MLA 2026 Youth Literary Awards

We are excited to announce the winners of the Michigan Library Association 2026 Youth Literary Awards! The Mitten, YouPer, and Thumbs Up! Awards recognize outstanding contributions to youth literature and celebrate the best titles for children and teens published in 2025.

For the past year, MLA Youth Literary Award workgroups have spent thousands of hours reading, reviewing, and discussing hundreds of books to choose the very best titles for Michigan kids, it's our pleasure to share the winners!

The 2026 Mitten Award goes to Don't Trust Fish written by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat, and published by Dial Books. The winner of the 2026 YouPer Award is Busted by Dan Gemeinhart, published by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR). The 2026 Thumbs Up! Award winner is Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming, published by Anne Schwartz Books.

The Mitten Award recognizes and promotes quality literature for youth in picture book format, the YouPer (Young Person) Award recognizes and promotes quality literature for youth in chapter book format, and the Thumbs Up! Award recognizes and promotes an outstanding contribution to teen literature that has both literary quality and teen appeal.

Congratulations to the talented authors, illustrators, and publishers behind these exceptional works! Learn more at milibraries.org/youth-literary-awards.