The Blueberry Committee announces the 2026 contenders for the Preschool Blueberry Votes Award! Your kids will vote for their favorite of three 2026 books, selected to delight preschoolers.
What is the Blueberry Award?
Founded in 2020 at Evanston Public Library, the Blueberry Award names the top nature and climate books for kids 3 - 10+, to help fill the eco-literature gap in the American Library Association's annual awards like the Newbery, Caldecott and Sibert Awards. With the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, the Blueberry Committee believes in equipping parents and teachers with the very best books that support kids' love of nature. We're hard at work reading and selecting for the 2026 Blueberry Awards--and we'd love some help from kids!
Here’s how Preschool Blueberry Votes works:
- The Blueberry Committee has preselected a list of 3 wonderful titles
- Teachers/librarians register their preschool by emailing msmeyer@cityofevanston.org.
- Teachers/librarians purchase or go to their local library to check out books.
- Teachers/librarians read each book to their class and the children vote on their favorite book.
- Teachers/librarians fill out the Preschool Blueberry Votes form with their name and contact information, school name and the breakdown of each book's number of votes as well as which title received the most votes. Forms must be received fully filled out by January 15, 2027.
Here are the 2026 Preschool Blueberry Votes books:
- Let’s Camp! By Shelley Rotner
- Odd Bugs: Meet Nature’s Weirdest Insects by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Gareth Lukas (Board Book)
- While We’re Here by Anne Wynter, illustrated by Micha Archer
Which book will your students choose?