2026 Thumbs Up! Award

The Thumbs Up! Award recognizes and promotes an outstanding contribution to teen literature that has both literary quality and teen appeal for those 13 to 18 years of age. The award was established in 1986 by the Teen Services Division of the Michigan Library Association.

The winner of the 2025 Thumbs Up! Award is Death in the Jungle by Candace Fleming, published by Anne Schwartz Books.

2026 Thumbs Up! Top Ten Titles

• Death in the Jungle by Candace Fleming
• Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire by Don Martin
• Kill Creatures by Rory Power
• On the Wings of La Noche by Vanessa L. Torres
• Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout
• Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson
• After Life by Gayle Forman
• All the Noise at Once by DeAndra Davis
• Dan in Green Gables by Rey Terciero and Claudia Aguirre
• Out of Air by Rachel Reiss 

Award Seals

Download the Thumbs Up! Award seals to use at your library! Winner, Honor Book and Top Ten Title award seals are available for download here: (To download, right-click on the seal and save it as an image.)