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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.
ALA's YouTube channel, where you can watch a recording of the announcement
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 Honor
Beinoni by Mari Lowe, published by Levine Querido
Young Adult Honor
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 Notable
Leaving the Station by Jake Maia Arlow, published by Storytide
2026 Sydney Taylor 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
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