2026 Winner Goddard—CBC Youth Book Prize for Social Justice
The Youth Book Prize for Social Justice recognizes books for children and teens related to urban life and issues that support values such as community, equality, opportunity, mutual understanding, respect, caring, and justice.
HONORING BOOKS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Launched in 2020, the Goddard – CBC Youth Book Prize for Social Justice recognizes books for children and teens related to urban life and issues that support values such as community, equality, opportunity, mutual understanding, respect, caring, and justice – in accordance with Goddard Riverside’s mission.
ANNOUNCING THE WINNER OF THE 2026 Goddard Riverside—CBC Youth Book Prize for Social Justice
Talking Books, by Jenny Lacika; illustrated by Ashanti Fortson, for Atheneum Books, is the winner of this year’s award!
The youth prize judges wrote: “An important untold story of how the audiobooks came to be. Finding Braille cumbersome for books, Robert Irwin came up with the idea of recording books to increase accessibility to a great many more people, and many years later, having the effect of launching a whole new of experiencing books for everyone of all ages!”
“It is such an honor for our book to be recognized in this way, and especially in this moment in time. Dr. Robert B. Irwin fought his whole life for community integration for people with visual disabilities, so to have his story elevated in this way when disabled peoples’ right to integration and community-based care is being undermined is especially meaningful. Thank you!” — Jenny Lacika, author of Talking Books
“It’s a profound honor to have Talking Books selected as the winner of the 2026 Youth Book Prize for Social Justice, and I’m grateful to share that honor with author Jenny Lacika. Thank you to the youth award committee for the inclusion and selection of our book, thank you to everyone involved in the Goddard book prizes as a whole, and a hefty congratulations to all of the other finalists as well. The right to access books is simultaneously critical and fragile, and it is up to all of us to ensure that we protect and strengthen that right for the youth of today, tomorrow, and far into the future.” –Ashanti Forston, illustrator of Talking Books
The winners were announced before a full house at the annual Goddard Bash on October 7 at Bryant Park Grill in New York City.
The Goddard book prizes celebrate the power of the written word to create change in the name of justice for all. They reflect Goddard Riverside’s determination to not only ameliorate the impacts of poverty but help create a more just society.
2026 FINALISTS AND WINNER
All About Us: 20 True Tales of Courage and Disability by Hannalora Leavitt; illustrated by Stef Wong. ISBN 9781459837089 (Orca Book Publishers)
From the Fields to the Fight: How Jessica Govea Thorbourne Organized for Justice by Angela Quezada Padron; illustrated by Sol Salinas. ISBN 9781665946704 (Simon & Schuster /Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
Learn Baby Learn: The Shindana Toy Factory’s Legacy of Black Pride by Charlotte Watson Sherman; illustrated by Esther Stimphat. ISBN 9781478890591 (Reycraft Books)
A Trip to the Barbershop by Charles R. Smith Jr. ISBN 9781478891116 (Reycraft Books)
WINNER—Talking Books: Audiobook Inventor Dr. Robert B. Irwin and a New Way to Read by Jenny Lacikan; illustrated by Ashanti Fortson. ISBN 9781665912679 (Simon & Schuster /Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
Goddard – CBC Youth Book Prize for Social Justice Prize Main Page
MORE AWARDS. Eloise Greenfield Children’s Poetry Advocate Prize, Notable Social Studies Book Awards, Outstanding Science Book Awards, Best STEM Book Awards, and more collaborations.
