Pania | I Waho I Te Moana |
| NZSA Award for Best First Book | Wilson, Sonya | Spark Hunter |
