Member Login
Search

 

2026 WCCPBA Nominees









 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

The Bakery Dragon
Author: Devin Elle Kurtz
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Synopsis: Ember, a small dragon with an unimpressive roar, fears he will never be as good at stealing gold as other dragons, but discovers a different path to joy after a chance encounter with a baker.


Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for The Bakery Dragon

 

 

Web Links Related to This Title:

Back to Top

 

 

Buffalo Fluffalo
Author: Bess Kalb
Illustrator: Erin Kraan
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Synopsis: A sweet and silly buffalo who tries to bluff and fluff his way into being bigger than he really is.

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Buffalo Fluffalo

Web Links Related to This Title:

Built to Last
Author: Minh Lê
Illustrator:  Dan Santat
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Summary: Every creation two friends build together ends up tumbling down, except their friendship.

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Built to Last

Web Links Related to This Title:

Cookie Time
Author: Jessie Sima
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Synopsis: Eager to eat their cookies, siblings Kat and Ari decide to build a time machine, but they soon discover some things are worth waiting for.

 

 

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Cookie Time

 Web Links Related to This Title:

 

A Crocodile Should Never Skip Breakfast
Author: Colleen Larmour
Publisher: Kids Can Press Ltd
Synopsis: When Croc sleeps in one morning, he rushes out the door so he won't be late for work--leaving no time to eat breakfast. When he fails to grab a bite before his shift as a ferry boat, his growling hunger starts making his passengers look like tasty treats.

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for A Crocodile Should Never Skip Breakfast


Web Links Related to This Title:

Illustrator: Devon Holzwarth
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Synopsis: A story of migration. Told through the parallel stories of the butterflies' journey and Lucia's migrant farmer father, Cynthia Harmony's "A Flicker of Hope" is about the power of families and nature, both of which know no borders.

 

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for A Flicker of Hope

Web Links Related to This Title:

I Know How to Draw an Owl
Author: Hilary Horder Hippely
Illustrator: Matt James
Publisher: Holiday House
Synopsis: A homeless girl, who lives in a car with her mother, draws a lifelike portrait of an owl based on firsthand experience.

 

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for I Know How to Draw an Owl

Web Links Related to This Title:

 

Back to Top

 

 

I'm Sorry You Got Mad
Author: Kyle Lukoff
Illustrator: Julie Kwon
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Synopsis: Jack wants to apologize for hurting Zoe's feelings. He just can't seem to find the right words. Turns out there's more to an apology than just saying "I'm sorry."

 

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for I'm Sorry You Got Mad

Web Links Related to This Title:

Jump for Joy
Author: Karen Gray Ruelle
Illustrator: Hadley Hooper
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
Synopsis: Wanting a canine companion more than anything in the world, Joy makes dogs out of whatever's at hand--seashells, snow--unaware that her perfect dog friend is closer than she thinks.

 

 

 

 Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Jump for Joy

Web Links Related to This Title:

Publisher: Beach Lane Books
Synopsis:  A nonfiction picture book that's all about the tiny world of nurse log habitats. Nurse logs are tiny ecosystems with hundreds of rare and important life forms. When old trees fall to the forest floor, they can take centuries to decompose, helping all sorts of organism for hundreds of years. They provide nutrients for tree seedlings, hideaways for small animals, shelters for the winter, and protection from the elements.

 

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Log Life

Web Links Related to This Title:

The Man Who Didn't Like Animals
Author: Deborah Underwood
Illustrator: LeUyen Pham
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Synopsis: There once was a man who loved his tidy home and who didn't like animals. Then one day, a cat appeared. The man and the cat both liked napping and watching the rain and eating dinner precisely at six. Well, maybe this one animal could stay. Next came a dog.

 

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for The Man Who Didn't Like Animals

Web Links Related to This Title:

 

Back to Top

 

 

The Midnight Panther
Author: Poonam Mistry
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Synopsis: In the depths of the rainforest lives a little black panther. He is not like the other cats, with their dazzling spots, bold stripes and golden manes. One night Panther sets off to find where he belongs. Answering the call of the moonlight, he scales the treetops. Perhaps up among the stars he will discover his own strength and beauty.

 

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for The Midnight Panther

Web Links Related to This Title:

My Friend Andy
Author: Emma Chinnery
Publisher: Little Tiger Press Group
Synopsis: Fluffy wants to befriend Andy, but his owner never lets them play together. Only after he gets separated from his family at the park is he able to truly interact with his new friend. With the help of Andy and his owner, Fluffy finds his way back home and makes a new best friend in the process

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for My Friend Andy

Web Links Related to This Title:

Illustrator: Deena So'Oteh
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Synopsis: When winter ice covers the Arctic Ocean, a narwhal pokes his head through a patch of open water, his tusk, a six-foot long tooth, pointed to the sky. Join this mammal as he jousts with another narwhal, floats with his pod, and uses echolocation to find his prey. When warmer weather arrives, he will migrate towards summer ground. But he must be careful! Predators, orcas, and polar bears will be hungry and looking for a meal ... How will the narwhal escape? Will he be able to return to the winter bay? 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arctic

 

Web Links Related to This Title:

 

Back to Top

 

 

Parrotfish Has a Superpower
Author: Jill Esbaum
Illustrator: Bob Shea
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Synopsis: Just wait till you hear what a parrotfish can do! You may know they live in warm tropical waters, have an interesting trick for hiding from predators, and have crazy-incredible teeth. But they also do something that no other fish can do—and Parrotfish is eager to tell you all about it.

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Parrotfish Has a Superpower


Web Links Related to This Title:

 

Back to Top

 

 

Tate's Wild Rescue
Author: Jenny Turnbull
Illustrator: Izzy Burton
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Synopsis: When Tate sends letters to a variety of wild animals offering to be their best friend and protector, none of them accept her proposal, but just as she is about to give up, she receives a letter of her own.

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Tate's Wild Rescue

Web Links Related to This Title:

 

Back to Top

 

 

The Teeny-Weeny Unicorn
Author: Shawn Harris
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Synopsis: A teeny-weeny unicorn feels like the world is not made for his small stature and one day it bothers him so much he runs off, but soon after meeting a salty gnome he starts to wonder if he might just be the right size after all.

 

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for The Teeny-Weeny Unicorn

Web Links Related to This Title:

The Together Tree
Author: Aisha Saeed
Illustrator: LeUyen Pham
Publisher: Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Synopsis: Rumi's family has moved from California to Georgia, and he is feeling lonely and left out at school because one of the other kids, Asher, is a bully--until Sebastian joins him, drawing in the dirt under the old willow tree.

 

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for The Together Tree

 

Ursula Upside Down
Author: Corey R. Tabor
Publisher: HarperCollins
Synopsis: Ursula is a happy catfish, swimming through a shimmering river with weeds waving above and a sky full of scrumptious bugs below. Then one question turns her world upside down. Is left right? Is right wrong? Which way even is up?

 

 

 

 Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Ursula Upside Down

Web Links Related to This Title:

Author: X. Fang
Publisher: Tundra
Synopsis: When three mysterious visitors from 'Europe' crash-land in Mr. Li's field, he does what any good host would: he invites them back to his farmhouse and offers to help fix up their 'car.' No, there's nothing strange about these guests at all. Just like other humans, they 'make business,' 'play sportsball,' and 'wear hat.' As the townsfolk also come to the aid of the visitors and the gathering turns into a little party, interplanetary relations reach an all-time high.

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for We Are Definitely Human

Web Links Related to This Title: