The 5th Annual Blueberry Awards ceremony is Friday, March 20th, 2026
The Evanston Public Library is pleased to announce that the 5th Annual Blueberry Awards, recognizing excellence in children’s literature about nature and climate stewardship, will be announced live on Friday, March 20, 2026 at an awards ceremony and party celebrating the authors, their work, and our earth.
The Blueberry Awards Announcement Party will be held from 6:30 to 8:15 pm on Friday, March 20th, at the newly reopened Evanston Ecology Center.
See this year’s winning books as they are announced, watch short videos from the book authors and illustrators, and vote on an Audience Choice Award. Learn about the Blueberry Votes and Preschool Blueberry Votes program, in which Illinois kids, including Evanston children, selected 2025 Blueberry award winners!
At the event, staff from the Evanston Ecology Center and the Evanston Public Library will host climate, literature and nature dignitaries plus a brief keynote from Taylor Keahey from the American Library Association's 2026 Sibert Award Committee! Also in attendance will be lots of happy kids and parents.
Seats for the Blueberry Award Announcement Party are limited. Register below to save your spot!
About the Awards
The Blueberry Awards honor children’s literature that strengthens kids’ connections with nature and fosters action for the planet. The Blueberry Award List, which features books primarily for children ages 3 - 10+, names one overall winner plus more than 30 excellent honor and changemaker books for kids! The changemaker designation selects books that achieve excellence in supporting kids and families' action for the planet.
In 2021, the Evanston Public Library established the Blueberry Awards to address a shortage of awards recognizing the best nature and climate books published each year for kids.
Last year's Blueberry Award Committee named The Great Lakes Our Freshwater Treasure by Barb Rosenstock as the overall winner, Loop de Loop Circular Solutions for a Waste Free World by Andrea Curtis as the Changemaker Award Winner and The Pelican Can! by Toni Yuly as the Blueberry Votes Award Winner.
Find a list of all our previous years' winners at our Blueberry page on our website, www.epl.org/blueberry.
The 2025 Blueberry selection committee includes Evanston Public Library staff, the City of Evanston’s Sustainability Manager, D65’s Sustainability Coordinator, Evanston Ecology Center staff, 2 IL school librarians, 4 Children's STEM specialists as well as recognized experts in early childhood and in science.
The creation of the Blueberry Awards was spearheaded by Library Assistant Martha Meyer who says that, in a world threatened by climate change and biodiversity loss, it’s crucial to give children the chance to form a joyous relationship with the environment and to learn from the very best writers, illustrators and photographers in children’s literature.
“I’m so excited to share the 2025 Blueberry Award winners with families, teachers, and nature enthusiasts,” Meyer said. "This party's going to be so fun, with books displayed alongside QR codes to access authors' and illustrators' short videos, all over the newly remodeled Evanston Ecology Center. Come and see incredible new work by the world's best nature writers for children."
The Blueberry Awards Reach and Impact
In addition to honoring the books and their authors, the Blueberry Awards Committee advocates for the books and their environmental themes.
This year, the Blueberry Committee will share the 2025 Blueberry Award winners on Wednesday, March 25 at 12 pm CST, for Natural Start Alliance, a nationwide organization for people who work with young kids in the outdoors.
The committee will also host a Blueberry Teach-In for local elementary and preschool teachers and interested parents about incorporating nature and climate themes across the curriculum on Saturday, April 18, 2026. Co-sponsors include the Northern Illinois Nature Play Association (NINPA), the Golden Corridors Association of the Education of Young Children (GoAEYC) and Environmental Education Association of Illinois (EEAI). Watch for more information!
American Library Association's 2026 Annual Conference in June will include a presentation by the Blueberry Committee, a first!
For additional information about the Blueberry Awards, contact Martha Meyer.